England have moved a step closer to certain defeat in the Ashes after the second day of the Taunton Test, in which rain wiped out the entire afternoon and evening sessions.
Australia, fully aware that a draw in this match will see them retain the Ashes, were again content simply to bat out time, with Ellyse Perry spending seven overs in the “nervous 90s”before finally bringing up three figures.
While Laura Marsh struck twice in quick succession before the lunch break to remove both Perry and Rachael Haynes, who fell 13 runs short of a maiden Test century, both wickets came too late to make much difference to a match which is, short of a miracle, heading gradually towards a draw.
“From our point of view we’ve done what we can – we’ve bowled in good areas and put them under pressure,” Marsh said after play was finally called off for the day. “We can only do what’s in our control and we’ve done that brilliantly so far. Every time you get to represent your country it’s a huge honour and we will be looking to fight right to the end.”
Nonetheless it was obvious from the way the England players sagged in the field as the morning session drew on that in their heart of hearts they already know the Ashes are lost.
The postmortems will begin soon enough. Casual observers might question whether Heather Knight’s captaincy should come under fire - as Charlotte Edwards’ did four years ago – or whether the coach, Mark Robinson, might equally face calls to resign. England’s last Women’s Ashes defeat at home saw off his predecessor, Paul Shaw. This time, though, such calls would seem to miss the crucial point: Australia have simply proved too good for their opponents.
England have thrown everything at this series. They were inches away from getting over the line in the first ODI at Leicester; in the second Tammy Beaumont’s century could easily have been a match-defining innings. Both days of this Test their bowlers have toiled hard but have been unable to make a significant dent in an Australian batting line-up that is the envy of the world. England were unlucky to lose the toss: but the real problem throughout has been that they are having to do all the running, while Australia were, perhaps inevitably, quite content to bat first and then grind out runs for the first two days.
What the past three weeks have done is to expose the gap which now exists between the two sides. Of Australia’s top six only Nicole Bolton can be said to have failed to make an impact with the bat: they have a strength in depth which England cannot rival. In the first two ODIs it was this lineup which held their nerve in two difficult run chases: the contrast with England’s showing at Canterbury was marked.
The last time these sides met in a bilateral series Australia may have retained the trophy but the 8-8 scoreline reflected the fact that the contest was at least even. In the two years since, though, Australia have been enjoying the fruits of a historic pay deal agreed in August 2017, which created the only fully professional women’s domestic set-up anywhere in the world. What of England? This squad of players is almost identical to that which triumphed in the World Cup two summers ago, and it has grown stronger since then, a period in which Amy Jones has finally begun to fulfil her potential and Danni Wyatt has become one of the most threatening T20 batsmen in the world.
The crucial difference is that, while the Australian structure now oozes professionalism at every level, the English system is top-heavy: beneath the contracted 21 England players is a domestic set-up which remains entirely amateur. Players coming straight out of county cricket into the England set-up, as with Test debutant Kirstie Gordon, often struggle to make the step up, with the difference in fielding standards especially apparent. County cricketers might very well go through the off-season with no access to coaching whatsoever and even during the season will be working with coaches who are part-time at best.
The England squad might be criticised for living in a “bubble” at Loughborough but what other choice do they have? “You need a base, you need a hub, you need somewhere you can call home,” Jonathan Finch, the ECB’s women and girls’ high performance manager, said on TMS in the lunch break. “If you don’t have that, it’s very difficult to develop your players and move them forwards.” Unfortunately inter-squad matches at Loughborough are poor dress rehearsals for high-pressure international match situations. England really lost this series because of a disastrous batting collapse at Canterbury: until they have a domestic competition which can rival the Australian state competition, the Women’s National Cricket League, they will continue to crumble in those moments.
Prior to this series the high-ups at the ECB had already promised a shake-up of domestic women’s cricket: as yet, the details remain sketchy. Perhaps a looming Ashes defeat will be enough to focus their minds.
