Manchester: Phoebe Litchfield’s blistering half-century followed by three wickets from Georgia Wareham helped Australia beat South Africa by 65 runs in the third match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Australia captain Sophie Molyneux’s decision to bat first paid off as six-time champions Australia piled up a mammoth total of 172/8 in 20 overs.
Leading the way for them was Litchfield, who smashed 50 off 24 balls with 9 fours and a six.
Apart from her, experienced all-rounders Ellyse Perry and Georgia Wareham made significant contributions to Australia’s total, scoring 36 and 32 runs respectively.
For South Africa, Nadine de Klerk, Nonkululego Malaba and Ayabonga Kaka took 2 wickets each, while Marizan Kapp and Shabnim Ismail took one wicket each.
Chasing a target of 173, South Africa’s batting line-up floundered and managed to muster 107 runs before being bowled out in 16.4 overs to suffer a heavy defeat in their campaign opener.
Captain Laura Wohlwardt struggled for the Proteas with 44 off 39 balls with 2 fours and a six, while Nadine de Klerk (25) and Gabe (12) scored double figures.
Wareham led Australia’s bowling with economical bowling figures of 3/13 in her 2.4 overs, followed by Alana King and captain Molyneux with two each, while Kim Garth and Ashley Gardner chipped in with a scalp each.
For his all-round exploits, Wareham was named man of the match.