She was so dominant against a deflated England attack by the end that she raced past Sutherland, blitzed her way to a ton off 69 balls and then blocked the next three deliveries to attempt to allow her partner, on 95, to get to three figures too.
Alas, it didn’t quite work, a weary Sutherland managing to eke out three more runs at the start of the next over, before losing the strike and telling Gardner she should finish the job.
“I’m happy she got it done,” said the young champion, whose 98 off 112 balls had her hailed as “such a gun” by admiring captain McGrath.
Earlier, it had been King who suffocated England in familiar fashion, aided by three more scalps for the tournament’s leading wicket-taker Sutherland (3-60) and a couple each for spinners Sophie Molineux (2-52) and Gardner (2-39).
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With Healy sidelined as a precaution with a “minor calf strain”, McGrath elected to field first and led her troops with fine tactical aplomb after a tough start when Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones led off with a half-century partnership for England in the power play.
Sutherland, who’s now taken a tournament-high 15 wickets, made the breakthrough with her outswinger clipping the top of Jones’s off-stump.
King hypnotised the England batters from the start and made the key breakthrough by tempting captain Nat Sciver-Brunt to slice one sky-high into the safe hands of Sutherland at mid-off.
“She’s a special player, a big wicket. I was happy to see the back of her, we know how damaging she can be. She’s got us many times in the past before,” said King of Sciver-Brunt’s dismissal.
“I kept it really simple, kept the stumps in play as much as possible and tried to extract as much spin as I can.”
It was a combination that proved too much for the English batters.
Alana King celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Nat Sciver-Brunt of England.Credit: Getty Images
Beaumont, their mainstay, battled to a fine 78 off 105 balls, but trying to push on amid King’s strangulation of England’s middle-order, it was Sutherland who got her caught on the boundary by an off-balance Georgia Voll, who had to throw the ball up and re-catch it to avoid giving away a six.
Alice Capsey (38 off 32) and Charlie Dean (26 off 27) provided a bit of late impetus and England dreamed briefly when Phoebe Litchfield (one), Voll (six), Ellyse Perry (13) and Beth Mooney (20) all fell cheaply.
