Aussies square Rose Bowl series at Bay Oval

FOCUSED: Amanda Wellington bowls to Amy Satterthwaite who made 85 for the White Ferns in the loss to Australia at Bay Oval. PHOTO: ANDREW WARNER

The White Ferns have not won the Rose Bowl ODI series against Australia since 1999.

And they will have to wait a few more days after today's four-wicket loss to Australia means the series will be decided on Sunday back on the pristine Bay Oval.

After losing game one at Eden Park the fired-up Aussies were in no mood to go quietly. They easily chased down the White Ferns' total of 253-8 off 50 overs with four wickets and nearly three overs to spare.

The star of the White Ferns batting yet again was Cantabrian Amy Satterthwaite. She was just 15 runs short of scoring a world-record fifth consecutive ODI century when she was dismissed in the 47th over.

The elegant left-hander holds the record of four consecutive centuries with Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara.

Satterthwaite made use of three dropped catches by the Australian fielders to finish on 85 off 117 balls, with just two boundaries and one six testimony to her ability to rotate the strike and find gaps in the outfield.

The White Ferns innings was based on three significant partnerships involving Satterthwaite.

She put on 87 with wicketkeeper Katey Martin for the third wicket, with Martin making a hard-hit 43 off just 51 balls, and 40 for the second wicket with captain Suzie Bates who was out stumped for 35. Katie Perkins made a belligerent 38 off 36 balls in a partnership of 63 with Satterthwaite for the fifth wicket.

Australia gifted the White Ferns 20 extras, including a whopping 16 wides.

Australian captain Meg Lanning as always was the key wicket.

She is the best women's player in world cricket with an ODI batting average of 50 and strike rate just under 100 from 55 games.

She arrived in the seventh over at 22-1 and with opener Beth Mooney laid siege on the bowling, upping the run rate to be 84-1 after 16 overs. At the same stage the White Ferns were 55/2.

At drinks Australia were well ahead on 94-1 off 16 overs before 16-year-old Wellington schoolgirl Amelia Kerr struck. She slipped a leg spinner through Lanning's defences to bowl her for 44 and then bowled Elyse Villani first ball to be on a hat-trick.

Mooney continued on past 50 before Kerr bowled her as well to leave Australia 138-4 in the 27th over.

But that was as close as the Kiwis got as the experienced Alex Blackwell (65) in her 132nd ODI and Alyssa Healy (36) shared a fifth-wicket partnership of 81 that won the match.

Kerr finished with four wickets in another top-class spell of leg spin bowling.

The deciding game is at Bay Oval on Sunday from 11am. Free entry.

White Ferns 250-8 (Amy Satterthwaite 85, Katey Martin 43, Katie Perkins 38, Suzie Bates 35; Amanda Wellington 3-50) lost to Australia 256-6 (Alex Blackwell 65, Beth Mooney 57, Meg Lanning 44; Amelia Kerr 4-54, Anna Peterson 1-27)