Live: NZ get the break through after Australia’s openers make great start

Ellyse Perry has come out to the middle.

She gets a single off her first ball.

Phoebe Litchfield then gets a single.

NZ bowler Amelia Kerr then bowls three dots to end a very good over.

Amelia Kerr strikes immediately.

Alyssa Healy tried to sweep a ball that was outside her off stump.

Healy missed, the ball spun, and hit the wicket.

Great ball. Great wicket.

Amelia Kerr bowls and starts with three wides.

A little harsh to be called a wide, and it beat the keeper for two more runs.

Carson bowls to Healy and the Australian drives past mid-on for a single.

Litchfield skips down the wicket but miscues her shot for no run.

Litchfield then plays a lofted reverse-sweep. The boundary fielder stops it for two runs.

The next ball is worked off Litchfield’s hip for a single.

Healy then skips down the wicket, fends into the off side, and runs a quick single. Great cricket.

A flat, faster ball is defended by Litchfield to end the over.

BEATEN. That is Molly Penfold’s best ball. It looked to swing into Healy, then hit the seem and went away to beat the outside edge.

A wide ball is then hit over cover by Healy for two runs. The outfield appears to be a little slow, after rain in Wellington over the past week.

Healy then hits in the air and gets a thick edge. It lands short of the fielder at third and Australia run a single.

FOUR. Penfold drags her delivery short and Litchfield pulls over mid-wicket and to the rope.

Litchfield charges and plays a great square cut. Brooke Halliday dives and stips the boundary. Australia run two.

Two more runs to Litchfield to end the over as she plays a pull shot to deep square.

New Zealand has turned to spin for the first time.

Eden Carson comes to bowl her right-arm finger spin.

Alyssa Healy defends the first ball off the back foot.

Healy charges and hits over mid-wicker. There is a fielder out there to cut off the boundary. Australia run two.

A wide ball is cut by Healy to deep point for a single.

Litchfield faces and defends off the back foot.

The Australian then skips down the wicket but is forced to defend.

A drive from Litchfield goes to the mid-on fielder for no run.

Molly Penfold bowls short to Alyssa Healy, who pulls to deep square for a single.

Phoebe Litchfield then tries to play the paddle shot over fine leg but misses.

A good yorker from Penfold was dug out well by Litchfield.

WIDE. Another wayward ball from Penfold. This time it was a short ball that went well over Litchfield’s head.

WIDE. Another ball down the leg side. Another wide called by the umpire.

Litchfield gets a ball on her pads and works it to the vacant square leg region for two runs.

A dot ball follows as Litchfield misses out on a chance to work the ball to the leg side.

A full ball at the toes goes for no run to end the over.

Sophie Devine continues.

Wicketkeeper Izzy Gates is up to the stumps.

The first ball is wide and Healy hits over the off side field for a single. There is a deep cover for protection.

WIDE. Now bowling to the left-handed Litchfield, the ball is way to far outside off stump.

FOUR. Litchfield has taken a step and whacked Devine over mid-off to the rope. It was not a bad ball from Devine, but the little skip down the wicket made it a half-volley.

Devine follows up with a short ball that hits Litchfield who tried to pull.

Another short ball is pulled by Litchfield for two runs. Stopped by the deep square who needed to run a good 25 metres.

Two more runs to the Aussie total as Litchfield plays a leg glance off her pads.

WIDE. Another wide well outside off stump.

Devine has now come around the wicket and bowls a nice ball which beats the outside edge for a dot ball to end the over.

Molly Penfold is back into the attack, bowling from the opposite end.

THREE. A lofted cover drive from Alyssa Healy is just cut off before reaching the rope. The Aussie batters run three. I think NZ could have hustled a little better to cut that to two runs.

Litchfield is on strike and she drives wide of mid-off for a single.

Two dot balls are followed by a single to deep square for Healy.

That is 50 runs for Australia.

Litchfield fends the final ball of the over.

Sophie Devine bowls to Alyssa Healy.

She bowls outside off with out-swing and Healy drives to a fielder.

Healy then plays a square drive into the off side for a single.

EDGE. Litchfield gets an edge, but there is no slip. Australia run two.

Devine bowls and Litchfield defends on the front foot.

FOUR. What a lovely shot from Phoebe Litchfield. She throws her hands at a ball outside off stump, hits it over cover, one bounce and to the rope.

FOUR. Litchfield skips down the wicket and whacks Devine over mid-off, one bounce, and to the rope.

Those two shots were very, very nice from Phoebe Litchfield.

Rosemary Mair bowls to Alyssa Healy.

FOUR. It was short and Healy pulls over mid-wicket for four.

Healy drives for no run, then punches into the off side field for a single past point.

Mair bowls short and Phoebe Litchfield hooks along the ground for a single to fine leg.

Healy then punches again forward of point and gets a single.

Litchfield charges the final ball but drives straight to the cover fielder for no run.

New Zealand’s captain has decided to bowl herself.

She bowls to Alyssa Healy.

The first ball is left outside off, then Healy defends the second ball.

Healy charges and Sophie Devine bowls a good short ball which flies past the Australian’s nose.

Healy then whips into the air but falls safely in front of deep square for a single.

The fifth ball of the over hits Litchfield’s thigh pad and Australia run a leg bye.

Healy hits into the off side for a single to end the over.

Mair bowls to Healy.

The first two deliveries are fended away for no run.

Great running from Australia. Healy fends and the two Australians scurry for a quick single. Litchfield is on strike.

Mair bowls a nice line and Litchfield defends on the front foot.

Three dot balls end the over.

Molly Penfold bowls and it hits the pad of Phoebe Litchfield. Australia has run a leg bye. Alyssa Healy is on strike.

Molly Penfold has bowled consecutive wides. First outside off, then down the leg side. That is four wides from Penfold, now early in her second over.

FOUR. Penfold attempted a short ball like she did in the previous over, and Healy pulled it away to the boundary.

Healy defends.

DROPPED. Healy has now been dropped. Heally pulled and it flew off her gloves fine. A diving Izzy Gates at wicketkeeper could not hold onto the diving chance. A run is taken.

Both openers have been dropped.

Two dot balls end the over.

Rosemary Mair will bowl to Phoebe Litchfield for the first time today.

Litchfield defends a full ball on the stumps.

New Zealand believe they have dropped a catch. The ball was down leg side and Litchfield and hit the Australian’s thigh pad. The ball was dropped by wicketkeeper Izzy Gates and the White Ferns look upset. They will need someone to send a message out that Litchfield did not hit it.

Litchfield then leaves the next ball.

DROPPED. That was an edge, and Bella James cannot grab the one-handed catch. She was diving to her left and the ball just did not stick in the hand. James dropped three catches in the last match — this will not improve her confidence. Australia ran a single.

A wide ball is followed by Mair.

FOUR. Alyssa Healy has crunched a half-volley, outside off stump, to the cover boundary to end the over.

Molly Penfold is coming off career-best figures. She took 4-42 on Saturday.

She will bowl to Phoebe Litchfield who defends the first ball.

WIDE. That was loose from Penfold and is well down the leg side.

Litchfield gets off the mark with a single, working a ball off her pads to backward square leg.

WIDE. Fair dinkum that ball almost missed the pitch. Penfold wanted to bowl outside off stump and swing the ball away from Healy, but she got it all wrong.

FOUR. A short ball from Penfold and Healy rocks onto the back foot and pulls wonderfully to the boundary.

Healy cuts straight to the point fielder for no run.

A fuller ball is driven, but miscued by Healy for no run.

Healy defends on the front foot to end the over.

New Zealand’s fast bowler Rosemary Mair has a fresh, white cricket ball in her hand.

Australia’s openers are captain Alyssa Healy and Phoebe Litchfield.

Mair comes in to bowl and Healy plays a cover drive which is well fielded. It needed a diving stop or it was going to the boundary.

BEATEN. Great follow up from Mair who pitched the ball a little shorter and beat the outside edge of Healy’s bat.

A fuller ball is worked into the leg side from Healy for no run.

EDGE. Healy is squared-up and gets and edge which sails between point and backward point. Lucky. Healy gets two runs.

Healy then drives to mid-off for no run.

Mair comes in for the final ball of the over and it is left outside the off stump by Healy.

Australia may have retained the Rose Bowl, but there is plenty at stake for both teams today.

For Australia, they are looking for a solid performance with the Ashes less than three weeks away.

Victory for Australia also means they win the Rose Bowl series.

For New Zealand, a victory today will do three things:

1. 1.End a 14-match losing run to Australia in 50-over cricket
2. 2.Draw the Rose Bowl series 1-1
3. 3.All but ensure automatic qualification to next year’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup

The final point is very important for the White Ferns. They will want to avoid the repechage to get into the world cup. There is a really great feeling around this team after their shock T20 World Cup triumph earlier this year.

They could really build confidence with a win today.