Australia took a clean sweep of West Indies in the T20I series, and a 40-run (DLS) win in the third match at St Vincent, fuelled by a maiden century by Georgia Voll. The chase was curtailed by rain, but the outcome was almost determined by the batting performance of Australia at the start of the game.
Voll performed with great composure, stepping into the giant role of heading the order, which is normally linked with Alyssa Healy. The 22-year-old went on to hit 101 off only 53 balls, making the team reach an impressive total of 7-211 at the Arnos Vale Stadium. A nine-four, six-sixes innings gave a solid base to the largest total of the series by the visitors.
Georgia Voll’s brilliance and Australia’s all-round dominance
Georgia Voll did not long settle in and made his mark on the first volley, continuing to be equally active as to the rapidity of the strokes during the succeeding innings. Molineux's team nevertheless defied the early wickets, of which there were Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield, and shot ahead due to the fearless stroke play of Voll. She became the youngest among the Australian women to hit her half-century in only 28 deliveries and her century in only 52 balls, becoming one of just six Australian women to reach the century in T20Is.
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As the wickets were taken in the other end, Voll was not deterred, and he demonstrated a combination of clean hitting and intelligent choice of shots. At last her innings came to an abrupt close as soon as she had gone three figures, but the mischief was already done. Sophie Molineux, who hit 25 off 12 balls in a quickfire, and Nicola Carey, who made 24 without being caught, made sure that their team ended on a high note, with 33 runs in the last two overs.
West Indies in reply failed early on as the Aussies piled on the pressure through their disciplined bowling attack. Megan Schutt made one strike only on the second ball, and Lucy Hamilton, who is a debutant, was spectacular as she took her maiden T20I wicket. Elyse Perry also resorted back to the wicket column and the hosts left struggling by 3-33 by the end of the power play.
Despite the efforts of Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin to put the innings on par, at 61 of 3, rain came into play and eventually terminated the match. Aussies had no chance to play any more and clinched a final 3-match series win.
It was not only the win that was attained by Georgia Voll, but she has become one of the star players in international cricket, with the eyes now moving to the next series of ODI games in St Kitts.
