As one Ashes pauses for breath, another sweeps towards its conclusion — and that it does so with the series still well and truly on the line tells of how England’s women are closing the gap to one of the finest teams in the history of sport.
Things did not look so great this time last week, when after defeats in the one-off Test and first T20, Heather Knight’s side were 6-0 down and in must-win mode already. But after doing just that at the Kia Oval and Lord’s — Australia’s first consecutive losses since 2017 — England have pegged the multi-format deficit back to 6-4. That, even with three ODIs still to come, equals England’s tally from the past two Ashes series, both of which ended in 12-4 defeats, and this time there have been no washouts, no draws, no points shared. This time, they have earned every one.
