Tammy Beaumont made history on day three at Trent Bridge, as her double-century saw her break the record for the highest score by an England women’s cricketer in history.
Resuming at the start of play on 100, Beaumont was the final England wicket to fall almost six hours and 109 runs later as the home team were bowled out for 463, ten short of Australia’s first-innings total.
Speaking at the close of play yesterday, Beaumont had described her Ashes century as a dream that she’s held since 2005 come true. 24 hours later, and more dreams turned into reality as she first overtook Betty Snowball’s previous record for highest score from an England women’s cricketer of 189, a record that has stood since 1935, before she then became the first female double-centurion in English history.
What’s more, Beaumont could even - unofficially, at least - lay claim to having already held that record. Last week, in England’s warm-up against Australia ‘A’ she struck an unbeaten double-century which according to the records of English women’s cricket that exist, was the first time a player had crossed 200 in an England shirt. She’s now done it twice in a week.
This was without doubt Beaumont’s day. The match situation meant that much of day three was spent in a holding pattern of whether England could bat long enough to reach as good as parity with Australia and then set up a two-day, one-innings shootout. On that front Beaumont, and England, succeeded.
The gloss of England’s bullish batting, however, was tarnished by a loose 19 over stretch with the ball at the close where Australia scored freely, with Kate Cross in particular expensive across her opening four overs. To rub salt in the wound, Cross put down a tough, but definitely catchable, caught and bowled chance off Phoebe Litchfield when the opener was on just ten. At the close, Litchfield was on 41, Australia 82, with a lead of 92.
This Test is the first five-day women’s Test since 1992, and the extra day will absolutely be required, as both teams have put on batting clinics. The shape of the contest is now, in effect, a one-innings match, played across just over two days.
With the pitch remaining in good condition, England will be confident of being able to chase whatever Australia set, but will be concerned at the rate that the visiting openers of Beth Mooney and Litchfield have started proceedings. Once the ball has got older in this match, runs have come at a steady flow, and that England were forced to turn to Sophie Ecclestone after just ten overs in the second innings - after the spinner had bowled 46 in the first innings - was a concern.
To focus on an Australian dominated final hour-and-a-half, however, would be to undersell what was an overall impressive display of batting from England when they really needed it. Collapse this morning, and the match is gone. Instead, Beaumont found impressive assistance first from Nat Sciver-Brunt, who made an excellent 78, before Danni Wyatt on debut made a brisk and vital 44 off just 49 balls.
Beaumont and Sciver-Brunt, in particular, were in fantastic touch. The pair shared a 137 run partnership that came at almost five runs an over, with the only surprise being that it came to an end when Sciver-Brunt, who had played Australia’s spinners with supreme confidence, edged behind off the bowling of Ashleigh Gardner.
Sophia Dunkley was short of her natural rhythm and struggled for nine runs across 51 balls before missing a big sweep that gave Gardner another. England, at that stage were 318 for four, and almost looked to be in a spot of bother when in the following over Beaumont was given out LBW off the bowling of Alana King, only for replays to show the ball pitched millimetres outside leg-stump. Had that gone against England, at five down and still over 150 runs short, the day could’ve taken a very different shape.
Instead, with Australia opting not to take the new-ball and continue for 19 overs with the old one, Beaumont and Wyatt tucked into a diet of spin, with Wyatt in particular the aggressor.
Once the new ball was eventually taken, Wyatt fell to Darcie Brown as she edged a late cut to Jess Jonassen in the slips who took a good catch. England’s lower order chipped in, but were short of any major contributions: Amy Jones made 13, Ecclestone, 17, Lauren Filer, 11. It was enough to keep England ticking, if not flowing, but for as long as Beaumont was at the crease, they always had one hand on the wheel. For the second day in a row, Trent Bridge belonged to her, and when on 199 she flicked the ball down to fine-leg and lifted her arms in the air to celebrate a record-breaking day and an historic achievement, absolutely no one was in doubt of that.
