Spinners spark horror England A collapse as Aussies take 2-0 lead

Australia A spinners Amy Smith and Charli Knott have orchestrated a spectacular English batting collapse to give the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead in one-day leg of the 'A' series.

NSW wicketkeeper-batter Tahlia Wilson (68 off 82 balls) continued a fine summer with the bat to lead the Aussies' 8-261 batting first at Cricket Central in the second 50-over contest against England A on Friday.

In reply, opener Grace Scrivens (45) and Hollie Armitage (20) gave the visitors a bright start as they added 46 runs for the second wicket after Hannah Darlington bagged the initial breakthrough of Seren Smale for nine.

But leg-spinner Smith (3-13) turned the chase on its head when she struck with her first two balls of the match, removing Scrivens and then the dangerous Alice Capsey for a golden duck.

Ella Hayward, fresh off winning the Sharon Tredrea Award as Victoria's player of the WNCL season last night, then removed the other set batter Armitage before Smith struck again in her second over to leave the English floundering at 5-87 having lost 4-6 in 20 balls.

Tess Flintoff made it a collapse of 5-13 in the next over when she had Bess Heath caught behind for four, before the introduction of Knott (4-14) in the 24th over brought the game to a rapid conclusion.

 

The Queensland off-spinner claimed the final four wickets, including the last two of Mahika Gaur and Alexa Stonehouse for ducks in the same over as England A collapsed to 136 all out to hand home side a comfortable 125-run win.

After skipper Nicole Faltum earlier chose to bat at the toss, her fellow wicketkeeper Wilson anchored Australia A's batting effort after star player Georgia Voll failed to back up her first-game century by falling for 18.

Left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon (3-47 from 10 overs) claimed the prized scalp, snaring three of the first four wickets to fall as Wilson consistently lost partners after promising starts.

The 25-year-old, playing as a batter only in this match, is the reigning WNCL player of the season following a strong campaign with NSW but was coming off ducks in her last two innings. She hit five boundaries to break her mini-rut, though left her side at 5-146 when Australia A lost wickets in consecutive overs.