The chase by England’s skipper is perfect, scoring 75* to tie the multi-format series.
England’s two-wicket victory in the first ODI at Bristol has tied the women’s Ashes at six apiece. And they accomplished this by winning their highest-ever 50-over chase, handing Australia their third straight loss—something they haven’t had since February 2016. After winning the Test match and first T20I, Australia led 6-0, but three straight victories brought England back on par with two left to play. And to see how much this meant and how much England had done to save the Ashes, all you had to do was see the typically composed Heather Knight throw her bat away after hitting the winning boundary through cover-point and embrace her partner Kate Cross. To reach their objective of 264, Knight had to put on a one-woman show, as seen by her undefeated 75. Cross strode out to pull, drive, and even scoop her way to 19, not out, as the victory was gained with 11 deliveries to spare just as she was running out of partners, on the other hand, to exist with her merely.
As usual in nervous affairs, errors abounded. They are primarily from the hosts. Australia’s innings contained seven squandered opportunities in total. On her way to 81 not out, Beth Mooney received two gifts, enabling Alyssa Healy’s team to post 263 for 8. It appeared to be above average, and when England threw away a quick start of 103 for 1 in the 13th over, retaining the Ashes trophy and some reflection on how Knight’s team let it slip away looked likely. But all that can wait now, thanks to her and Cross. The 28th 50-plus performance in ODIs by the England skipper broke a streak of four failures since 57 in the first innings of the Trent Bridge Test. Like Alice Capsey, who recovered her form at Lord’s with 46 not out, Tammy Beaumont put on a second-wicket stand of 74 from 56 deliveries. The two joined forces in the fourth over on the wicket of Sophia Dunkley, by which time England had received 18 of its previous 29 runs by extras from Australia’s opening quicks, Darcie Brown and Ellyse Perry. The hosts’ 84 was a new powerplay record by the 10-over point. Midway through the eighth over, they passed Australia’s comparable total of 63 for 1. Capsey took for 16 on her own with four boundaries, including three consecutive ones to start the over and remove Perry from the assault.
A squared series with two to play appeared confident when Beaumont hit the first delivery of the 12th over down the ground for the first six of the game to bring England to 100 before Capsey registered the second over long-on with a fielder stationed back. However, Australia got a whiff thanks to Beaumont’s expulsion between those strikes and Capsey’s inability to clear long-on a second time. A recurring tension developed when the vice-captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, reverse-swept Jess Jonassen to Georgia Wareham around the corner on 42, ending a tenacious stand between the captain and vice-captain.
Healy took advantage of the tension by switching up her choices, frustrating Danni Wyatt, and eventually drawing a false shot from her as Jonassen took a crisp low catch. Danni Wyatt could not get enough on her image to beat backward point. Even then, the required run rate of the final 16 overs was a doable 70. The wicket maiden Wareham sent down, accounting for Amy Jones, did not alter the necessary rate since Knight hit fours in each of the following two overs. She reached her half-century from 69 deliveries with 11 overs remaining, with England still needing 47 runs to win. When Sophie Ecclestone, who had been dropped on four, boundlessly tried for a slog-sweep straight to the fielder at deep midwicket for five, and then Sarah Glenn punched directly to cover, it became apparent that she would have to get the rest of them. But then Cross came out, hitting back-to-back boundaries off Jonassen, who had only given up one four in her previous 38 deliveries. Before Cross skillfully guided one over the keeper and flayed the seasoned Schutt over cover to tie the scores, Knight slog-swept Ash Gardner over the fence at midwicket to alter the momentum in England’s favor. Cross’ decision to leave Knight to score the winning runs off a full toss at the start of the following over was symbolic of how thoughtful she had been to her captain in the crucial moments.
Given that they could not hang onto anything on the field, it was terrific that England maintained their composure. The fact that a typically brutal Australia did not make them pay damages the tourists’ standing in this series. With their spin-heavy approach, England made Australia struggle for their big smashes on a slick pitch following exceptionally intense morning rains—given that this is the keeper-batter’s most robust format, Cross’ dismissal of Healy in the first over after the Australia captain had won the toss, chosen to bat, and smashed two fours from the first three deliveries, ranked as a significant bonus. But a long list of missed opportunities, each with various degrees of difficulty, inspired Australia to pay England the entire time. There were a total of seven, but at the top of the scale were Cross’ full-length dive that almost avoided Perry’s shuffle-and-swat on the ground when the all-arounder had 19, and Beaumont’s athleticism at backward point to thwart Tahlia McGrath’s forceful cut on number seven. Nevertheless, several of those caught were also caught; Ecclestone jumping to grab Phoebe Litchfield out of the air at mid-off with one hand, and Sciver-Brunt judging one over her shoulder while coming back from midwicket to eventually dismiss Perry on 41 after she had been missed five runs again earlier.
The most expensive falls also tended to be the simplest. Ecclestone’s first slide on six caused Perry to lose one of her three lives. However, Mooney’s runs on 19 (dropped off a Glenn full toss by Cross at mid-off) and 39 (Jones missing a stumping after the left-hander sprinted past an Ecclestone ball) enabled her to see things through the 50 overs. Those two hitters add up to 97 extra runs from the first error to the final ejection. The left-hander entered the crease at the beginning of the thirteenth over and had to exert much effort to use every muscle and vein to get what she did. The analytics supported going first and putting up a substantial total, and Healy’s choice to bat first after winning the toss was wise. Without Mooney’s support, the innings might not have held together. Just six fours out of her 99 deliveries indicated how laborious it was. Litchfield and Perry provided her with a platform with their 61-run stand, the highest of the game before McGrath and Gardner’s cameo efforts kept Mooney going. After Lauren Bell bowled Gardner and Annabel Sutherland in three deliveries, there was only a brief hiccup as Mooney and Jonassen scored 55 runs. The score was raised to 263 thanks to a burst of 29 from the final three overs, which included a quick 12 off 6 from Wareham. They were contained for the last 10 overs. Not only are the women’s ashes alive, but they are also level. There is just one team that is in excellent form as we head to the Ageas Bowl for the second ODI on Sunday, and it is not the finest team in the world.
Read more cricket news here at 22bet India, The Best Sports Betting Site in India.
