'How it goes sometimes': Collapse no worries for Aussie champs

Ellyse Perry says Australia's batting collapse against New Zealand was a case of rustiness, after the T20 World Cup champions survived a scare in the opening T20I in Sydney.

Australia, thanks to Perry and Beth Mooney, had been rollicking towards a target of 163 at 0-102 at the 10-over mark of their chase, but then lost 6-57 before edging home with seven balls to spare.

The string of dismissals were a combination of poor shot selection and sharp work from New Zealand, who produced a much-improved performance in the field following a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign.

Australia's 'brave and free' brand of T20I cricket in 2026 has been one of seemingly relentless attack, as they look to make the most of their ultra-deep batting line-up. It paid off richly in England, as they produced their most dominant run ever at a T20 World Cup, and was also evident in their approach on Sunday night, as the Australians continued to take riskier options as wickets fell and when the required run rate was below four an over.

Speaking after Australia's two-wicket win, Perry said there were no concerns over the approach, merely the execution, as she pointed to a lack of time in the middle for the majority of the Australian batters during last week's three-game ODI series against Bangladesh.

There, the hosts – who chose to chase on all three occasions – won by margins of seven, nine and eight wickets, with only five Australian batters spending time in the middle in Brisbane. One of those, Phoebe Litchfield, was sidelined by injury on Sunday night.

"There's probably an element of not being clinical tonight," said Perry, who top-scored with 52 from 30 balls.

"I guess that's how it goes sometimes in T20 when you keep pushing the game forward.

"A lot of our batters haven't batted in the last 10 days.

"We went up to Brisbane and played three ODIs against Bangladesh and I think there were only about five girls who really had any significant time in the middle.

"There's an element of that, along with new conditions and a new format we haven't played since July.

"So I think more than anything, it's probably just a sharpening up of your options when you go out there straight away and just making good decisions within our framework and our style of play, to be clinical at the back end there."

Perry also paid credit to the White Ferns, whose fightback was led by Jess Kerr, who took 3-25 from her four overs, while Flora Devonshire's brilliant direct hit broke Mooney and Perry's 86-run second-wicket stand, and Izzy Sharp held onto a sharp catch off a powerful Perry pull.

"They've got some great variety in their attack, they've got good experience as well," Perry continued. "I think New Zealand bowled pretty well tonight.

"I think it's probably just like a little bit of a sharpening up as opposed to tempering things or just walking to the finish line. It's twofold – we've got to play better, but also I think New Zealand bowled well, so it's adapting that quickly and just being aware of the conditions from the get go."

NRMA Insurance Women's T20 Series v New Zealand

First T20I: Australia won by two wickets

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