Sensational Schutt leads Aussies to clinical series sweep

Megan Schutt has once again stamped her authority on Allan Border Field, taking four wickets in a miserly display as Australia romped to an eight-wicket win in the third and final ODI against Bangladesh.

Schutt's 4-16 set the tone as Australia bowled the tourists out for 172 in Brisbane, and while Beth Mooney's 100th ODI celebrations were spoiled when she was bowled by debutant Disha Biswas for 21, Annabel Sutherland (74no from 52) and Ellyse Perry (65no from 64) combined to see their side home in just 22.4 overs.

Schutt, who was named player of the series, produced another masterclass with the ball, sending down 10 overs straight in a spell that included a remarkable 53 dot balls. She finished the series with 10 wickets at 7.1 with an economy rate of 2.37, pushing her case for a T20I recall after playing just one game during the T20 World Cup in England earlier this week.

The 33-year-old now has 28 wickets in 14 one-dayers at AB Field, the most of any bowler.

Australia, missing in-form opener Phoebe Litchfield with a low-grade hip strain, had a couple of hiccups early in the chase, with Georgia Voll (11) stumped in the second over, and fill-in opener Mooney's spritely start ended when she was bowled for a 14-ball 21 by debutant pacer Disha.

But the class of Perry and protégé Sutherland shone through, as the pair of allrounder brought up matching half-centuries to ice victory and a 3-0 series sweep with a whopping 27.2 overs to spare.

Earlier, after stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath opted against testing her side's batting muscle and instead chose chase for a third consecutive match, Schutt continued her red-hot run at AB Field.

Having already picked up 2-19 and 4-36 in the first two one-dayers, including a wicket from the first ball of the series, Schutt took 11 deliveries to strike on Wednesday as she had Murshida Khatun (1) well caught by a diving Georgia Wareham in gully.

The Bangladesh top-order stuck to their tactics of playing well within themselves in the Powerplay, but the on-song Schutt had their measure, deploying her bouncer to have Sharmin Sultana (6) hooking straight to Alana King in the seventh over, and Tigresses captain Nigar Sultana Joty (3) caught behind in the ninth.

Just 23 runs came off the first 10 overs, with a luckless Kim Garth – who had several chances drop just shy of fielders – holding down the other end.

McGrath made the unusual move of keeping her opening quicks on once the field spread, with Schutt bowling her quota of 10 overs on the trot, finishing with figures of 4-16 that included a remarkable 53 dot balls.

Her fourth scalp saw her pick up the wicket of in-form Bangladesh batter Sobhana Mostary, who ground her way to nine from 24 balls off the back of an historic century on Sunday.

With her team languishing at 4-45 after 17 overs, it was left to first drop Sharmin Akter Supta (50 off 93) to provide the resistance, as she toiled her way to a 92-ball half-century – her 12th in the format and first outside the subcontinent – before her 30-over vigil was ended by Ellyse Perry, giving the allrounder her first ODI wicket since December 2024.

As they have done across the series, the Bangladesh batters found a way to hang in there without doing a great deal to up their scoring rate, but 19-year-old Shorna Akter was impressive hitting a career-best 54 off 71 balls.

Mooney produced a sharp piece of glovework in her 100th ODI, stumping Shorna off an Annabel Sutherland bouncer standing up to the stumps, triggering a late collapse of 3-7 that saw the tourists bowled out with a ball remaining in their innings.

Australia's next ODI outing is a three-game tour of Sri Lanka in December, but first an identical squad – plus the additions of Sophie Molineux and Lucy Hamilton – will meet New Zealand in three T20Is starting in Sydney on Sunday.

Australia XI: Georgia Voll, Beth Mooney (wk), Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath (c), Georgia Wareham, Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Alana King, Megan Schutt

 

Bangladesh XI: Murshida Khatun, Sharmin Sultana, Sharmin Akter Supta, Nigar Sultana Joty (c) (wk), Sobhana Mostary, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Rabeya Khan, Disha Biswas, Habiba Islam Pinky, Sultana Khatun

NRMA Insurance Women's ODI Series v Bangladesh

First ODI: Australia won by seven wickets

Second ODI: Australia won by nine wickets

Third ODI: Australia won by eight wickets

Australia ODI squad: Tahlia McGrath (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham 

Bangladesh ODI squad: Nigar Sultana (c), Nahida Akter, Shorna Akter, Marufa Akter, Rabeya Khan, Ritu Moni, Sobhana Mostary, Sarmin Sultana, Sharmin Akter, Sanjida Akther, Sultana Khatun, Dilara Akter, Farzana Haque, Disha Biswas, Murshida Khatun, Habiba Islam

NRMA Insurance Women's T20 Series v New Zealand

First T20I: Sunday, October 18

Second T20I: Tuesday, October 20

Third T20I: Thursday, October 22

* All matches played at North Sydney Oval starting at 7:15pm AEDT

Australia T20I squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham 

New Zealand T20I squad: Melie Kerr (c), Eden Carson, Flora Devonshire, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis (wk), Bella James, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Izzy Sharp

All women's international matches will be shown live on Seven, 7Plus, Kayo Sports and Foxtel