Stars romp to 99-run win over Ireland

A superb batting effort from Elyse Villani has helped the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars romp to a 99-run win over Ireland in the third and final Twenty20 in Dublin overnight.

After 25- and 55-run wins in the first two Ireland T20s, the Southern Stars found another gear in the third installment of the series, in an ominous show of form ahead of the 20-over portion of the Women’s Ashes.

Watch the highlights of Australia's win (Aus only)

Set an imposing 187 for victory, Ireland’s batters had no answers for the Australian bowling attack, restricted to 7-87 from their 20 overs.

After Stars skipper Meg Lanning elected to bat, the top-order runs that had largely eluded Australia's batters in the first two matches were found in the form of Villani, Ellyse Perry and Grace Harris as the trio took the Irish bowlers to task.

Quick single: Stars look to Emerald Isle for Ashes edge

Villani struck 12 fours and one six on her way to 80 off 52, while Perry - who moved up the order to open for the first time in a T20 international - played an anchoring role at the other end.

When Villani eventually departed - courtesy of a bizarre knock on from an Elena Tice delivery - to leave the Stars 1-121 after 14.1 overs, Harris picked up where the opener had left off, blasting an unbeaten 39 off 21 in her third international appearance.

Watch: Elyse Villani's strange dismissal (Aus only)

Perry (55no off 46) also upped the ante in the latter stages of the Southern Stars' innings, posting her first T20 international fifty. 

The target of 187 was always going to be a challenge for the Ireland batters and that task became all the more difficult when Megan Schutt struck with the third ball of the innings, removing Clare Shillington for nought.

Ireland skipper Isobel Joyce followed three deliveries later in the most unfortunate of circumstances – run out for a diamond duck when a shot from twin sister Cecelia found the hand of bowler Schutt before catching Isobel short of her crease at the non-strikers’ end – the second time in as many days the captain had been run out in that fashion.

When Cecelia Joyce (12), Laura Delany (7) and Gaby Lewis (10) followed, leaving Ireland 5-30, it was only a matter of time before the Southern Stars extended their record run of consecutive T20 wins to 16, despite a 37-run seventh-wicket partnership between Kim Garth (30no off 35) and 15-year-old Lucy O'Reilly (14 off 25).

Jess Jonassen took 2-7 - including two maidens - from her four overs in a dominant display with the ball, while Schutt (1-18) and Harris (1-13) were also in the wickets.

The Southern Stars will now return to England for the T20 segment of the multi-format Women's Ashes series, needing to claim one of the three matches to regain the coveted trophy.