As far as reactions go to forgoing the Ashes, England’s response on Sunday evening, after Australia pipped them at the post in the Southampton ODI by a mere three runs, was oddly upbeat. First, Heather Knight gave a chirpy press conference, during which she proclaimed the series “the best there’s ever been in the history of the women’s game”. Then, aboard the team bus, her teammates spent the journey to Taunton eating cake in celebration of Sophia Dunkley’s 25th birthday. “We put some music on and tried to enjoy the moment,” Nat Sciver-Brunt said.
English cricket’s current philosophical dilemma – encompassing both “Jonball” and its male equivalent, “Bazball” – is whether, as long as you entertain the public along the way, winning actually matters. Over the past four weeks, England have consistently squared up to the previously invincible Australia, generating six unforgettable games of white-ball cricket, plus a five-day Test during which Tammy Beaumont became the first English player in 89 years of women’s Test cricket to breach the double-hundred barrier.
