Two T20 games against Australia and two losses for Aotearoa's White Ferns as they struggled to rally behind Suzie Bates in the second T20, thus handed the series to Australia with a game to spare. Aotearoa could only manage 145/8 from their 20 overs, with Bates smacking 77 @ 148.07sr and Amy Satterthwaite chiming in with 27 @ 142.10sr, then Australia chased that down with an over remaining.

Only three batswomen passed 10 runs for Aotearoa; Bates, Satterthwaite and 15 @ 78.94sr from Maddy Green. While Aotearoa obviously didn't score as many runs as they did in the first T20 where they put up 162/5 in their 20 overs, there was a similar vibe between the two innings as Bates, Devine and Green didn't contribute much in the first T20 and the main run-scorers from the first T20 in Sophie Devine, Katey Martin and Bernadette Bezuidenhout didn't show up for the second game.

The good news is that different batters have stood up to lead the way in terms of runs, however the batting unit is yet to genuinely combine for strong innings. In both games the White Ferns have had wickets remaining at the end of their innings - 5w and 2w - but have been unable to make the most of this, hence they have had their totals chased down fairly easily by Australia.

Scoring less than 170 isn't ideal against such an emphatic Australian batting line up, nor is it ideal when Aotearoa is batting first and hasn't shown any real threat with the ball. The Ferns bowlers only took 3w in the second game, with run-out taking the total to 4w and this comes after Devine and Leigh Kasperek took 2w each in the first game. Excluding the run out, the bowlers have taken 8w in two games and that's not flash.

Devine, Lea Tahuhu and Amelia Kerr took a wicket each in Monday's game. That means that Tahuhu has now broken her wicket-less T20 run of five games, although her overall record in this series so far isn't exactly dynamic; 1w in 7ov @ 50avg/7.57rpo. Devine is the best of the kiwi bowlers with 3w in 8ov @ 19avg/7.12rpo.

Having lost both games comprehensively, there are a variety of concerns. Whether it's Devine, Satterthwaite and to a lesser extent Bates struggling to perform at their super world-class level, or Green managing just 21 runs in 2inns at a strike-rate of 65.62 - kinda exactly what you don't want from your #6 batter in T20 cricket.

You can run through the whole team almost, with areas of concern but the low key concern that will hopefully be sussed out come World T20 time is Amelia Kerr. I don't know how else to put this other than letting it sit in your loins for a jiffy; Kerr has taken 1w and scored 1 run. Granted, Kerr didn't bat in the first game and her 1 run was 1 not-out, however Kerr appears to have hit a bit of a plateau at this level after whipping kiwi cricket fans (and mainstream media) into a frenzy.

Hailed as a all-rounder prodigy, Kerr has now scored 22 runs in 16 T20 Internationals and since the start of 2018, Kerr has taken 7w in 11 T20I games. Those 11 T20 games this year have included Kerr going wicket-less in six of those games and prior to this series, Kerr was ok-ish for Southern Vipers in the T20 Super Blast.

The Vipers however, finished last and Kerr contributed 61runs in 8inns averaging 8.71/88.40sr. Kerr was solid with the ball, taking 10w in 9inns @ 23.10avg/6.50rpo. Those 10w saw Kerr finish as the Vipers leading wicket-taker, a wicket ahead of Bates who took 9w and while it's hard to expect Kerr to be a dominant force in a major T20 tournament overseas at such a young age, this plateau is real.

Kerr has essentially been picked apart by Australia's batswomen, conceding 9.72rpo off 4.5ov. That's the most expensive economy rate of the kiwi bowlers who have bowled more than 1ov and second most expensive economy rate of all bowlers who have bowled more than 1ov.

The world-class abilities of Bates, Devine and Satterthwaite can win Aotearoa games. As were are currently seeing and have seen in the recent trip to England, it's difficult for Bates, Devine and Satterthwaite to perform consistent against the best teams in the world given how much effort goes into limiting heir contributions with bat and ball. It's even more difficult for them to fire in unison and as others struggle to find their feet at the international level, the White Ferns are in a minor spot of bother ahead of another major international tournament.

Players like Kerr could potentially ease the burden on the big-three. Ideally Kerr and Green can gain some confidence from a strong performance in the remaining T20 and carry that into the following ODI games.

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Peace and love 27.