Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry combined once again to consign England to a crushing 89-run defeat that leaves them with an uphill battle to retain the Ashes. Lanning’s batting, Perry’s all-round quality and Australia’s general team performance showed why they are World Cup winners as they dominated the hosts in every facet of the game to take a 4-2 lead in the series.
It was the same old story for England inside the first 10 overs after they opted to bowl first. Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole were economical but lacked penetration. Shrubsole beat the bat but could not find the edge, and Elyse Villani was more than up to the challenge. She pulled Brunt twice to the boundary as she and Nicole Bolton looked to be positive.
“You always want to take wickets with the new ball, but Nicole and Villani have batted particularly well,” said Shrubsole after the game. “They have never looked like they will get out imminently. The next best thing you can do if you’re not taking wickets is to stop the runs. We’ve done that but we haven’t carried it through the whole innings.”
As is often the case with Villani, she looked good right up until she was dismissed. A floaty half-volley from Georgia Elwiss was clipped into the waiting hands of Jenny Gunn in the deep for 14.
England spoke before the game about dismissing Lanning early but they twice gave her a life. She should have been run out on five but Elwiss fumbled by the stumps. Australia’s captain made England pay instantly. She galloped out of her crease to the spinners, twice lofting Laura Marsh to the boundary.
Bolton fell shortly after she and Lanning had registered their fifty partnership. With no run-scoring options, she tried to chip Natalie Sciver over mid-on and was caught by a back-pedalling Marsh. In a show of aggression from Australia, Alyssa Healy was promoted up the order. She took the aerial route, thrashing Brunt to the boundary before hammering a simple caught and bowled chance back to Heather Knight to be dismissed for 17.
Lanning looked to be in a class of her own. Even the noise the ball made as it flew off her bat was different to everyone else. Her pull shot echoed around the ground whenever England dropped too short but she rode her luck. Lydia Greenway dropped a simple chance at midwicket, straight in and out of her hands when Lanning was on 46.
She was supported again by Perry, who is a far better batsman when she attacks, as Australia went on the offensive. Lanning drove, Perry swept and Australia kept on amassing runs. Lanning eventually fell for 85, trying to go over the top and being well held by Sciver. Perry, however, continued, making yet another half-century. Since her promotion up the order she has scored 656 runs in 11 innings – more than she made in her previous 46 games.
“It was up to me to show that I was capable of batting a bit higher,” said Perry. “I’ve worked and developed on my game. It’s started to come together now and I think it makes me a better player for Australia.”
Perry’s vigil was eventually ended by a full and straight Gunn delivery but she had made 67 from 58 balls and played her part beautifully as Australia set England an intimidating 242 to win.
England started disastrously. Charlotte Edwards flashed at her fourth delivery, a wide ball from Perry, and was caught behind for a duck. Sarah Taylor played a poor shot, given the rocky game situation. She aimed a straight drive at a ball from Perry that moved back in. It took the outside edge and dismantled her stumps to leave England 10-2.
Australia’s fielding was excellent. They restricted scoring options with tight bowling and England looked lost. Lauren Winfield fell shortly before a rain break, run out easily by Bolton for seven. Resuming after the rain, Greenway and Knight struggled to find the gaps. Greenway struck Sarah Coyte for 12 in one over but the rest of the cricket was disappointing. Knight fell attempting a sweep shot, moving too far across her stumps and being bowled by Jess Jonassen.
England had just one significant partnership, a 51-run stand between Greenway and Brunt, with the latter hitting the first six of the series. It was also the last boundary England managed, in the 29th over. Once their stand was over, with Greenway caught off a leading edge for 45, England crumbled.
Australia did not bowl with any extravagant pace or swing. Like England, they were accurate. Unlike England, they took wickets at the right moments. The last six wickets fell for 29 runs, with the No11 Shrubsole bowled by Kristen Beams.
Australia now have a two-point advantage heading into the Test match – which is worth four – as well as the momentum. England will need to sharpen up their game to compete, with three Twenty20s to follow after that. Edwards has been out-captained by Lanning and Australia’s brand of cricket is much more up-to-date than England’s. Ultimately, England are not a bad team – just one performing well below their abilities.
