England resumed their second innings on 116/5, needing a further 152 runs to win, with Danni Wyatt (20*) and Kate Cross (5*) at the crease in the one-off Test of the Women’s Ashes 2023 one-off Test.
The duo added rapid runs to get their team off to a good start. After adding 15 runs on the day, the partnership was snuffed out by Ashleigh Gardner, who caught Cross (13) behind for England’s sixth wicket.
Amy Jones came in next, but she couldn’t do much because Gardner stumped her for the second blow of the day. Meanwhile, Wyatt resumed her courageous knock and struggled for help at the other end. She hit her half-century through the first session, providing the sole chance for her team as England needed another 100 runs to win.
Sophie Ecclestone looked steady at the crease as she and Wyatt contributed 24 runs for the eighth wicket. She did, however, succumb to Gardner’s wrath, getting out for ten. The off-spinner resumed her onslaught, taking her seventh wicket by knocking out Lauren Filer’s stumps.
Wyatt couldn’t do much with wickets tumbling all around her and fell victim to Gardner, who put the last nail in her side’s coffin, and as a result, Wyatt was out for 54 and England was bowled out for 178 in the one-off Women’s Ashes 2023 Test.
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Australia won by 89 runs, as Ashleigh Gardner concluded her 20-over performance with figures of 8/66. In the first innings, the off-spinner hauled up 4/99 in 25.2 overs and scored 40 (76).
Beth Mooney, Australia’s opening batter, lauded Ashleigh Gardner’s perseverance in establishing herself as Australia’s best choice. The 26-year-old has been a significant role in Australia’s bowling department in the Women’s Ashes 2023 one-off Test match.
She single-handedly annihilated England’s batting order, eliminating Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight, and Nat Sciver-Brunt. Mooney praised the spinner for her phenomenal work with the ball right through the match after witnessing it firsthand.
Amy Jones charged past as Ashleigh Gardner sent down her arm ball, and the ball bounced off Alyssa Healy’s ravaged hands, onto her chest, and into the gloves, Australia’s tough-as-nails wicketkeeper twirling off the bails as Jones ended up traipsing back to the pavilion.
Gardner’s fifth of a sensational eight wickets for the day came after she had been instrumental in putting the visitors ahead at Trent Bridge setting into the fifth and final day of a stimulating Women’s Ashes Test. It was also a watershed moment in this match, in which Australia triumphed by 89 runs to gain four critical series points in Women’s Ashes 2023.
Despite fractures to her left index finger and right ring finger sustained during Australia’s warm-up match, Healy brushed off Gardner, and the latter didn’t stop there, taking 8 for 66 in the innings to finish with 12 wickets throughout the fixture, the best Women’s Test come back for Australia and second-best overall.
Jones’ departure for four runs left England’s only recognised batter, Danni Wyatt, at the crease opposite Sophie Ecclestone, with 117 runs still needed to wrap up the biggest triumphant run chase in Women’s Test history. And, after reaching her half-century on debut, Wyatt was the last wicket to go – to none other than Gardner, who went back into the dugout for 54.
Wyatt had kept the runs coming after restarting on 20 with England 116 for 5 and 152 to go. She seized on some width left by Tahlia McGrath, swinging to the rope over cover and hammering Kim Garth past the gully, then whipped Gardner’s shorter throw away for a single.
Gardner wiped out the potential hazards of first-innings double-centurion Tammy Beaumont, skipper Heather Knight, and the lethal Nat Sciver Brunt in a remarkable spell of three scalps worth nine runs in 17 balls on Sunday evening.
And it was her flawless lengths and line outside off stump that turned lethal on the last morning. She encouraged Kate Cross, the night watcher who was unbroken on 5 overnight, to drive, and she agreed but only made it to Healy.
Ecclestone, who was instrumental in keeping England in the game with her 10 wickets throughout the match (two five-wicket hauls), was caught behind as Gardner shifted to delivering round the wicket.
After banishing Lauren Filer for a duck, the Australia allrounder whacked Wyatt on the pad as she made an attempt to sweep. Gardner finished with 4 for 99 in England’s first innings, during which they relinquished a 10-run lead to Australia. The Australians had set England a target of 268 to win, which would have broken England’s own record for the best fourth-innings total of 245 for 9 following last year’s thrilling draw in Canberra.
Gardner, however, made sure that wasn’t the case, as Australia ended a record of six draws in Tests dating back to 2015 in a fine advert for playing over five days rather than four. As the one-off Test comes to an end with Australia concluding things up in style and bagging 4 golden points and an early breakthrough in the series, let’s have a look at the play that took place earlier this day.
After losing openers Phoebe Litchfield (23) and Beth Mooney (33), Australia batted first and relied on Ellyse Perry and Tahlia McGrath to calm the ship. Perry and McGrath led Australia to 200 runs with a 119-run stand that ended when McGrath retired on 61 (83).
England capitalised on their opportunity to select wickets in clusters, knocking Jess Jonassen (11), Alyssa Healy (0), and Perry (99), limiting Australia from 202/3 to 238/6.
The game was taken away from England by Annabel Sutherland’s counterattack, who batted at number 8 and hit an undefeated 137* from 184 balls. Sutherland was helped by Ashleigh Gardner (40) and the tailenders (47), who helped Australia register a massive first-innings total of 473. The highlights of England’s bowling were Sophie Ecclestone’s 5-fer and Lauren Filer’s debut heroics.
Australia gained an early wicket but failed to capitalise as England’s Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont established the tone with a solid 115-run stand. Following Knight being dismissed for 57, Nat Sciver-Brunt took over and delivered an amazing inning of 71(111) as England approached the 300-run milestone.
READ MORE: Women’s Ashes 2023: “A Bit Of A Bummer” – Ellyse Perry On Getting Out For 99
Sophia Dunkley was dismissed for 9 runs, but Danni Wyatt, making her debut, responded with a quickfire 44 runs off 49 balls, whilst Beaumont kept pounding the Australian bowlers at the other end in the one-off Women’s Ashes 2023 Test.
Wyatt eventually left with 390 on the board, and England’s lower-middle order and tailenders made small contributions. Beaumont, who remained focused and aggressive throughout, guided England to a total of 463.
She was the very last one to leave, having scored 208 runs off 331 balls. Tahlia McGrath and Ashleigh Gardner’s late contributions were lucrative for Australia, as they split seven wickets between them.
Australia started the second innings with a 10-run lead, and its openers, Phoebe (46) and Mooney (99) combined for a good 99-run partnership. However, just as Ellyse Perry appeared to be settling in, she was removed for 25, precipitating an uncharacteristic collapse that saw the side fall from 149/2 to 198/7 in the Women’s Ashes 2023 one-off Test.
In this desperate scenario, skipper Alyssa Healy sprang up and rescued her team out of trouble with a crucial 50 off 62 balls, helping Australia conclude the second innings with a total of 257. Sophie Ecclestone once again led England’s bowling assault with a 5-fer, while Filer and Bell also contributed with a pair of wickets each.
England’s 267-run chase got off to a good start with a 55-run opening stand. However, Beaumont (22) shortly followed Emma’s removal for 28. England’s plight worsened when Nat Sciver was caught for a duck and Knight scored only 9 runs from 17 balls. When Sophia Dunkley’s innings concluded with 16 off 39, England was 5 down for 110 runs.
England finished the day on 116/5 in the Women’s Ashes 2023 one-off Test, with Kate Cross (5*) and Danni Wyatt (20*) fighting for their lives on the pitch. The aim of victory remains elusive, with 153 runs needed, and the threat of defeat remains, with only five wickets remaining.
With this victory in the one-off Test of Women’s Ashes 2023, Australia got off to a great start in their Ashes 2023 campaign, earning four points. The two teams will also face off in a three-match ODI series and a five-match T20I series, with a win counting two points in each series.
The side with the most points at the end of the series will claim the Women’s Ashes in 2023. If neither team fails to finish with equal points, Australia will retain the Ashes as the previous edition’s winner.
Women’s Ashes 2023 – One-off Test Brief Scores:
Australia 473 (Annabel Sutherland 137, Ellyse Perry 99; Sophie Ecclestone 5-129) & 258 (Beth Mooney 85, Alyssa Healy 50; Sophie Ecclestone 5-63) beat England 463 (Tammy Beaumont 208, Nat Sciver-Brunt 78; Ashleigh Gardner 4-99, Tahlia McGrath 3-24) & 178 (Danielle Wyatt 54; Ashleigh Gardner 8-66) by 89 runs.
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