Nottingham, June 26: Australia won the Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge by 89 runs, denying England on the fifth morning in Nottingham.
It was Ashleigh Gardner who was the star for Australia on the fifth morning, taking all five remaining England wickets in a stunning spell of bowling. Australia’s all-rounder finished with outrageous figures of 8/66 in the second innings, with her dismissal of Danni Wyatt (54) wrapping up the win.
Victory for Australia puts them four points up in the Ashes Series, with three T20 internationals and three One Day Internationals to come, with 12 further points up for grabs, the ICC reported. England resumed the day’s play requiring 152 more runs to win the Test but having lost all of their top five on a disappointing conclusion to day four.
Wyatt held the key for the hosts, and batted well throughout the fifth morning to reach a well-deserved half-century on her Test debut.
But wickets fell with all-too-frequent regularity around her from an English perspective, as Gardner weaved her magic. Kate Cross was first to go, edging behind for 13, and the key wicket of Amy Jones ? the last recognised batter ? left Australia in a dominant position.
Jones initially thought she’d survived a stumping scare off Gardner, but an umpire review showed that Alyssa Healy had managed to whip the balls off at the second attempt with Jones’ bat not
having crossed the line. It was a huge moment in the match, leaving England needing something special from their tail, and also secured Gardner her first Test five-wicket haul.
Sophie Ecclestone made Australia work for the win, bringing the required total down to two figures in a promising partnership with Wyatt. But when Gardner had Ecclestone trapped lbw it took Australia just two further overs to tie things up, with Lauren Filer cleaned up by Gardner and Wyatt following shortly after as she looked to hit out. Gardner was engulfed by her team-mates as they celebrated the final wicket, with the spinner’s 8/66 giving her the second-best figures in the history of Women’s Test cricket, behind only India’s Neetu David.
The win and the four points gives Australia a controlling position in the series, with two wins from the white-ball matches enough at this stage to guarantee they retain the Ashes.
(UNI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
