Tag: England women vs Australia women

Ashleigh Gardner took eight wickets in England’s second innings as Australia’s women secured victory in the one-off Ashes Test match by 89 runs on Monday.

Chasing the highest run chase in women’s Test history of 268 to win, England were all out for 178 as Ashleigh Gardner took all five wickets to fall on the final day.

Defeat at Trent Bridge gives England a mountain to climb if they are to reclaim the Ashes.

Australia’s Women’s Ashes win is worth four points in the multi-format series with three one-day internationals and T20 matches to come, each worth two points.

The Australians are world champions in both white-ball formats and also proved just too good with the red ball after a tight contest that went all five days in front of record crowds for a women’s Test in England.

Ashleigh Gardner’s three wickets towards the end of play on Sunday left England up against it at 116-5 overnight.

The hosts added 25 to their tally before Kate Cross edged behind off Gardner.

Amy Jones added just four before she was stumped but Danni Wyatt’s half-century got the target down to double figures with three wickets still in hand.

However, those final three wickets fell for just three runs as Gardner removed Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer and Wyatt for figures of 8-66 in the innings and 12-165 in the match.

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Ashleigh Gardner left England in a spin to give Australia the advantage in the lone Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge.

Ashleigh Gardner captured three top-order wickets as England reached the close of Sunday’s fourth day on 116-5.

That left England needing a further 152 to reach a victory target of 268 on Monday’s final day.

Australia require just five more wickets having removed England’s top order, several of whom — including first-innings double-century maker Tammy Beaumont — succumbed to Gardner as the off-spinner returned  3-33 in nine overs.

Ashleigh Gardner, 26, also dismissed star all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt and England captain Heather Knight before stumps.

“Ash has been amazing. Her off-spin bowling has been great,” Australia opener Beth Mooney, who top-scored with 85 in the Ashes-holders second-innings 257, told the BBC.

“She’s an absolute game-changer for us.”

Earlier, England left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone took her second five-wicket haul of the Test to finish with the remarkable match figures of 10-192 from 77.1 overs.

But she could only watch as England suffered a top-order collapse, with four wickets lost in 29 balls as her side slumped to 73-4.

England will look to Danni Wyatt (20 not out) and nightwatch Kate Cross (five not out).

“We have to believe we can win tomorrow,” Ecclestone told Sky Sports. “I think if I hit the winning runs that will top it off! We need Kate Cross and Danni Wyatt to keep batting.”

She added: “Hopefully we can put Australia under pressure and go at them.”

Unlike the ongoing five-Test men’s Ashes, the women’s series is a multi-format contest.

Victory in the Test is worth four points, and a win in each of the three subsequent three one-day internationals and three Twenty20s two points, with Australia the world champions in both white-ball formats.

Emma Lamb and Beaumont, whose 208 in the first innings was the highest individual Test score for England Women, made a solid start to the chase.

But the introduction of Ashleigh Gardner turned the tide in Australia’s favour.

Gardner had Beaumont nicking to slip for 22 and Sciver-Brunt top-edging to short leg before removing the experienced Knight, lbw for just nine, with a sharply turning delivery.

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Tammy Beaumont hit an unbeaten 100 as England reached 218-2 at the close of the second day’s play to leave the one-off women’s Test against Australia delicately poised at Trent Bridge on Friday.

Earlier, Annabel Sutherland hit 137 not out as Australia were bowled out for 473.

But the visitors hopes of taking a sizeable first innings lead were halted by Beaumont, who became just the fourth England player in either the men’s or women’s game to score an international century in Test, one day and T20 cricket.

“I think it’s finely balanced. I think it’s a very good batting wicket, if two people get in it’s very hard to get them out,” said Beaumont.

“I don’t think I batted my best, I was stubborn, which (captain) Heather Knight has called me for years.”

Aussie all-rounder Sutherland continued her fine match with the ball as she took the wicket of Emma Lamb for 10.

But after Knight departed for 57, a partnership of 67 between Natalie Sciver-Brunt (41 not out) and Beaumont kept the hosts in the match.

Australia resumed on 328-7 overnight and tailenders Alana King (21) and Kim Garth (22) did their bit to aid Sutherland in posting the sixth-highest total in the history of women’s Test cricket.

England spinner Sophie Ecclestone took 5-129 in 46.2 overs, her first five-wicket haul in Tests.

The five-day match is part of a multi-format Ashes series including three Twenty20 matches and three one-day internationals.

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BRENTFORD: Australia upset England women 2-0 in a friendly at Brentford on Tuesday, to end the Lionesses’ 30-match unbeaten streak.

Sam Kerr, who plays for nearby Chelsea in the English Super League, gave the injury-hit Matildas a first-half lead and Charlotte Grant added the second after the break.

For European champions England, who beat Brazil on penalties to win the inaugural women’s Finalissima at Wembley last week, it was the last warm-up game before the World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.

The Lionesses begin their campaign against Haiti in Brisbane on July 22.

Kerr, who was rested for Australia’s loss to Scotland on Friday, pounced on a weak back header by Leah Williamson to lob England goalkeeper Mary Earps after 32 minutes.

Kerr turned provider in the 67th minute sending in a cross that Grant headed in off the unlucky Williamson for a first international goal.

“It doesn’t feel great. A big learning game against a very physical and well-organised Australian side,” said Sarina Wiegman, after her first defeat as England coach.

“We made some mistakes,” she added.

In Le Mans in France, the hosts beat Olympic champions Canada 2-1 as coach Herve Renard continued his winning start as coach.

Tamires and Ary Borges scored in the first half as Brazil rebounded from their defeat at Wembley to beat Germany, second on FIFA’s women’s rankings, 2-1, in Nuremberg

Third-ranked Sweden drew 3-3 with Norway in Gothenburg. Olivia Schough gave the hosts the lead a minute into added time but Frida Maanum levelled with her second of the game, six minutes later.

Norwegian star Ada Hegerberg who refused to play in the last World Cup, limped off after 29 minutes.

Spain, ranked eighth, and Netherlands, ranked ninth, both enjoyed three-goal victories.

Spain beat China 3-0 on Ibiza and the Dutch beat Poland 4-1 in Rotterdam.

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