The Australian women's cricket team looked like fish out of water in yesterday's Twenty20 international in Wellington.
The Australia Stars have struggled to get their heads around the shorter version of the game, going down by 59 runs in the opening match of their New Zealand tour last night.
What does New Zealand captain Aimee Watkins make of it?
``Well, I don't want to know what's going on in their heads but I like it the way it is and hopes it stay that way,'' the Central Districts skipper told SportToday last night after a comprehensive display that will no doubt send the Aussies back to the drawing board.
Having won the toss the White Ferns elected to pad up on the drop-in wicket which was foreign to all the New Zealanders.
``The wicket was not quite what we expected it to be. It was slow and the ball didn't come to the bat that much so a score of 130 to 140 runs was a more likely total,'' she said after the hosts posted a respectable 132-7 in their allotted 20 overs in the first game of the five-match Rose Bowl Series which includes a T20 match in Christchurch tomorrow and three one-day internationals over the next few days in Queenstown.
Otago allrounder Suzie Bates, who was awarded the player-of-the-match award, top-scored as opener with 48 runs.
The Kiwis' run rate dropped a little after Aussie spinner Lisa Sthalekar took to the crease but the bastmen didn't panic with Sophie Devine adding 28.
``We had a slow start but we caught up for a different total,'' said Watkins, who hailed Nicola Browne, who was frugal in her four overs, conceding 10 runs for a wicket.
``We had them at 19 for two in the first six overs.
``That's where the game was won.''
However, she played bat/pad for tomorrow and the remaining matches if the White Ferns wanted to clinch the five-match series.
``We have to take this form into the one-day matches.
``We need to occupy the crease for longer periods of time to win the series.''
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