Sophie Molineux says Australia are not taking the challenge of New Zealand lightly as they look to make it two wins from two at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024.
Media release
Australia began their World Cup title defence in style with a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Saturday, reaching their required total of 94 in just 14.2 overs.
The finger spinner picked up two wickets for 20 to help restrict Sri Lanka to 93 for seven in 20 overs, before Beth Mooney led the charge with the bat and propelled the Aussies to victory.
They will now reignite a rivalry with a New Zealand side in high spirits after kickstarting their World Cup campaign with a surprise win over tournament hot shots India.
“Obviously they played out of their skin and really attacked the Indian team, so it won't be too dissimilar to how we approach every game and that's to come out with intensity,” Molineux said.
“Obviously the conditions are very different to where we played them back in Australia, but again, it's just adapting.
“They've obviously had a really good win so they're going to come in on a high and hopefully we can carry on our momentum as well.”
New Zealand produced one of the early shocks of the tournament in Dubai, registering an impressive 160 for four in the first innings before India were all out for just 102.
Captain Sophie Devine starred with the bat, smashing 57 off 36 balls to launch her side to a match-winning score and end a run of 10 straight T20I defeats.
The White Ferns will now be eager to cause another upset on the biggest stage, this time against six-time tournament winners Australia, who inflicted a 3-0 whitewash on them just last month.
“We were fortunate to get three games against them as build-up to this, which probably helped us against India,” New Zealand all-rounder Suzie Bates said.
“We've played them a lot over the years, not so much recently, but I thought we competed pretty well in those games. And after the start we've had at this tournament, I think if we can put that performance that we put together against India, against Australia, we're going to go really well.
“We're just really excited. To start this tournament on that positive note and to have Australia next up, we've had two pretty tough games first up and we're feeling really good about where we are at.
“Those games that happened before don't really matter in a World Cup but we know them really well in terms of our planning and preparation. There’s going to be no surprises.”
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