Fresh off a hat-trick in the rained-out first game of Australia’s Twenty20 tri-series, leg-spinner Alana King has bamboozled Ireland in a thumping nine-wicket win.
King took a hat-trick in the first T20 against Pakistan over the weekend, finishing with 3-8 off her only over before rain stopped play for good, and she followed that up with 3-9 off four overs against Ireland.
Darcie Brown (2-9 off four overs) was also impressive as Ireland finished their 20 overs on 8-99, which Australia chased down inside 13 overs.
It was enough time for Beth Mooney to come within one blow of her 12th T20 half-century, finishing with an unbeaten 45 off 33 balls, alongside captain Meg Lanning (39* off 33).
Opening seamer Jane Maguire felt the brunt of the Aussie bats, taken for 29 runs off just 19 balls.
Only Alyssa Healy was dismissed in the run chase, chipping an Arlene Kelly delivery to Jane Maguire at mid-off in the fifth over.
By the same point in their innings, Ireland had already lost three wickets — opener Gaby Lewis caught in the deep off the final ball of the opening over from Megan Schutt, with first drop Orla Prendergast and captain Laura Delany falling to Brown.
King entered the attack in the seventh over and trapped Rachel Delaney (1) LBW with her fourth delivery, and seamer Nicola Carey also struck in her first volley, as Mary Waldron sliced her to Schutt at cover for 7.
Four balls later, King clean bowled Rebecca Stokell for Ireland’s top score of 22, although the fielding side contributed more to the run-scoring, with 23 extras.
In fact, the next wicket came at the end of the most expensive over of the innings, when Tahlia McGrath sent down four wides and conceded eight leg byes plus a single, but eventually had Kelly (5) caught at mid-off by Brown.
King finished off her three-wicket haul when she had Leah Paul (12) caught behind in the penultimate over, with Ireland’s tail-enders dragging the team just shy of triple figures.
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