Freak catch inspires Aussies to victory

ALANA King took one of the greatest return catches of all time but it was Megan Schutt who bowled Australia to victory in the opening T20 against Pakistan on Tuesday.

The reinvention of superstar veteran Ellyse Perry as a T20 batter also continued with stunning effect as she smashed an unbeaten half-century opening the batting.

All-rounder Ashleigh Gardner also played seemingly unimpeded by the vitriolic fallout from the Indigenous star’s criticism of playing on Australia Day, smashing an unbeaten 30 off 19 deliveries as the Aussies won with 38 balls to spare at North Sydney Oval.

“She’s been great,” said

Schutt, who had thrown her support behind Gardner on social media.

“She wears her heart on her sleeve but she’s someone who gets the job done. She’s a tough little cookie.”

While Perry and Gardner did the job with the bat, the victory was earned with the ball as Schutt, bowling with a point to prove after being overlooked for the ICC T20 Team of the Year, tore through Pakistan’s middle order to restrict the visitors to just 118.

Playing at the ground where she and the Strikers won last year’s WBBL title, Schutt finished with the figures of 5-15 to claim the thirdbest figures by an Australian woman in T20 cricket. “I normally really hate North Sydney Oval,” said Schutt, who took a WBBL record 6-19 at the venue in November.

“I’ve had some bad memories here so it’s nice to actually swing that around.

“It’s been a good 12 months, but prior to that my stats weren’t great.”

Leg-spinner King, who has had an incredible 12 months in international cricket, plucked a screamer off her own bowling which left teammates and fans in disbelief.

“That was a bloody good catch,” Schutt said in praising King’s 2-16 from four overs.

With opener Beth Mooney dealing with a minor niggle after her sizzling century in the third ODI, the decision was made to elevate Perry as she tries to lock down a spot in the team ahead of the World Cup in South Africa next month.

The all-rounder was outstanding with the ball, knocking over both openers to finish with 2-3 from her two overs, and she was equally impressive with the bat as she brought up her half-century off 36 deliveries and finished unbeaten on 57 in the victory.

“She wasn’t making the XI in the Comm Games, and now she’s opening the batting and scoring runs,” Schutt said.

“We have ‘evolve’ as one of our statement pieces, and she’s been the trademark to that.”