Georgia Wareham has shown why Australia’s selectors view her as a future allrounder, hitting her first international half-century in a 58-run Twenty20 win over Bangladesh.
Usually picked predominantly for her leg spin, Wareham was elevated up the order and smashed 57 runs off 30 balls as Australia hit 8-161 in Dhaka.
The spinner then claimed 1-24 from her four overs, as the tourists kept Bangladesh to 9-103 to take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Long viewed as a potential allrounder by selectors given her potential with the bat and ability in the field, Wareham was at her best with the willow on Tuesday.
She drove through long on at will, while using her crease well to pull and cut against the spinners.
Three consecutive boundaries came off Shorna Akter, Wareham moving across the crease to pull the spinner for two fours and then cutting her for another.
The flurry of runs came as Wareham and Grace Harris (47) took 20 off the eighth over off Shorna, swinging the momentum firmly in Australia’s favour.
With the ball, Wareham sent down a maiden first over and bowled Dilara Akter (27) in her second when the right-hander went back to pull her.
Spinners Ashleigh Gardner (3-17) and Sophie Molineux (3-10) were the stars with the ball for Australia.
Molineux’s figures continue a brilliant tour for the spinner, who has now taken 10 wickets across two one-day internationals and two T20s after being selected ahead of Jess Jonassen.
The Victorian missed more than a year of cricket through an anterior cruciate ligament rupture suffered in late 2022, but Molineux is now firming to be part of Australia’s T20 World Cup squad for the September-October tournament in Bangladesh.
There was some joy for the hosts on Tuesday, with Fariha Trisna (4-19) taking a hat-trick and becoming only the third woman in history to register two in T20 internationals.
With the final three balls of the innings, the left-arm medium-pacer had Ellyse Perry caught at deep cover for 29, before having Molineux caught at point and then bowling Beth Mooney.
