Richard Thompson does the honours again and Alyssa Healy holds the Ashes trophy aloft. It’s medium-sized and gold rather than small and brown like the men’s one. Some fireworks go off, and the smoke smothers everyone. “This is like a Motley Crue concert,” says Charles Dagnall. I’ll take your word for it.
And that’s the end of a riveting month of women’s Ashes cricket. Thanks for your company and do join Geoff Lemon and Rob Smyth at 10am tomorrow to see if the men’s series, too, can go all the way to the wire.
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Here’s Alyssa Healy, smiling and fiddling with a lanyard. “Little bit bittersweet,” she says, “it feels a little bit dirty in a way, but we got the result we were after [on Sunday].” Asked about the gap between Australia and the rest of the world that seems to have been bridged here, she says “Actually I’m not a big believer in the gap.”
Asked about the young players coming through for Australia, she gives a shout-out to a competition that doesn’t get much love here. “What’s happening over here as well with The Hundred, these young players are getting exposed to playing a high level of cricket in front of lots of people watching, so it’s only going to do the whole game a load of good.”
Asked about her own workload, as the keeper, stand-in captain and opening batter, she just says, “I need a beer.”
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Australia’s player of the three series is Ash Gardner, who was spectacular today until she was undone by one hesitation. “It sucks,” she says, although she is generous in defeat. “England have outplayed us. They’ve played a pretty fearless brand of cricket.”
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More awards, this time for the 2023 Ashes as a whole. England’s player of the three series is … Nat Sciver-Brunt. She’s been magnificent, but this is beginning to resemble a school prize-giving from the bad old days, when one kid would win everything. It’s a team game, for goodness’ sake!
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The ODI trophy is presented to Knight by Richard Thompson, the chair of the ECB. She and her team do a bit of dancing and singing, though I don’t quite catch the song. I trust they’ll be invading a press conference later, doing a conga and singing Sweet Caroline.
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Here’s Heather Knight, looking relaxed, hands in pockets. “Hugely pleased,” she says. “We’ve got two trophies against the world champions, which is pretty special. After the Rose Bowl it was a pretty quiet bus journey, so credit to the staff and the group for the way they’ve turned it around. Very happy to be finishing [the Ashes] with a draw.”
The player of the match is … Nat Sciver-Brunt. And she is England’s player of the series too. “Yeah,” she says, “I am pretty tired.”
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What a month it has been. Australia won the first two games, the Test and the first T20, and even wise heads thought “Here we go again”. But then England won, and won, and won again. Australia, on the ropes, pulled off a fabulous close win, thanks to Georgia Wareham’s fearless hitting. And then England, who could easily have folded, bounced back too to seal their second series win in a row, with Nat Sciver-Brunt making a second hundred in a row. And all this in front of the first full series sell-out in the history of English women’s cricket. Magic.
Oh, and the Ashes are drawn – it’s eight-all. Can we have a super game, please?
Officially, England won by 69 runs. Unofficially, they won by a country mile. Nat Sciver-Brunt made another hundred, her second on the trot. It was the slowest of all her ODI hundreds, with a strike rate of 86 rather than her usual 112+, but it held the England innings together, and Danni Wyatt came in at the end to lay on a firework display.
When Australia batted, Kate Cross took three wickets, including the huge one of Ellyse Perry, who was threatening to win the match. Cross also completed a neat run-out, started by Wyatt, which got rid of Ash Gardner just as she was running riot. All told, it was a fabulous performance by England, who shrugged off the disappointment of losing a cliff-hanger only two days ago.
ENGLAND WIN THE MATCH AND THE ODI SERIES
Jonassen c Bell b Dean 5, Australia 199 all out Another top edge, another confident catch, and England have won both the white-ball series! And Australia have lost a bilateral ODI series for the first time in ten years.
Tonight, in the end, it wasn’t even close.
35th over: Australia 197-9 (Jonassen 4, Schutt 0) Here’s a collector’s item: an innings from Megan Schutt. She has faced six balls in ODIs in the past four years, so she should be raring to go.
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WICKET! King c Jones b Bell 0 (Australia 195-9)
Another one! After that sober start, Alana King hits the booze and sends a top edge up into the clouds. When it comes down, it nestles in the gloves of Amy Jones.
34th over: Australia 192-8 (Jonassen 2, King 0) A wicket-maiden for Charlie Dean! That’s the first maiden of the innings, and she has 6-1-35-1.
WICKET!! Sutherland b Dean 18 (Australia 192-8)
The final big one! Sutherland had to stay there and run the show, but she goes about it the wrong way, taking leave of her crease and her senses, yorking herself and leaving Australia in all sorts.
33rd over: Australia 192-7 (Sutherland 17, Jonassen 2) So Sciver-Brunt gets a wicket to go with her hundred. And Australia need 77, not so much from 65 balls as from their last three wickets. A tall order, even for them.
WICKET!! Wareham st Jones b Sciver-Brunt 14 (Australia 190-7)
Make that three more England stars playing a blinder … Amy Jones pulls off another beautiful piece of work behind the stumps. Wareham hadn’t gone down the track, she’d just thought about it – and Jones whips off the bails with such glee that you just know the third umpire is going to give it out.
32nd over: Australia 189-6 (Sutherland 17, Wareham 14) Kate Cross is on course to grab the headlines from Sciver-Brunt, but two other England stars are playing a blinder here. One is Danni Wyatt, who has added a crucial run-out to her firestarter of an innings. The other is Sophie Ecclestone, who concedes only four off this over to make 21 off seven so far. She’s so good.
31st over: Australia 185-6 (Sutherland 16, Wareham 11) The church bells are pealing. Ask not for whom the bell tolls: it tolls for Nat Sciver-Brunt, England’s woman for all seasons. The batters, perhaps feeling that she must be knackered by now, go on the attack. Wareham hits a couple of twos and Sutherland finishes the over in style with a lofted straight thump. Australia need 84 from 13 overs. The rate isn’t the problem: it’s all about the wickets now.
30th over: Australia 176-6 (Sutherland 12, Wareham 6) It’s a double change as Sophie Ecclestone returns with her slow left-arm. She nearly gets Sutherland, luring her into a swing and a near-miss as the ball sidles past the off stump.
29th over: Australia 172-6 (Sutherland 11, Wareham 3) Back comes Sciver-Brunt and in comes Georgia Wareham, whose last act with the bat was to take 26 off an over in Southampton. She joins Annabel Sutherland, who put on 44 with Gardner, only eight of which came off her own bat.
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28th over: Australia 167-6 (Sutherland 8, Wareham 0) Knight had stuck with plan A and perhaps regretted it as Gardner gave Cross the same treatment as Bell, pulling for four into the gap in front of deep square, then straight-driving for four – but then came the twist. It was Danni Wyatt, fresh from her triumph in the synchronised sliding, who zipped in the throw.
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WICKET!! Gardner run out 41 (Australia 166-6)
The third big one! Gardner hesitates over a second run and the throw comes pinging in to Kate Cross, who gets the bails off in the nick of time. That is a huge moment.
27th over: Australia 155-5 (Gardner 32, Sutherland 7) Gardner is the danger woman now, and she knows it. When Bell goes full, she punches for six. When Bell drops short, she pulls for six more to bring up the 150. And then another pull for four! Gardner has 31 off 17, Bell has 6-0-48-1, and suddenly the rate required has dropped from 7.26 to 6.70.
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26th over: Australia 138-5 (Gardner 15, Sutherland 7) Knight gives Cross a seventh over. She’s sniffing more wickets, though she doesn’t have a slip, so the batters can waft with impunity outside off. Five singles off the over. Australia need 131 off 18 overs.
25th over: Australia 132-5 (Gardner 11, Sutherland 5) Dean is taken off. now that pace has made the difference. Lauren Bell comes back and Amy Jones shows her chops by standing up to both these opening bowlers. Seven off the over, which would have been nine were it not for a superb piece of teamwork on the long-leg boundary after Gardner played a pull shot. Danni Wyatt slid to her right, Tammy Beaumont slid to her left, Danni scooped the ball back to Tammy, and the pair of them took the gold medal in the synchronised sliding.
24th over: Australia 125-5 (Gardner 6, Sutherland 4) It’s not over yet, because the Aussies bat deep. Annabel Sutherland comes in at No 7 and plays a straight drive that could go straight into the next MCC coaching book, if it still exists in the age of Bazball.
WICKET!! Mooney c Ecclestone b Cross 16 (Australia 120-5)
The other big one! And again Kate Cross lures a very good player into an indiscretion. Mooney tries to chip the infield but sends a very catchable catch to mid-off, where Ecclestone makes no mistake. Cross has three for 27 and, as things stand, she is looking like the match-winner.
23rd over: Australia 120-4 (Mooney 17, Gardner 5) Knight keeps Charlie Dean on, so she hasn’t given up on off-spin altogether. Six off the over to jeep Australia ticking along
22nd over: Australia 114-4 (Mooney 15, Gardner 1) And in an instant, England are favourites.
WICKET!! Perry c Capsey b Cross 53 (Australia 113-4)
The big one! Perry goes for a chip to leg, gets a leading edge and gives a dolly of a catch to Capsey at backward point. That’s a triumph not just for Kate Cross but for Heather Knight, who brought her back to get a wicket.
Fifty to Perry!
21st over: Australia 112-3 (Perry 53, Mooney 14) It’s offies at both ends as Charlie Dean continues. A decent over that seemed to have gone for five turns out to have a late twist. The last delivery is a no-ball, and the free hit is a free gift. Perry dances down the track and smashes it for six to reach a commanding fifty – 53 off 55 balls with six fours.
20th over: Australia 100-3 (Perry 46, Mooney 10) Beth Mooney, who had made an old-school start to her innings, is immediately busier. She almost lofts a Capsey’s gentle off-break to cover, but then settles down. Mooney and Perry: this is the partnership England have to break.
Play!
The players are out there and Alice Capsey is about to resume her first over, which was rudely interrupted by the rain.
Assuming play does resume in five minutes, Australia will need another 172 off 24.4 overs. That’s seven an over, when they’ve been going at five so far. It’s on, as long as they don’t lose a couple of quick wickets. And there’s a headache for Heather Knight: only four of those 24 overs can be bowled by Sophie Ecclestone, as the limit for each bowler now goes down to nine.
“It’s not super-heavy,” says Charles Dagnell on Sky. In the month when Mick Jagger turns 80, this may be the only mention by any broadcaster of his short-lived so-called supergroup.
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This is now a 44-over match, and Australia’s target has been revised to 269. They’re 20 runs behind on Duckworth-Lewis at the moment. And it is raining, albeit softly, insidiously.
Play is due to resume at 6.50pm, which is 20 minutes from now.
The covers are coming off! Though not all that fast. The main cover, shaped like a roof, is red, and the others are white, so it looks as if a little red house has drowned in a sea of sheets.
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Something to read while we wait for the covers to come off.
Who's winning?
This is cricket, for God’s sake – nobody is winning. But … if the rain turns out to be worse than it looks (but allows another four balls), England are winning on Duckworth-Lewis. And if we get close to a full 50 overs, I’d say Australia are winning, just, because they’ve got a genius in their ranks, she’s already eased her way to 45 not out, and she has the air of a woman who will not be stopped.
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Rain stops play! Australia 97-3 in the 20th over
And they’re off, pursued by optimistic noises from the commentators. “It’s not heavy rain at all,” says Nick Knight.
“The good thing,” says Lydia Greenway, “is that it’s quite windy.”
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19th over: Australia 96-3 (Perry 44, Mooney 8) The Aussies are behind on Duckworth-Lewis and Perry seems to be aware of it. She steps out and drives Dean, hitting the ball so cleanly that extra-cover might as well not be there.
18th over: Australia 88-3 (Perry 38, Mooney 7) A rare bad ball from Ecclestone, who drags one down and sees Perry give it the treatment it deserves: an imperious pull. Ecclestone’s figures are still very good, 5-0-13-1. But it’s beginning to rain…
17th over: Australia 83-3 (Perry 33, Mooney 7) I don’t know what Charlie Dean had for drinks, but I want some. Her second over is much tighter – four dots to Mooney and then just a single to each batter.
16th over: Australia 81-3 (Perry 32, Mooney 6) After conceding three runs off her first 18 balls, Ecclestone goes for four off one. Beth Mooney, so strong on the sweep, has no trouble steering a lap past the fielder on the 45. And that’s drinks, with this game, like the one-day series, in fact the whole Ashes, beautifully poised.
15th over: Australia 76-3 (Perry 32, Mooney 1) Knight takes Sciver-Brunt off and turns to Charlie Dean, who has come in because of Sarah Glenn’s appendix (get well Sarah, in case you happen to be reading this from your hospital bed). Ellyse Perry sees the chance to lord it over Dean, playing a cover-drive for four and a square drive for two. Her 32 runs have come, ominously for England, off only 34 balls.
14th over: Australia 68-3 (Perry 25, Mooney 0) So after three overs, Sophie Ecclestone has one for three. And it turns out that those wides from Sciver-Brunt were a cunning plan, designed to get Amy Jones up to full sharpness.
WICKET! McGrath st Jones b Ecclestone 26 (Australia 68-3)
Excellence pays off! Tahlia McGrath gets frustrated, gives Ecclestone the charge, tries a big drive, misses, and sportingly walks as Amy Jones whips off the bails.
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13th over: Australia 67-2 (Perry 24, McGrath 26) After playing second fiddle for a while, Perry suddenly picks up her guitar. She plays a powerful cut off Sciver-Brunt, who rather loses her way in this over, bowling two big wides down the leg side that Amy Jones does well to gather in. Ten off the over, Australia back on top.
12th over: Australia 57-2 (Perry 18, McGrath 25) More excellence from Ecclestone, who thinks about a review for LBW as McGrath is struck in front of leg stump, but it was going down. Another one-run over, so these two have got the plug in.
11th over: Australia 56-2 (Perry 17, McGrath 25) With senior bowlers at both ends, the batters seem happy to be more circumspect. This over from Sciver-Brunt goes for three with McGrath stroking a two into the covers. She’s done well at finding the gaps from the start, whereas England didn’t really do that until Danni Wyatt came in.
10th over: Australia 53-2 (Perry 16, McGrath 23) It’s a double change as Bell gives way to Sophie Ecclestone, who may well hold the key to this game. She starts almost immaculately with five dots and a single.
9th over: Australia 52-2 (Perry 15, McGrath 23) A change of bowling as Cross is replaced by Nat Sciver-Brunt. There’s no rest for the gifted: she was out there for 43 overs with the bat, and now she’s expected to chip in with the ball. She starts well, conceding only three singles and almost getting through McGrath’s defensive prod with a nice outswinger.
8th over: Australia 49-2 (Perry 13, McGrath 22) Another cracking shot from McGrath, who gets a perfectly decent ball from Bell and cover-drives it on the up for four more. England need to get her out sharpish.
7th over: Australia 40-2 (Perry 11, McGrath 17) If you didn’t know that Perry was an all-time great, you might think McGrath was the senior partner. She has about one-eighth as many ODI runs in her locker as Perry, but she’s outscoring her two to one so far. She plays two cuts off Cross in this over that make you wonder if, in a former life, she operated the guillotine.
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6th over: Australia 32-2 (Perry 11, McGrath 9) Bell, still swinging it in, goes more fourth-stumpish, which is surely the place to be. Perry cuts one that comes in to cramp her and very nearly chops on! Next ball she plays a better shot, a crisp on-drive, which goes straight to the woman at mid-on … and straight through her. It’s Kate Cross, so maybe she was switching off between overs.
5th over: Australia 27-2 (Perry 7, McGrath 8) McGrath continues to look composed, facing Cross and playing a back-foot push into the covers with lovely timing.
“G’day, Tim!” G’day to you, Sarah Bacon. “Pre-match punditry from the on-field experts predicted a 280-300 score would be desirable from Ingerland, based on conditions/desire/all that palaver. One thing I do know is: the Aussies will want to finish this series with a bang not a whimper. I think they just need to get piling on runs ASAP ... while losing as few wickets as possible.” The eternal trade-off.
4th over: Australia 23-2 (Perry 7, McGrath 5) Bell is swinging it in to the right-hander, which is fine by Perry. As Sky show with a mini-montage, she scores twice as fast when the ball is on middle or leg than when it’s on or outside off. She plays a lofted clip for two now, but otherwise shows a bit of respect to Bell’s pace – and Australia’s predicament.
3rd over: Australia 21-2 (Perry 5, McGrath 5) England, who started with two slips, could have four now, but they opt to stick rather than twist. Cross bowls one bad ball in the over, a freebie on leg stump, and Tahlia McGrath is calm enough to clip it for four.
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WICKET! Healy b Cross 7 (Australia 15-2)
Clean bowled! Kate Cross goes full too, wobble seam I suspect, and bursts through the gate. So these two teams that are so hard to separate have both started the same way today – with not much for two.
2nd over: Australia 15-1 (Healy 7, Perry 4) Great stuff from Lauren Bell, who went full and reaped the reward. That was from round the wicket. She goes back to the umpire’s left for Ellyse Perry, strays onto leg stump, and gets clipped for four, but she won’t mind that too much.
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WICKET! Litchfield c Ecclestone b Bell 1 (Australia 10-1)
Instant breakthrough for Lauren Bell! She goes full, gets some swing, draws the nick and sees Sophie Ecclestone make a difficult low catch look easy at first slip.
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1st over: Australia 7-0 (Healy 6, Litchfield 0) Cross starts off with two slips … and three dots. But then Alyssa Healy spots a juicy half-volley and plays a cover-drive for four, with some authority. Cross sorts out her length but oversteps and hands Healy a free hit, which she slogs for two.
The players are in the middle, Jerusalem is ringing out and the shiny white ball is in the hands of Kate Cross.
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Thanks Geoff and hello everyone. What a series we have here. In fact, what a pair of series. This ODI best-of-three, the first women’s series ever to sell out in England, is poised at 1-1 and should still be in the balance as the sun sets on Taunton tonight. Then there’s the 2023 Ashes as a whole, which, with its three formats, can still end in a draw (8-8!) or an Australian win.
To manage it, the Aussies will have to all-but-surpass themselves: even with all their ODI victories, they have only once chased as many as 286. After consulting TimViz – just like WinViz, but unencumbered by data – I’d say they were favourites, if only just. Back in a few minutes to see how they go.
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Well @GeoffLemonSport, as much as I'm gutted we couldn't quite squeak it in Sunday, this has been a vintage Ashes. You just want England to nick yr final win. A few chances another way and they could have won the series. They know they can beat this side though, huge for 2025.
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) July 18, 2023
Australia must chase 286 to win
So it’s a tall target. England fell just short of 283 in Southampton, now Australia need 286 here. Their three biggest chases historically are 275, 280 and 289. So it has been done, but only once.
On the other hand, maybe England’s score is a bit short of where it should have been. Sciver-Brunt was outstanding again, but the Australians got through a few too many low-scoring overs near the end, taking regular wickets to keep the runs down. Setting Australia 300 would have been a statement.
Much to do here at Taunton, and much to come. Your companion for all of that will be Tim de Lisle.
WICKET! Cross b Jonassen 4, England 285-9
50th over: England 285-9 (Ecclestone 10) Total free hit for Cross from the last ball of the match, and she misses it while two metres out of her ground, swinging for the fences, would have stumped if she wasn’t bowled first. She had already whacked two to midwicket the previous ball, after three singles.
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49th over: England 280-8 (Ecclestone 8, Cross 1) Australia have put the clamps on at the end. Two runs from the bat and a wicket from the 49th, though four byes help England along.
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WICKET! Dean lbw Gardner 2, England 274-8
Can’t keep Gardner out of the action. Straight break from over the wicket, nice loop beats Dean’s sweep shot in the air, plays over it and is hit in front. Umpire Harris thinks there is an under edge, and there is a sound burble on the soundwave graph when the Australian’s review, but there’s also a big gap between bat and pad from side on. Hitting right in front.
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48th over: England 274-7 (Ecclestone 7, Dean 2) Time for someone else to step up, and Ecclestone clobbers one! Slog sweep, six into the stands. Tries again, top edge this time, and Gardner rushing in dives full length forward, leaving drag marks in the turf like a plane without landing gear, and can’t quite fingertip it! Ecclestone gets a run.
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WICKET! Sciver-Brunt c Gardner b Jonassen 129, England 265-7
Finally she falls! Huge ovation from the Taunton crowd as she walks off. Incredible innings, in an incredible run of them. Sciver-Brunt takes on Jonassen, hits it hard and flat but the pockets of the ground are sizeable and out there is the best deep midwicket in the business, Ash Gardner. Takes it easy as switching off a light. Goodnight.
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47th over: England 261-6 (Sciver-Brunt 125, Ecclestone 0) Another Gardner over without much damage, only five from it, plus the run out.
WICKET! Jones run out 6, England 258-6
Nasty one for Alana King, fielding at short third. Jones plays a reverse sweep and it takes an awkward bounce, hits King’s hands and deflects into her face. I think she’s largely ok but she goes off with the physio for a concussion check. But it works out for Australia: Darcie Brown comes on fresh as the substitute, and produces a direct hit at the non-striker’s end.
Team play from Jones, in the end. She hits it towards cover point, and there’s not really a run there but Sciver-Brunt sets off immediately. Jones doesn’t, and then realises that one of them is going to be dismissed. So she sacrifices her wicket to leave the powerhouse out there. Could have been more alert to start with, not sure if she called audibly, but it was her call to make if she did.
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46th over: England 256-5 (Sciver-Brunt 122, Jones 4) England’s keeper Amy Jones is out there now, gets a single first ball which is her job for the time being. Sciver-Brunt baseballs Jonassen for a fast-run two to deep midwicket, then can’t beat the fielder at deep backward square. Jones skews away a sweep shot in that direction but gets away with it, landing just short of the attempted catch. Jonassen yorks the unrushing Sciver-Brunt, twice, who digs out the ball but can’t score.
45th over: England 251-5 (Sciver-Brunt 119, Jones 2) Now that Sciver-Brunt has had seven overs for a relative breather, she resumes command. Backs away from Gardner’s line, scorches a cover drive past the diving infielder for four!
WICKET! Wyatt b Gardner 43, England 244-5
How often, when Australia need something, is it Gardner? If Wyatt can square drive a spinner for six, then she can be yorked by one. She is, trying a late cut to a ball hitting the base of middle stump. Unorthodox, and it doesn’t work. But with 43 from 25 balls she has already done her job.
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44th over: England 244-4 (Sciver-Brunt 114, Wyatt 43) And Danni Wyatt just keeps on going! King the bowler, Wyatt goes a big sweep and nails it over square leg for six more! Next ball, the line has shifted outside off, so she slashes it between the two fielders behind point for four. Cuts two more, then a single. This all looks life fun, says Natalie, who sweeps four for herself. Eighteen from the over!
43rd over: England 226-4 (Sciver-Brunt 109, Wyatt 30) Strap yourself in! What a shot that is from Danni Wyatt! Sees width from Gardner, flings her hands at it like she’s in a boxing simulator, and slashes a square drive for six. Serious elevation over backward point and it still carries the distance. That is an extraordinary shot, the physics alone seem impossible. Incredible performance already – when the other player has a century and is starting to tire, this is exactly what a team needs.
42nd over: England 219-4 (Sciver-Brunt 108, Wyatt 24) Flight from Wareham, Sciver-Brunt comes down the track, gets a bit nervous, chips a drive over cover for two. Wide of Perry who is running around from long of. Aims a sweep, misses, but it’s going down leg side when it htis pad. Charges again, drives one along the ground. Wyatt isn’t here to nudge though: cuts two, drives four inside out over cover! The vintage Wyatt shot there, though usually to pace rather than spin. She’s playing the perfect hand.
41st over: England 210-4 (Sciver-Brunt 105, Wyatt 18) Clean timing from Wyatt. That’s the shot she got out to in the Test match, opening the face to width and slicing it behind point. That time the fielder was further around and caught it easily, this time the fielder is squarer and Wayatt gets four from McGrath. A double of doubles too, with a square drive and a pull. She’s busy.
40th over: England 198-4 (Sciver-Brunt 105, Wyatt 6) Four more for Sciver-Brunt from Wareham, down low and sweeping hard, beats the boundary rider into the fence behind square. The century-maker looks to be enjoying herself, big smiles out there.
There have been 27 centuries - total - made against Australia in women's ODIs.
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) July 18, 2023
Nat Sciver-Brunt has made four of those in her last five innings.
Century! Nat Sciver-Brunt 100 from 126 balls
39th over: England 192-4 (Sciver-Brunt 100, Wyatt 5) Gets the century! Back to back in the series! Nobody has done that to Australia before except… Nat Sciver-Brunt in the World Cup last year. Leg glances four to reach 99, then takes a run off the pads for the triple figs.
38th over: England 186-4 (Sciver-Brunt 94, Wyatt 4) Here’s Danni Wyatt, immediately playing the scoop to King, getting a couple of runs there, racing singles. This should be fun.
WICKET! Capsey c Sutherland b Jonassen 5, England 178-4
37th over: England 178-4 (Sciver-Brunt 91) Has a mandate to go for it, and she does. But that’s the difficulty in hitting someone with Jonassen’s trajectory. Capsey hits it hard and straight, gets some elevation, but not enough. You need such power to clear long on. Instead it lands in the fielder’s hands.
That’s the last ball of the over, one that started with Sciver playing a much better shot, a straight-arm lift over wide long on that skipped over one bounce for four.
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36th over: England 173-3 (Sciver-Brunt 86, Capsey 5) The break ends, and Sciver-Brunt is still not comfortable against King’s leg spin. Plays straight for none, three balls in a row, then hits a single to deep midwicket. Capsey by contrast shuffles and drives a run first ball she faces.
35th over: England 170-3 (Sciver-Brunt 84, Capsey 4) Here’s Jonassen, belatedly. Bowled the matchwinning, Ashes-clinching 50th over in Southampton. Will if plans go as intended bowl through to the end of this innings, presumably. Two runs from this over. Drinks.
34th over: England 168-3 (Sciver-Brunt 83, Capsey 3) Harder to time the leggies! First it’s a big under edge facing King, hard into the ground. Then it’s the ball going over the top edge. Two cut shots, two times close to losing her wicket. Sciver-Brunt resets, gets on the front foot, pats the ball away. King bowls a maiden.
33rd over: England 168-3 (Sciver-Brunt 83, Capsey 3) Spanked! Not exactly short from Schutt, just back of a length, but Sciver-Brunt hits it sweetly through wide long on, beating the boundary rider to the straight side. Keeps churning the singles, keeps building that score.
32nd over: England 160-3 (Sciver-Brunt 77, Capsey 1) Alice Capsey to the middle, gets off the mark, then Sciver-Brunt gets a full toss looping into her pad on the line of leg stump but can’t hit it, beaten in the air. It hasn’t been easy for her today, she’s 77 from 100 balls faced.
WICKET! Knight b King 67, England 159-3
It’s a chess move! Knight falls to King. Comes down the track, eyeing off that midwicket rope again, but King has skidded this through, gaining help from the surface. Knight is not to the pitch and plays over the top of it, and the trajectory is flat at middle stump.
31st over: England 158-2 (Knight 67, Sciver-Brunt 76) England’s batters trading boundaries! Schutt comes back on, Sciver_Brunt threads a drive through long on, then night produces equally precise placement to go through backward point! They’re right on top here.
30th over: England 149-2 (Knight 63, Sciver-Brunt 71) No Perry with the ball at all today, and no Jonassen. The former choice less strange than the latter. Jonassen the best containing bowler more often than not, and whatever happens from here she won’t be bowling all ten of her overs. King returns for Sutherland, driven for a couple of singles to long off, then Sciver-Brunt sweeps hard for four!
29th over: England 141-2 (Knight 61, Sciver-Brunt 65) Gardner is doing a fine job again. Sciver-Brunt is very careful, hesitant in working out where to work the ball. Even a low full toss, she sweeps but finds short fine leg. Knight is more proactive with her feet, making room to drive from the stumps to the off side, but finds cover. Two from the over, one of them a bye, and Garder has 1 for 18 after six.
28th over: England 139-2 (Knight 61, Sciver-Brunt 64) There’s the old wisdom about taking the singles: keep doing it and the boundary balls will come along. Sutherland bowls a bad one, short and down leg side, allowing Sciver-Brunt to pump the pull shot behind square for four, and retake the lead from Knight.
That’s first ball of the over. A wide to follow and Sutherland is under pressure, and under pressure she oversteps! Another free hit. Sutherland is chatting with Perry at the top of her mark. The free hit is wide of off. Knight swings her hardest, top edge to short third, caught but conceding a run rather than sparking celebrations.
That’s the third Sutherland over today that has gone for 9 runs.
27th over: England 130-2 (Knight 60, Sciver-Brunt 58) Gardner returns. We’re in the holding pattern overs, but Australia need a wicket. This score is already a hell of a lunch pad. England play the percentages, knocking into gaps for five singles.
Knight still in front on the scoreboard.
26th over: England 125-2 (Knight 58, Sciver-Brunt 55) Back in the present now. Ash Gardner: gun. Past, present, future. Comes flying across fromd eep midwicket to dive and save a pull at deep square leg, denying Knight two runs. Keeps the Sutherland over to four, with a couple of singles. England going at 4.81, just past halfway.
Half century! Knight 53 from 50 balls
25th over: England 121-2 (Knight 55, Sciver-Brunt 54) Matching half-centuries for England’s captain and vice-captain, as Knight gets a leg glance from McGrath away for four. Then to compound Australia’s problems, Sciver-Brunt is dropped. Heaves across the line, mistimed back at McGrath, and straight out of her hands. Not a difficult caught and bowled chance, it wasn’t middled at her.
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Half century! Sciver-Brunt 50 from 73 balls
24th over: England 113-2 (Knight 49, Sciver-Brunt 52) There she goes! Something has to give, and Sciver-Brunt comes down to Wareham and drags four runs over midwicket. Not her most fluent but it’ll do, raises her fifty. Much better timing when Knight comes on strike though, and spanks the ball over midwicket for six!
23rd over: England 100-2 (Knight 42, Sciver-Brunt 46) Tahlia McGrath doing a fine job, four overs for a dozen runs after this one. The hundred up for England.
22nd over: England 97-2 (Knight 41, Sciver-Brunt 44) Nat Sciver-Brunt can’t get the hang of Wareham yet. Comes on strike after one ball, and takes five of them to find a run. That’s 11 balls for a single from the one bowler.
21st over: England 95-2 (Knight 40, Sciver-Brunt 43) McGrath keeps the scoring slow with three singles, including one that yields a direct hit at the non-striker’s end. Sciver-Brunt is safe.
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20th over: England 92-2 (Knight 38, Sciver-Brunt 42) Just lost our connection to the OBO mothership for a minute there, bear with us while we time travel. Space warp activated… Wareham gets her figures back on track with six dot balls to Sciver-Brunt who tries to beat the field a few times and can’t.
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19th over: England 92-2 (Knight 38, Sciver-Brunt 42) McGrath with a tidy over worth two runs, but the partnership is up to 80 and this is a terrific base.
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18th over: England 90-2 (Knight 37, Sciver-Brunt 41) The partnership is worth 72, England’s two leaders have been impressive. Georgia Wareham comes on, took the first wicket to fall in Southampton to start unravelling England’s chase. Skiddier sort of leg spinner than King. Tidy enough over but there’s one bad ball that goes for four, England have been very good at picking off boundaries consistently, and Knight pulls the short ball away.
17th over: England 84-2 (Knight 32, Sciver-Brunt 40) Tahlia McGrath with some medium pace, as Australia keep changing styles. England going just under five an over. Four singles here, using gaps in the leg side. Drinks.
16th over: England 80-2 (Knight 30, Sciver-Brunt 38) Go time for Nat Sciver-Brunt! Doesn’t want to let the leggies set the tone. Comes down the pitch to King and drop-kicks her over midwicket for four, then repeats the does a few balls later and this time lands it on the boundary rope on the full. Six! And goes back past Heather Knight on the scoreboard.
15th over: England 68-2 (Knight 29, Sciver-Brunt 27) Nearly a stumping! Looks out at first, in real time, but the replays show that Sciver-Brunt has just got her toe back inside her ground in time. Gardner drew her into the drive and got a straight ball past the bat. Survives.
14th over: England 63-2 (Knight 26, Sciver-Brunt 25) Bold from Knight, the last ball of the King over again, skips down and bangs it over mid off for four. After three singles that makes it a good over for England. Knight goes back past Sciver-Brunt in the run race.
13th over: England 56-2 (Knight 21, Sciver-Brunt 23) Ash Gardner comes back, spin from both ends. Alternating, flatter trajectory then a little more air. Jonassen at midwicket gets a gee-up from her captain Healy after not hurling herself at the ball to stop one run. When Gardner flights the ball, Sciver-Brunt gets cautious. Four singles from the over.
12th over: England 52-2 (Knight 19, Sciver-Brunt 21) Leg spin for the first of 20 overs today, Alana King with the ball in hand. Bowls a good one to Sciver-Brunt, past the edge, but the batter ends the over with a powerful straight drive for four.
11th over: England 47-2 (Knight 18, Sciver-Brunt 17) Vote of confidence, Sutherland gets a fourth over despite being expensive in her previous today. Alternates between bowling at the thigh pad and bowling a bit outside off stump, keeps the scoring to four singles.
10th over: England 43-2 (Knight 16, Sciver-Brunt 15) And again it’s Schutt to turn the tap off. Flow and constriction. Three singles from her over, mainly when she gets a bit too short and they can play into leg side.
9th over: England 40-2 (Knight 15, Sciver-Brunt 13) Runs off Sutherland again, both batters lining her up. Sciver-Brunt does so by using her feet to make some space and hitting back down the ground. Knight gets a fuller ball and drives it immaculately.
8th over: England 31-2 (Knight 11, Sciver-Brunt 8) Stacked leg side field for Megan Schutt, two midwickets and a mid on as well as a deep midwicket and a fine leg, allowing her to swing in and target the stumps. It works, two runs and a wide from the over.
7th over: England 28-2 (Knight 10, Sciver-Brunt 7) Sutherland bowls an early no ball, giving up a free hit. Knight has already taken a single, so Sciver-Brunt gets to face it, smashes it to cover, but Litchfield pulls off a great save to keep four runs to one. Then once she’s back on strike, luck with the batter as she edges past her stumps for four. Over the stumps, really. Then a leading edge into space! Short of Litchfield, who has been busy. Useful over for England.
6th over: England 19-2 (Knight 8, Sciver-Brunt 1) Confident boundary for Knight to start the Schutt over, a ball wide enough to step into a square drive. A couple of singles to follow, Sciver-Brunt off the mark.
5th over: England 13-2 (Knight 3, Sciver-Brunt 0) Gardner out of the attack, Sutherland in for some medium pace, and after Knight turns over the strike, Gardner comes in to a silly mid on position. Interesting. Four balls to Sciver-Brunt who is just playing straight and can’t score.
4th over: England 12-2 (Knight 2, Sciver-Brunt 0) Poor start from England. The century-maker from Southampton comes to the crease early. Please save the day again, Natalie.
WICKET! Beaumont b Schutt 4, England 12-2
Risky shot to start from Beaumont, shovelled in the air through midwicket where Tahlia McGrath is not quite close enough to take a catch. Gardner dives to save at midwicket but gets tangled and is touching the rope. But those four runs are all that Beaumont will score today, as she swings across the line and is beaten by inswing, Schutt pegging back the stumps as she has done so often before.
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3rd over: England 8-1 (Beaumont 0, Knight 2) Gardner finishes the over, conceding only two runs to a Heather Knight drive. So that’s 1 for 3 from Gardner’s two overs.
Apparently some absurdly detailed bag-checking at Taunton means that much of the sold-out crowd is still outside the ground waiting to get in. Not surprising, the situation was similarly ridiculous at Bristol. Nobody can actually explain what all of the checks are in aid of – is the cricket Taunton a high-profile target for splinter cells? Is there a huge problem with drunks hurling vodka bottles onto the pitch at women’s ODIs?
WICKET! Dunkley c Litchfield b Gardner 2, England 6-1
Another poor score from Dunkley, using her to open the batting hasn’t worked in this series. Huge swing across the line at the spinner, hitting it way up in the air and Litchfield tracking back from cover takes a tricky catch.
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2nd over: England 6-0 (Dunkley 2, Beaumont 0) Megan Schutt to partner Gardner with the new ball, so often a menace with huge inswing. Dunkley tries to get creative from the second ball of the over, misses the paddle but the ball hits her pad and goes away for four leg byes. The shot doesn’t work but it’s a win on the scoreboard.
1st over: England 1-0 (Dunkley 1, Beaumont 0) Ash Gardner opening the bowling. Off spin to start, as Australia did in Southampton, with usual opening pace bowler Darcie Brown left out. Dunkley starts in sketchy fashion, chipping a shot close to the bowler, and takes five balls to scurry a single to midwicket.
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Players onto the field, let’s go…
Australia might partly fancy chasing in case rain plays a part – it’s generally easier in a DLS-adjusted game to be on the batting side and bat knowing the task ahead. The Met forecast though looks pretty decent for the time being, fingers crossed.
Teams
One change for England, finger spin from Charlie Dean coming into the side in the place of leg spin from Sarah Glenn. Australia go unchanged. Surprising England haven’t used either of their true pace options, Issy Wong or Lauren Filer, at all in this series. But then, pace off has been effective.
England
Tammy Beaumont
Sophia Dunkley
Heather Knight *
Alice Capsey
Nat Sciver-Brunt
Danni Wyatt +
Amy Jones
Sophie Ecclestone
Charlie Dean
Kate Cross
Lauren Bell
Australia
Alyssa Healy + *
Phoebe Litchfield
Ellyse Perry
Beth Mooney
Tahlia McGrath
Ash Gardner
Annabel Sutherland
Alana King
Jess Jonassen
Georgia Wareham
Megan Schutt
Australia win the toss and will bowl
The coin flips Australia’s way, and after successfully defending in Southampton and unsuccessfully defending in Bristol, they will chase in Taunton.
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For all of the Australians staying up late through this northern summer, Della has been on the case to find out how best to do it. England residents can file away notes for the next southern Ashes.
I had a look at Australia’s double-leg-spin selection, one that they didn’t use in Bristol but corrected to great effect in Southampton.
Also if you’re a podcast type, there’s my Final Word Daily wrap with your other OBO buddy Adam Collins.
If you want to catch up on that last epic – the highest-scoring women’s ODI in history, with a three-run difference at the end – here is Raf Nicholson’s report.
Preamble
And so we arrive at this. Ten days of brilliant cricket across three formats for the Women’s Ashes series of 2023, one that must take the mantle as the best we’ve seen, once you combine the quality of the play with the closeness of the results. Now there’s one more day to decide the series scoreline.
Yes, Australia retained the trophy by winning the previous ODI at Southampton – a match that could have been England’s until the very last ball was bowled. Nat Sciver-Brunt again got to feel the hollowness of outplaying everybody with a dramatic hundred and yet falling just short of the green and gold.
But a trophy retention does not give Australia a series win, and England could yet deny them that. The series is 6-8 in favour of the visitors on points, so a win here for England would mean a tie. Australia, as we saw when that same scenario played out in 2018, would hate that.
Don’t expect any letting up, then. There is a risk that England might be deflated, emotionally hollow after a comeback streak that reached three matches in a row and so very nearly added the fourth. But both teams will desperately want to win this one, to stamp their own version of events on the eventual scoreline.
