Geoff Lemon's report from Manuka Oval
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That's it from us, congratulations Australia!
Thanks for your texts and emails, sorry I couldn’t get to them all but they were very welcome in the wee small hours.
Australia have retained the Ashes and the series rolls on to Melbourne for the two final ODIs. England can pull off an unlikely draw if they manage to win ‘em both. Heather Knight will be planning to do just that of course.
Hats off to Australia, they ran out deserved winners today, Beth Mooney and all of the bowlers were exceptional.
Geoff’s match report will land with a satisfying thud any moment now.
Goodbye!
Here is that winning moment:
That winning moment #Ashes pic.twitter.com/hpHUxQX7XQ
— Cricket Australia Fan (@CricketAustFan) February 3, 2022
‘Stoked’ you might say for Jess Jonassen who picked up the final wicket and a piece of Ashes history/ a place on the highlights reel with that caught and bowled wicket of Cross at the end. Here’s hoping her partner was snap happy again and got a decent picture that she can use to replace this one.
Here’s the Guardian’s own Pat Cummins:
Scenes!! Congrats @AusWomenCricket #ashes https://t.co/GJMjbzjFX0
— Pat Cummins (@patcummins30) February 3, 2022
Not quite done, England can still draw the series if they take the last two ODIs. The series now says goodbye to Canberra and rolls on to Melbourne.
The Manuka* Oval has hosted some dramatic moments over the past few weeks. On the tellybox they are debating that Amy Jones wicket and the No-Ball that wasn’t. Ebony Rainford-Brent sums it up neatly though, “When the crunch moments came, Australia seized them and that made the difference.”
*Have to confess that until this week I had always thought Manuka was pronounced MAN-OOO-KA, like the posh honey some people rub on their kneecaps rather than MAR-NIC-A to rhyme with arnica…that some people also rub on their knees.
It’s hardly earth shattering stuff.
Men done, women done. It's all on the children now! #Ashes #U19CWC
— Andrew Miller (@miller_cricket) February 3, 2022
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Australia proved too good in the end, their record in ODI cricket is scarily good. England will be frustrated, a bit miffed that they had the game in their hands for a period there and could have put more pressure on the Aussies.
Australia retain the women's Ashes. England will look back at that Test match - 45 needed off 10 overs with seven wickets in hand - and wonder...
— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) February 3, 2022
Australia win by 27 runs. They retain the Ashes and lead England 8-4 in this series.
England buckled slightly in that run chase but largely as a result of tight Aussie bowling.
Heather Knight is up: “I thought the bowlers did an outstanding job...we didn’t get a partnership together, we lost wickets regularly and it was quite hard to score. We are focused now on drawing the series.”
Meg Lanning: “I’d like to congratulate Beth Mooney on that innings, that was the difference there between the two teams.” She gives a shout out to Darcie Brown and Tahlia McGrath too. “The most exciting thing for me is to see different players stepping up, the young kids coming through.”
Updated
Australia win! The Ashes are retained!
45th over: England all out 178. Jess Jonassen picks up the final wicket of Cross, who offers a return catch and the sharp chance is snaffled low to the floor by Jonassen. The Aussies celebrate in a huddle of yellow. Well played!
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44th over: England 176-9 (Brunt 31 Cross 16) A direct hit and it was all over as Brunt scrambles for her ground. The throw just missed by an inch and crunched into the stump mic. Nearly, nearly for Australia.
43rd over: England 174-9 (Brunt 29 Cross 16) Schutt bowls to Cross who ramps her nonchalantly for four. This is a great little cameo from Cross. There’s one more off the over too. England inching. Australia searching.
42nd over: England 169-9 (Brunt 28 Cross 12) This final pair are batting more aggressively and it is bringing dividends. DROP! McGrath bangs one in short and Cross pulls her in the air... straight to Ellyse Perry who shells it! Victor Meldrew scenes. Perry can’t believe it. Cross then picks up a boundary with a flick away off McGrath. Still we go on.
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41st over: England 163-9 (Brunt 27 Cross 7)
That’s it surely! Cross is given out lbw to Jonassen and it looks BANG in front of middle peg. HOLD ON... Snicko shows a tiiiiny spike and the umpire has to reverse the decision. Cross is reprieved! And she duly boshes the next ball for four back over Jonassen’s head. England still breathing, just.
40th over: England 158-9 (Brunt 27 Cross 2) Australia on the hunt for this final wicket, England clinging on. Who will snare the last one and get themselves a piece of Ashes history?
WICKET! Shrubsole b Jonassen 1
Bowled around her legs! Jonassen picks up Shrubsole - who tries to be too cute with a paddle sweep and loses her leg pole. Kate Cross walks out as the last batter once more and this time the game, and series, is almost certainly gone.
39th over: England 146-9 (Brunt 26 Cross 1)
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38th over: England 153-8 (Brunt 24 Shrubsole 1) Decent over for England as they get seven runs from Tahlia McGrath’s latest - including a thick edge from Brunt’s blade that rolls away for four through deep third.
37th over: England 146-8 (Brunt 18 Shrubsole 0) England need all the experience of this pair to keep themselves in this Ashes series. Jonassen’s over goes for three.
36th over: England 143-8 (Brunt 15 Shrubsole 0) Darcie Brown finishes her spell, taking 4-34 off her ten overs. Anya Shrubsole joins Brunt. I wonder if these two will throw caution to the breeze and play a few shots, see if they can get England somewhere close to this total.
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WICKET! Ecclestone lbw b Brown 3 (England 143-8)
Bang in front and Ecclestone is on her way. England are creaking here. Brown has picked up four wickets, a fantastic spell from the tyro quick.
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35th over: England 142-7 (Brunt 14 Ecclestone 3) Four singles off McGrath. Something’s brewing here.
It’s happening again #ashes https://t.co/2aa4mI2FwM
— Isa Guha (@isaguha) February 3, 2022
34th over: England 138-7 (Brunt 12 Ecclestone 1) A couple of wides down the leg side from Darcie Brown, striving a bit too hard for that lethal in-ducker. Ecclestone gets off the mark with a pinched single.
Most women's ODI wickets since the start of 2019:
— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) February 3, 2022
36 Cross ENG
35 Jonassen AUS
33 Goswami IND
32 Matthews WI#Ashes https://t.co/AOGJQOutIy
Told you Cross was good didn’t I?
33rd over: England 134-7 (Brunt 11 Ecclestone 0) Wyatt had looked positive at the crease - a big loss for England but well bowled by Megan Schutt who speared one through her defences. England only have three wickets left in the hutch and that target of 205 is sliding out of sight.
WICKET! Wyatt b Schutt 20 (England 134-7)
Schutt sneaks one through Wyatt!
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32nd over: England 126-6 (Wyatt 18 Brunt 10) Ash Gardner with the first over back after the beverages, she serves up a full bunger and Wyatt’s eyes are ablaze as she smears it for four through mid-off. Nicely done.
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31st over: England 119-6 (Wyatt 13 Brunt 8) Megan Schutt looks dangerous as she whirls a few past the edge and into the gloves of Healy who is stood up to the stumps. And it is time for a drink.
Tense stuff in Canberra. The sky behind the spatula-esque floodlights is glowing pink. Is that good luck or bad luck? Ominous for local shepherds obviously but could this next passage of play see the Ashes seized by Australia? Just enough time to brew up and then we’ll be here for the final stages of this game.
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30th over: England 116-6 (Wyatt 12 Brunt 6) Wyatt charges Perry and it’s a DROP! Tough one to be fair to Perry, pinged back straight at her in her follow through and she can’t cling on. Good intent from Wyatt who drives for a couple and then sneaks a quick single to backward point off the last ball.
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29th over: England 113-6 (Wyatt 10 Brunt 5) Darcie Brown is bowling very frugally, England are watchful - they are ahead of the required rate but keep losing wickets. Ellyse Perry is coming back into the attack. Just what you need, right?
28th over: England 110-6 (Wyatt 10 Brunt 4 )
If she batted with an untucked shirt or baggy jumper unlikely that’s given as a legal delivery. pic.twitter.com/j1yF6rOSPZ
— Henry Moeran (@henrymoeranBBC) February 3, 2022
The debate over the Amy Jones dismissal is a’rumbling.
27th over: England 106-6 (Wyatt 9 Brunt 2 ) Katherine Brunt is the new batter and she has a job on here. Australia in the hunt for four more and to wrap things up in this first ODI.
WICKET! Sciver c&b Brown 45 (England 103-6)
Oh no! Not good for England, Brown gets one to just stick in the pitch and Sciver is helpless as she sees the ball ploop up off the leading edge into the clutches of a full stretch Brown in her follow through. Cripes.
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26th over: England 103-5 (Sciver 45 Wyatt 8) Ooof! Cut in half! McGrath gets her magician act on and splices Danii Wyatt in two with a ripping in-ducker. It beats everyone and rolls away for four byes. Wyatt isn’t too fussed though, she cracks a cut shot away for four more off the very next ball.
Chuckles
Welcome to the newest member of Guardian cricket. Now get the teas in and head off to the presser, good lad https://t.co/TarIK1aEbz
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) February 3, 2022
25th over: England 94-5 (Sciver 44 Wyatt 4)
Halfway stage. Australia need 5 wickets. England need 112 runs. Where’s your money?
24th over: England 91-5 (Sciver 43 Wyatt 3) McGrath keeps it tight, just a couple from the over.
23rd over: England 89-5 (Sciver 42 Wyatt 2) Darcie Brown is back into the attack. England need a partnership to get them closer to this target.
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22nd over: England 85-5 (Sciver 40 Wyatt 1) Danni Wyatt is at the crease. England have it all to do. I’ll crunch the numbers and put up the latest equation in two tics.
WICKET! Dunkley lbw McGrath 5 (England 83-5)
Rapped on the pads and given. Dunkley thinks about a review but decides against and walks off disconsolate. England have lost two quick ones and are teetering once again. The Aussies have a pinky round the Ashes trophy.
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20th over: England 83-4 (Sciver 39 Dunkley 5 ) Sophia Dunkley is the new batter, she immediately cuts Alana King away for four, helped by a miss-field at deep point. Nine off King’s first over.
WICKET! Jones ct Perry b McGrath 16 (England 74-4)
A tight call but given and Jones trudges off. She looks crestfallen, perhaps knowing that whatever the height she should have clobbered it for six.
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REVIEW FOR CAUGHT
Jones plinks a full toss from McGrath to deep square leg...but was it above waist height? It looked marginal and we’re going upstairs to have a butchers.
19th over: England 73-3 (Sciver 36 Jones 16) Jones again lofts Jonassen down the ground for four. There’s seven off the over, a good one for England.
Whisper it but this pair are batting well.
18th over: England 66-3 (Sciver 34 Jones 11) McGrath into the attack (still gives me the willies to type that...) she gets one to lift, like a cobra if you will, off a length with her second - there’s nothing Healy can do about that and they scamper a bye. Three off it all told.
The bins are out. But I fear the lorry/truck has been and gone. The bin man only calls once round here.
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17th over: England 63-3 (Sciver 32 Jones 11) Back after drinks with Jonassen and she nearly skids one through Amy Jones with the very first ball... yikes. She then tosses one up and Jones scampers down the track and plops her for four back over her head. Nice batting from England’s keeper.
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16th over: England 59-3 (Sciver 32 Jones 7) England pick up four off Perry’s over and drinks are called. Back in a sec, Go Go GO!
15th over: England 55-3 ( Sciver 29 Jones 6) This pair just ticking over. The run rate is still very manageable for England, it’s those early wickets that have given them the collywobbles. Jess Jonassen is into the attack and is looking quite probing. We’ll have one more and and then it’ll be drinks/a bin dash.
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14th over: England 52-3 ( Sciver 26 Jones 6) Sciver picks up three more as England continue the re-build job. I’m still half thinking about the bins.
13th over: England 49-3 ( Sciver 23 Jones 6) Three singles taken as we hear news that Beth Mooney is off the field with a tight quad. She won’t be back on in this match. Fingers crossed she can recover in time for the rest of the series, you wouldn’t bet against her. Nails she is.
Caution before the WC?
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) February 3, 2022
From CA: Mooney is off the ground with quad tightness and won’t return. #Ashes
12th over: England 46-3 ( Sciver 21 Jones 5) Ellyse Perry into the attack and it’s a tidy start for the pre-eminent all-rounder. Just a single off it. She made only her second ever ODI first baller earlier, reckon she’ll be wanting to make amends with the ball in hand.
11th over: England 45-3 ( Sciver 20 Jones 5) Amy Jones is the new batter and she’s off the mark with a streaky edge through the slip cordon for four. England will take ‘em any which way.
WICKET! Winfield-Hill ct Gardner b Schutt 14 (England 39-3)
Oh that is unlucky, of sorts. Winfield-Hill smokes a pull shot but it is straight down the throat of Ash Gardner on the square leg boundary. Strife for England.
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10th over: England 39-2 ( Winfield-Hill 14 Sciver 19) Another whipcrack pull for Sciver who looks in fine fettle.
9th over: England 33-2 ( Winfield-Hill 13 Sciver 14) A wide and a single off Schutt, the ball is still darting about. A quiet over, but not quite quiet enough for me to don the slippers and run outside with the binbags. It’s a weeks worth too. Gah. Concentrate. It’s ok. It’ll be OK.
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8th over: England 31-2 ( Winfield-Hill 13 Sciver 13) A glorious pull shot from Sciver skims across the turf to the boundary. That’s a nerve settler.
I can hear the bin men outside and I don’t think I did them last night... I can smell trouble. And bins.
7th over: England 24-2 ( Winfield-Hill 13 Sciver 6) Counterpunch from the gals in pale blue, Sciver drives Schutt for four and Winfield-Hill gets in on the act with a back-foot drive of her own to the boundary.
How good was Kate Cross with the ball? Don’t take my word for it (but do take this lot’s)
An excellent spell of 10-0-33-3 from Kate Cross comes to an end. Only once in her ODI career has she bowled out with more wickets and a lower economy than today, her 10-1-24-5 against New Zealand back in 2015. #Ashes @IGCom pic.twitter.com/VasVLsjXYz
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) February 3, 2022
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6th over: England 13-2 ( Winfield-Hill 7 Sciver 1) Sciver is watchful, it feels like her wicket is crucial in this run chase, she was so impressive with the bat on the final day of the Test match.
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5th over: England 10-2 ( Winfield-Hill 5 Sciver 0) A maiden from Schutt. All a bit tense after that last over.
That's dynamite from Darcie Brown! #OhWhatAFeeling
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) February 3, 2022
Two wickets in two balls including the red-hot Heather Knight for a first-baller! #Ashes | @Toyota_Aus pic.twitter.com/XyHNFXTCwb
4th over: England 10-2 ( Winfield-Hill 5 Sciver 0) Sciver survives the hat-trick ball! Just. She had a nibble at the out-swinger and very nearly gave a nick. England have to dig in here. Knight’s wicket is the big scalp.
WICKET! Knight lbw b Brown 0 (England 10-2)
Knight goes for a golden duck! Pinned in front from an in-ducker from Darcie Brown who is on a hat-trick! That was stone dead, Knight just walked off. A rueful shake of the head. The Aussies are ticking. England in all sorts. Sciver strides out to face the hat-trick ball...
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WICKET! Beaumont ct Lanning b Brown 3 (England 10-0)
Big snick and pouched in the slips - Australia have their first and Beaumont has to go.
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3rd over: England 8-0 (Beaumont 1 Winfield-Hill 5) Tidy over from Schutt and she pins Winfield-Hill on the pads with the final ball, BIG APPEAL! But the umpire is unmoved. They don’t call for a review and were right not to, the DRS showing it was sliding past leg. There is movement there with the new ball for Schutt. England looking watchful so far.
2nd over: England 6-0 (Beaumont 0 Winfield-Hill 5) A tight start from Brown with five dots before going a tad too full off the last and Winfield-Hill caresses it through the covers for England’s first boundary.
OBO stalwart Guy Hornsby is on the little blue bird:
Morning @Jimbo_Cricket, this feels very much ON for England after great bowling, especially Cross. No-one went for big runs and Beth Mooney saved Aussie almost on her own at the end. But I'm sure the Aussie bowlers will have a say in this. A big chance to keep the Ashes alive.
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) February 3, 2022
I feel ya Guy, this could have a few twists and turns yet.
1st Over: England 2-0 (Beaumont 0 Winfield-Hill 1) A single and a wide as Schutt just loses her radar in her first. It’ll be Darcie Brown at the other end.
Here we go - Megan Schutt has the ball and Tammy Beaumont and Lauren Winfield-Hill are at the crease. Play!
Thank you Geoff and hellOBO.
Jim here picking up the reins from a sleepy south London. It’s game on in Canberra, can England haul down this target and keep the Ashes ticking?
Get me on the email and the twitters with your thoughts and theories.
Whilst we wait for the players to emerge here’s some lunchtime reading from none other than Pat Cummins:
The climate crisis is wreaking havoc but sport can be a part of the solution
Important stuff. And could he be more of a dreamboat?
England must chase 206 to win
That was quite the bowling performance from England’s seamers today. They hit their lengths, maintained their line, and made sure Australia could not cut loose at any stage. There was movement from the pitch and in the air, and the pressure started to tell. Of course Australia could bowl just as well, but this is still England’s game to lose.
That’s me done, James Wallace is with you for the chase.
50th over: Australia 205-9 (Schutt 1) There was nothing left to lose. The first ball is a bit short, but mid-on is up, so Mooney launches herself at the ball to flat-bat it over the infield. Back foot in the air. Then gets a shorter ball and rides it over backward point for four more. Tries to triple up with a cut shot through the off side, but it’s stopped for a single. That brings about the King wicket, a single behind square for Megan Schutt, and the Mooney wicket last ball.
WICKET! Mooney c Winfield-Hill b Brunt 73, Australia 205-9
On the last ball of the match Mooney falls. Shuffles down, carves over mid-off, but Winfield-Hill moves well to her right and takes a fine overhead catch. Saves four runs in so doing.
WICKET! King b Brunt 18, Australia 204-8
Last over. Swipes across the line, misses, has the ball hit the underside of her thigh while she’s down on one knee, then back onto the stumps.
49th over: Australia 195-7 (Mooney 64, King 18) Sciver’s turn to bowl now. Mooney walks at her, tries to dig it down the ground softly enough to get back for two runs, but King says no. Drives a single herself to hand the strike back. Mooney does her backpedalling uppercut, but gets it higher than long, and Beaumont keeps her to a single. Yorker from Sciver, dot ball! King can only block it. Big swipe gets a run to wide long-on. Pull shot keeps strike for Mooney. Five runs from the over.
48th over: Australia 190-7 (Mooney 61, King 16) Three overs to go. Brunt with two of them. Brunt bowls short, Mooney whacks a single. King drives and can’t beat mid off. Pulls and can’t beat mid on... and she’s dropped. No run, but Sciver was right in position, knelt down, and had the ball jar out of her hands. She falls to the ground in frustration. A little bobble over the keeper gets King off strike with a scrambled bye. Mooney guides one run. Three from the over, two off the bat, great work.
47th over: Australia 187-7 (Mooney 59, King 16) Tied down for a couple of deliveries is King, before she lays into a crisp cover drive against Sciver, splitting the two infielders for four. Pulls a single fine off the glove to follow. Mooney is almost standing off the pitch to the leg side in her efforts to find room to hit to the off side, where there is no one on the boundary. Can only get one run. But King leans back and pounds a pull shot that goes between the boundary riders.
46th over: Australia 177-7 (Mooney 58, King 7) Ecclestone over the wicket to the left-handed Mooney, who tries the reverse sweep but misses, the ball flicking her pad flap and spitting up to hit Jones in the grille. No run. Nor from the next ball as Mooney charges and drives back to the bowler. Stays home, clips leg side, and loses strike. King aims a huge leg-side wallop and misses, wanting a piece of the spin while it lasts. Can only drive a single from Ecclestone’s final ball, with two runs from the over, and 1 for 36 from her ten.
45th over: Australia 175-7 (Mooney 57, King 6) Good short ball from Sciver, beats Mooney who backed away to aim at it. Mooney responds next ball, backing away again to slice an open-faced drive over point. What a shot. Sciver follows Mooney, who shovels to leg and some good running from King allows her to get back for two. Then a single fifth ball, letting King race another two reasons after a walk-across leg glance. 10 from the over.
44th over: Australia 165-7 (Mooney 50, King 3) Ecclestone to King, who blocks the first ball and then watches the second turn past her outside edge. Left-arm spinner, turning it away from the right-handed bat. Aims a big drive at the fourth ball and edges it into her boot, that stings. Then gets one down the leg side for a couple of leg byes, followed by a short ball pulled for one.
Half century! Mooney 50 from 73 balls
43rd over: Australia 162-7 (Mooney 50, King 2) Beth Mooney aims a huge swipe towards the leg side and only drags it to mid on. Next ball, same shot, and this time she gets it, over mid-on for four. Follows with a single to midwicket to raise her fifty. Her team would be nowhere without this one.
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42nd over: Australia 156-7 (Mooney 45, King 1) Alana King out to bat with nine overs to come. One more from Shrubsole. King slices away a cut shot nicely, but saved by the sweeper. Mooney cuts one run off her stumps. Shrubsole finishes with 1 for 44.
WICKET! Jonassen c Beaumont b Cross 4, Australia 152-7
41st over: Australia 152-7 (Mooney 42) Bold shot from Mooney, knows they need more now, so she shuffles forward and drives Cross over mid-off for four. Tries it again the next ball, but Cross shifts back the length and Mooney edges it dangerously towards Beaumont at backward point. Jams a run to long leg, then with one ball to come Jonassen gets a huge leading edge, trying to push through midwicket, and it goes high before landing in the hands of Beaumont at cover.
Cross finishes her 10 overs with outstanding figures of 3 for 33.
40th over: Australia 147-6 (Mooney 37, Jonassen 4) Shrubsole with two overs to go, and Mooney shapes to go big through the leg side again, but drags it down to mid-on. No run, then a single to midwicket. Two left-handers together in the middle. Jonassen plays a shot a ball, but keeps finding the field. One run from the over!
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39th over: Australia 146-6 (Mooney 36, Jonassen 4) Jess Jonassen gets motoring quickly, as she did in the Test. Pulls Cross to deep midwicket, and Dunkley knocks the ball back but lets her foot touch the rope while doing so - four runs.
38th over: Australia 141-6 (Mooney 35) All the work to do for Mooney, then...
WICKET! Gardner run out 12, Australia 141-6
Another one goes, a donation by Australia. Gardner has walked out, looked great immediately, but now is walking back. Mooney drops the ball towards midwicket and runs with the shot. Gardner is dozing and doesn’t respond, then starts late. Mooney, halfway down, sees the hesitation and stutters for one stride, which makes Gardner stutter as well. Only for a step, but it’s enough, as Knight throws in to Jones who takes off the bails with Gardner a few inches short.
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37th over: Australia 137-5 (Mooney 33, Gardner 10) Kate Cross comes back. Heather Knight hasn’t bowled a single over of herself, as England’s sixth bowler. But the seamers have done so well that she wants to keep them running. Cross delivers, keeps things really tight, only gives away two singles. The second of those hits Gardner at the non-striker’s end, might have been worth more if her bat hadn’t got in the way.
36th over: Australia 135-5 (Mooney 32, Gardner 9) Loves the cut shot, does Gardner, who took Ecclestone for plenty in the Test match, and Ecclestone feeds her two short ones. Wyatt saves the first one with a tumble on the rope at deep point, but the second one goes finer for four. Did I say fast starter? She’s on 9 from 9 as she takes a couple of singles. Compare that with anyone else today.
35th over: Australia 126-5 (Mooney 31, Gardner 1) Now Gardner has to find a way to settle. Usually a pretty fast starter but she defends the first four balls before nudging a single square.
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WICKET! McGrath b Brunt 29, Australia 125-5
There it is! As McGrath is starting to look dangerous, Brunt chops her off. Drops a little short, McGrath’s eyes light up, she’s getting ready to pound that through the off side. But Brunt bowls a cutter, rolls her fingers savagely so that the ball stays low and moves sharply in, scooting under the bat and knocking the stumps akimbo.
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34th over: Australia 125-4 (Mooney 31, McGrath 29) Australia have scored more in the last five overs than they did in the 15 before that. Mooney keeps it going, backing away and then almost jumping at a short ball to uppercut it over the keeper.
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33rd over: Australia 119-4 (Mooney 26, McGrath 28) More McGrath, as Brunt drops short and McGrath clobbers the pull shot. Wyatt runs and dives and can’t stop it at backward point. Then Brunt tries the slower ball that has gone very wrong on several occasions lately, and this time it dishes up a slow high full toss for Mooney to pull to the fence.
32nd over: Australia 109-4 (Mooney 21, McGrath 23) Shot, Bethany! Shrubsole comes back on to bowl, and Mooney plants her front foot, gets a clean swing, and launches the first ball over midwicket for six. McGrath gets strike, winds up, and drags four through long on. Two singles, a dozen off the over, and that’s Australia’s best of the innings.
31st over: Australia 97-4 (Mooney 14, McGrath 18) Katherine Brunt is back. This is interesting, the main threat with five overs to go. Knight wants a wicket, she doesn’t want to let these two build on the work they’ve done. They’re really struggling for scoring pace though: Mooney 14 from 40 and McGrath 18 from 39 by the end of Brunt’s over.
30th over: Australia 96-4 (Mooney 13, McGrath 18) Sciver bowls down leg side, might have clipped Mooney’s pad but the umpire gives two extras as the ball bounces off Jones. Then Ecclestone throws down the stumps from mid-on as McGrath takes a quick run, but she’s home. Five from the over, as Mooney lumps away a pull shot off the top edge that doesn’t land too far short of the fielder at long leg. Drinks.
29th over: Australia 91-4 (Mooney 12, McGrath 16) There she goes! McGrath charges and melts Ecclestone back over the bowler’s head. Then rotates strike and Mooney plays a late cut, fine of Beaumont at backward point and away to the rope. Nine from the over, unfathomable luxury.
28th over: Australia 82-4 (Mooney 8, McGrath 11) England get a bonus review as the umpires go upstairs for a stumping appeal, which means that according to the review process now, they check for an outside edge as well. The ball just missed Mooney’s bat. Doesn’t beat it the next time, as Mooney glides a single. Then McGrath is nearly bowled! Leans back, tries to clout Sciver off a length through cover, gets some movement back in, and under-edges it past her stumps for two. Another push to point for a run means four off the over, which is a big one by recent standards.
27th over: Australia 78-4 (Mooney 7, McGrath 8) Tahlia McGrath at last comes to life, swinging one of her meaty cover drives away, but Cross tumbles away on the boundary to keep the scoring to two. The only runs from the over. Ecclestone convinces Knight to go upstairs to the umpire review chair, hoping the contact was pad first as McGrath stretched her foot forward. Umpire Eloise Sheridan picks up an inside edge. Ecclestone still doesn’t believe it, thinking it was pad into bat, and she walks off at the end of her over muttering and shaking her head.
26th over: Australia 76-4 (Mooney 7, McGrath 6) Sciver is delighted to keep wheeling away, bowling a length just outside off stump and letting the Australians bat it away. Three singles.
25th over: Australia 73-4 (Mooney 6, McGrath 4) What is the plan here, Australia? Obviously trying to calm things down and consolidate, but the scoring is becalmed. Two singles from Ecclestone’s over of spin, at the halfway mark.
24th over: Australia 71-4 (Mooney 5, McGrath 3) Blocking away is McGrath, as Sciver bowls, and this over concedes only a wide. Sciver has bowled three overs for four runs.
23rd over: Australia 70-4 (Mooney 5, McGrath 3) The screws keep tightening until the threads squeak. Cross goes very straight to McGrath, attacking the stumps to deny any room to swing. One run from it.
22nd over: Australia 69-4 (Mooney 5, McGrath 2) The new headliner for Australia is Tahlia McGrath. Big job ahead of her here. Only a single from Sciver’s second over.
21st over: Australia 68-4 (Mooney 5, McGrath 1) Another one that sizzles away from the bat! Mooney this time the player left groping at thin air. Australia four down and going at 3.24 runs per over.
WICKET! Healy st Jones b Cross 27, Australia 67-4
Brilliant from Jones! She made the call to come up to the stumps when receiving the seam of Cross, and it has brought the wicket. Cross beat Healy in the previous over, making her stretch forward. This time she does so again with another good ball, moving away, and Healy’s back toe is dragged out of her ground. Jones knows it, sees it, and punches off the bails before Healy can get that foot down. A keeper done by a keeper.
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20th over: Australia 67-3 (Healy 27, Mooney 5) Some good work on the boundary from Shrubsole on this occasion, as Sciver bowling her first over gets glided by Mooney to deep third. Shrubsole slides across and taps back the ball just in time. Those two runs the only score from the over.
19th over: Australia 65-3 (Healy 27, Mooney 3) Healy gets a short wide ball and reaches over the top of it to slap it into the ground for a single. Mooney guides a run, then Jones appeals for a caught behind that Healy missed. Cross concedes two. Australia going at 3.42 an over! This is 1980s stuff.
18th over: Australia 63-3 (Healy 26, Mooney 2) Runs for Mooney immediately, reaching out to guide Ecclestone to deep third for two.
WICKET! Perry c & b Ecclestone 0, Australia 61-3
Golden duck! For just the second time in her long ODI career, Perry is out first ball. Ecclestone flights the delivery, Perry wants to defend it but is done in the air, pushes too early, and chips it back to the bowler.
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WICKET! Lanning b Cross 28, Australia 60-2
17th over: Australia 60-2 (Healy 25) Celebrations! Kate Cross produces a high-quality delivery to end her over. It’s just back of a length, just outside off stump. The sort of ball that Lanning has diverted behind point off the back foot thousands of times in her life. The Australian captain shapes to do just that, but the ball cuts in rather than going straight. It moves a long way, hitting middle stump after starting outside off. Bowling, Kate.
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16th over: Australia 54-1 (Healy 24, Lanning 23) Ecclestone continues, and Lanning keeps using her feet to make room and attempt carves through the off side. Suggesting that the spinner is still bowling too short. Gets a single to the sweeper, then Healy dances but finds cover. Another one-run over, as drinks come onto the field.
15th over: Australia 53-1 (Healy 24, Lanning 22) Cross runs in, strong and lean, really putting a sprint into her approach. Amy Jones has come up to the stumps now to keep Healy in her ground. It works, keeping the scoring to one from the over.
14th over: Australia 52-1 (Healy 24, Lanning 21) Here comes Sophie Ecclestone, the left-arm spinner who so often leads England’s attack. She bowled too short in the Test match, and her first over here is too wide of off stump, coming around the wicket to the right-handers. Only three singles.
13th over: Australia 49-1 (Healy 23, Lanning 19) The TV commentary is already suggesting that England (with six bowlers) are short a bowler, and that Brunt could be batting at No7. The persistent delusion that Brunt is an all-rounder is one of the strangest things in English cricket. It has been going on since about 2015, despite the constant feed of evidence to the contrary.
Cross bowls a good over here, gets through five balls for a run and a leg bye, but Healy greets the sixth ball by running down the pitch, treating it like spin, and turning a good length into a half-volley to loft straight for four.
12th over: Australia 43-1 (Healy 19, Lanning 18) Shrubsole continues into a sixth over, which Lanning welcomes by sending a perfect straight drive away for four. That brings up 4000 ODI runs for Meg Lanning, second-fastest in 89 innings behind Belinda Clark’s 86.
11th over: Australia 39-1 (Healy 19, Lanning 14) First bowling change, with Kate Cross coming on from the Manuka Pool end. On off stump for the first two balls, a touch straighter for the third, and Lanning throws her hands through the length ball despite it not quite being full enough, the Australian captain ending up in the flamingo pose as she golfs her shot down the ground for four.
10th over: Australia 34-1 (Healy 19, Lanning 9) Shrubsole to close out the first ten, but she errs in line, and Healy whips the straight ball behind square for four. Healy stays very quiet after that though, defending five balls as Shrubsole gets her radar back. A modest 10-over score, but Healy is still going at close to a run a ball, and Australia have wickets intact.
9th over: Australia 30-1 (Healy 15, Lanning 9) Another beauty from Brunt! Might have been some cross-seam, and the ball jags back in to beat Healy’s inside edge and miss off stump. Healy jabs a single out of her pads, with some luck, then Lanning gets one cutting back to hit the thigh pad. Not a single controlled shot in that over. England have kept Australia very quiet.
8th over: Australia 28-1 (Healy 14, Lanning 8) Shrubsole nearly gets through! The inswing again, and Healy just gets an inside edge on it, past leg stump for four. Lanning gets an inside edge as well, squarer for one run. Australia living dangerously.
7th over: Australia 22-1 (Healy 10, Lanning 7) A good five balls from Brunt, who has Lanning trying to pull off a length and nearly losing off stump, then a ball that seams in and beats Lanning on the inside edge. The loose ball of the over though is an attempted slower ball, I fancy, and Lanning dismisses the full toss through cover.
6th over: Australia 18-1 (Healy 10, Lanning 3) A single nudged behind point from Healy, allowing Lanning the chance to clip Shrubsole’s inswinger off her pads for two. Gets another run via an inside edge, that ball still swerving.
5th over: Australia 14-1 (Healy 9, Lanning 0) No run from Brunt’s first over, two boundaries from her second, and now back to denying runs from the bat in her third. A wide is the only score. Lanning is facing, and is happy to stay circumspect as Brunt hones in on the off stump.
4th over: Australia 13-1 (Healy 9, Lanning 0) Healy races down to the striker’s end while the ball is in the air, so Lanning doesn’t have to face immediately. Healy sees out the rest of the over.
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WICKET! Haynes c Jones b Shrubsole 4, Australia 13-1
Gone! Another one to the top edge, after so many wickets fell that way in the Test match. A bit short from Shrubsole, and Haynes likes to pull off a length so she’s very happy to pull that one from just above waist height. She mistimes it though and it lobs up for the wicketkeeper.
3rd over: Australia 11-0 (Haynes 4, Healy 8) Now Healy goes! Her first ball facing Brunt, gets width and carves it over backward point. Shrubsole is at deep third but messes up the stop and lets it through for four. Then Haynes has a go, driving Brunt straight down the ground to the rope.
2nd over: Australia 3-0 (Haynes 0, Healy 3) Shrubsole to Healy, gets the inswinger booming immediately, big shout for lbw but it would have been hooping down the leg side. Slight inside edge on that too. Healy nudges a couple to leg, a run to the off, but doesn’t go big.
1st over: Australia 0-0 (Haynes 0, Healy 0) Rachael Haynes takes first ball, after Healy made a pair of ducks in the Test match. Brunt gets it swinging into the left-hander’s pads, and Haynes blocks out the over. One ball holds its line past the outside edge.
The state of the series, remember, is that England need to win all three ODIs in order to win the series and take back the Ashes. Australia can retain the trophy with one win, and win the series with two.
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Just about ready to start here.
Teams
So, Australia giving the young quick Darcie Brown another run after she didn’t bowl too many overs in the fourth innings of the Test. Megan Schutt returns to swing the new ball. King debuts in her third format in a couple of weeks.
England change from five specialist bowlers in the Test to four in the ODI. Sciver and Knight will need to fill in the other overs, maybe Dunkley too. Sophie Ecclestone gets a batting promotion, she was way too low in the Test and I reckon that cost them the run chase.
Australia
Alyssa Healy +
Rachael Haynes
Meg Lanning *
Ellyse Perry
Beth Mooney
Tahlia McGrath
Ashleigh Gardner
Jess Jonassen
Alana King
Megan Schutt
Darcie Brown
England
Tammy Beaumont
Lauren Winfield-Hill
Heather Knight *
Natalie Sciver
Amy Jones +
Sophia Dunkley
Danni Wyatt
Katherine Brunt
Sophie Ecclestone
Anya Shrubsole
Kate Cross
England win the toss and will bowl
Heather Knight gets the choice, and decides she would rather chase than set a target.
Preamble
As we head into the three 50-over matches to end this multiformat series, the women’s Ashes contest is well balanced. Which seems strange given we’ve only had a result in one match. A solitary T20 at the start of the series. The next two were washed out, and the Test was a draw, but a draw that could not have been more thrilling, and one that has left everybody who follows women’s cricket feeling energised and optimistic.
The players have had a couple of days to decompress, and now have to get their heads in the one-day game. Right after this is the one-day World Cup, too, so it will all be 50-over cricket through the next couple of months. What to expect? England batted really well in the first T20 but were overwhelmed by Australia’s superior firepower. England batted really well for a while in the fourth innings of the Test match but fell away. If they’re to challenge here, they’ll have to go one step better.
Bearing in mind the Australians recently ended a record four-year winning streak of 26 one-dayers in a row.
