Australia A v India A | Second T20

Alyssa Healy has continued her successful return to the middle, hitting a swashbuckling 70 as Australia A thumped India A by 114 runs in the second T20 in Mackay.

Fresh off a rapid 27 in the opening game at the Great Barrier Reef Arena, Healy went bigger on Saturday finding the boundary 12 times in her 44-ball innings, laying the foundation for Australia A’s 4-187.

Her senior Australia teammate Kim Garth (4-7) then set the tone with the ball, taking three wickets in the Powerplay including knocking over the stumps of India A opener Shafali Verma (3), as the tourists were bowled out for 73 in 15.1 overs. 

Healy shines again, thumps 70 in second ‘A’ T20

Healy had earmarked her decision making as an area for improvement following Thursday’s series opener – her first official match since January following a torrid run with injuries last summer – and she was again a class above as she raced away in her 95-run opening stand with fellow opener Tahlia Wilson.

Wilson also impressed in her 35-ball 43, and when she fell just shy of a half-century, No.3 Anika Learoyd picked up where she left off in the opening game, hitting five boundaries in her 35 off 21.

Courtney Webb (26no off 13) capped off a dominant night for the Australia A batters.

“We spoke a lot about the batting innings (after Thursday) and just how we could push that score up to that 180-200 mark, and I think the girls were awesome today,” Garth said after the match.

“We spoke a lot about intent and how we’re going to start our innings and I think we saw some really cool examples of that in Ani, she did really well, and obviously Midge up the top there was awesome.

“Throughout the whole the whole batting innings … I think we played with a lot more intent, so that was really pleasing to see.”

Garth and left-arm quick Lucy Hamilton, who came into the side for an injured Lauren Cheatle, then gave Australia A a dream start with the ball. 

Ruthless Garth rips through India A with 4-7

Hamilton had Uma Chetry caught for a duck in her first over, before Garth bowled Verma to leave the tourists 2-3.

Vrinda Dinesh dug in with 21 from 27 deliveries, but No.8 Minnu Mani (20) was the only other India A batter to register double figures as the Aussies ran rampant.

Backing up Garth and Hamilton were fellow quicks Tess Flintoff (2-23) and Sianna Ginger (1-14), while off-spinner Amy Edgar finished with 2-17.  

Like Healy, Garth has been included in the ‘A’ T20 games to get crucial match practice ahead of the ODI World Cup in October.

Australia haven’t played since March, and Healy and Garth are among the few CA-contracted players who aren’t currently in action in The Hundred. The pair will be joined by Tahlia McGrath and Darcie Brown for the one-day leg in Brisbane next week.  

“It was really nice to have a run around out there,” Garth said.

“There’s a lot of stuff I’m happy with, but also a few things I’m working on that I think I need to tidy up on, just in terms of my execution at the end.

“It feels like it’s been a really long preseason, so it’s great to get out there and run around with the girls.”

The third and final T20 will be played in Mackay on Sunday night.

Australia A v India A multi-format series

Australia A T20 squad: Nicole Faltum (c), Tahlia Wilson (vc), Lauren Cheatle, Amy Edgar, Tess Flintoff, Kim Garth, Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Alyssa Healy, Anika Learoyd, Madeline Penna, Rachel Trenaman, Courtney Webb

India A T20 squad: Radha Yadav (c), Minnu Mani (vc), Shafali Verma, D. Vrinda, Sajana Sajeevan, Uma Chetry (wk), Raghvi Bist, Prema Rawat, Nandini Kashyap (WK), Tanuja Kanwer, Joshita VJ, Shabnam Shakeel, Saima Thakor, Titas Sadhu, Dhara Gujjar

First T20: Australia A won by 13 runs

 

Second T20: Australia A won by 114 runs

 

Third T20: August 10, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 6pm AEST

Australia A 50-Over squad: Tahlia McGrath (c), Nicole Faltum (vc), Lauren Cheatle, Darcie Brown, Tess Flintoff, Kim Garth, Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Ella Hayward, Alyssa Healy, Anika Learoyd, Rachel Trenaman, Tahlia Wilson

India A 50-over squad:Radha Yadav (c), Minnu Mani (vc), Shafali Verma, Tejal Hasabnis, Raghvi Bist, Tanushree Sarkar, Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Nandini Kashyap (WK), Dhara Gujjar, Joshita VJ, Shabnam Shakeel, Saima Thakor, Titas Sadhu, Prema Rawat, Yastika Bhatia

First one-dayer: August 13, Northern Suburbs Cricket Club, Brisbane, 9.30am AEST

 

Second one-dayer: August 15, Northern Suburbs Cricket Club, Brisbane, 9.30am AEST

 

Third one-dayer: August 17, Northern Suburbs Cricket Club, Brisbane, 9.30am AEST

Australia A four-day squad: Tahlia Wilson (c), Nicole Faltum (vc), Lauren Cheatle, Maddy Darke, Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Ella Hayward, Anika Learoyd, Maitlan Brown, Lilly Mills, Georgia Prestwidge, Rachel Trenaman, Courtney Webb

India A four-day squad: Radha Yadav (c), Minnu Mani (vc), Shafali Verma, Tejal Hasabnis, Raghvi Bist, Tanushree Sarkar, Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Nandini Kashyap (wk), Dhara Gujjar, Joshita VJ, Shabnam Shakeel, Saima Thakor, Titas Sadhu, Prema Rawat

Only four-day match: August 21-24, Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 9:30am AEST

All matches will be streamed live on cricket.com.au and Kayo Sports.