Mooney and Gardner power Australia to a record-equalling 219 against the Netherlands
Australia made it three from three at the Women’s T20 World Cup, equalling the tournament’s record total of 219 and beating the Netherlands by 98 runs in Southampton.
Jun 20, 2026
Australia turned their third group game at the Women’s T20 World Cup into a record-chasing exhibition. Batting first at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, they piled up 219 for 6, matching the highest total in the tournament’s history, and the Netherlands, for all their effort, finished 98 runs short.
Mooney, Gardner and Wareham cut loose
Beth Mooney set the tone at the top and barely let up, racing to fifty off 30 balls and on to 74 from 42, an innings of nine fours and a six before she retired hurt with the job all but done. It still earned her the player-of-the-match award. Ashleigh Gardner, back in the side, was every bit as destructive on the way to 58 off 32, and Georgia Wareham kept the foot down late with a 18-ball 41.
The 219 carried some history with it. It equalled the highest team total in Women’s T20 World Cup history, the 219 for 1 England had posted against Sri Lanka in this tournament’s opener at Edgbaston only a week or so earlier. For Australia it was a competition best, their highest total at a Women’s T20 World Cup.
Netherlands swing, but the gap is unbridgeable
Chasing 220 was never realistic, and to their credit the Netherlands did not simply fold. They reached 121 for 3 from their 20 overs, picking off the boundaries on offer and batting out the innings rather than letting the chase collapse in a heap. Australia were content to take the wickets that came and protect a net run rate that already looks like a tournament asset.
The win, though, was never in doubt from the moment Mooney and Gardner got going. A target that large flattens a side with the Netherlands’ batting depth, and the result was a comfortable 98-run victory that kept Australia’s perfect record intact.
Australia stay locked with India at the top
Three games in, three wins, and Australia remain stride for stride with India at the head of Group 1. Both have been winning by distances, and the margins are piling up the net run rate that could decide seeding if either slips. On this evidence neither looks like slipping soon.
The knockout rounds are still a way off, but the holders are sending the rest of the field a familiar message. Gardner’s statement return on the day they equalled a World Cup record only adds to the sense that the rest are playing for second.