The 2019 Women’s Ashes series in England turned out to be a relatively one-sided affair. Australia drew first blood and won the ODI series 3-0 to take home 6 points against England’s zero. With England needing to win the test match to have a chance to claim the Women’s Ashes 2019, they could only manage a draw which meant that the points tally was 8-2 in Australia’s favour. This result ensured that Australia retained the Ashes as England could have only tied on points even if they won the 3 T20Is. To further add insult to injury, Australia also ended up winning the T20I series 2-1 and finished the Ashes series on 12 points against England’s 4, an emphatic win for Australia.
Australia were a highly disciplined and professional side throughout the Women’s Ashes 2019 while England left a lot to be desired. The series was notable for some great performances, mostly by a high-quality Australian side who refused to be put down. A snapshot of the outstanding performers and their contributions have been elaborated below:
- ELLYSE PERRY: Australia’s Ellyse Perry can be easily considered as the Performer of the Series. Her knock of 62 was instrumental in guiding her team to victory as the Australian batting still seemed uncertain. Following up with a double century in the previous Ashes test in Australia, she scored a century as she ground down the English bowlers in the first innings. She followed it up with another sublime half-century as England had no option but end the match as a draw. She had scored 76 in the second innings. She also formed an important stand of 87 with Meg Lanning in the 2nd T20I and scored 47 runs as Australia had to rebuild after being 35 for 3 and ended up chasing the target successfully. In the second T20I match, she scored 1000 runs in T20Is on route to 47 not out from 39 balls. She thus became the first and only player – male or female – to score 1000 runs and take 100 wickets in T20Is, a proud moment in women’s cricket. She also scored a half-century in her final innings of the tour, taking her overall tally to 378 runs for the tour.
She also contributed heavily with the ball, taking 11 wickets in the ODI series including a breath-taking 7 for 22 in the 3rd ODI as Australia bundled England for 75 all out. Her analysis ended up becoming the best bowling analysis by an Australian in an ODI and the fourth-best overall. She had also picked up 3 wickets for 43 runs in the first ODI.
Only player (male or female) to achieve the double record of 1000+ runs and 100+ wickets in both ODI and T20I Cricket.
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 28, 2019
Remember her name! #EllysePerry #Ashes2019 #AUSwvENGw pic.twitter.com/4ZWpD69Uz5
- MEG LANNING: Australia’s captain Meg Lanning led from the front and made vital contribution for her team throughout the series. After getting out cheaply in the first 2 ODIs, she scored a stroke-filled 69 off 68 deliveries in the third ODI as Australia propped up 269/7 in their 50 overs and set the stage for Ellyse Perry to win comfortably. She scored a half-century in the first innings of the Test match as well as Australia looked to set up a strong foundation to bat England out of the match. She eventually fell for 57 runs. However, her best performance of the series came in the first match of the T20 series as she hammered her way to a career-high of 133 runs off only 63 balls, thus making the highest individual score in women’s T20Is. She scored another 43 runs in the second T20I match, becoming the leading run-scorer of the T20I series.
- TAMMY BEAUMONT: Although the performance of England’s batting fell way below expectations, there were a few performances to take note of. The finest of them was Tammy Beaumont’s century in the second ODI. She scored 114 runs in 115 balls and made up more than half of England’s total score in the match.She seemed to be batting on a completely different surface compared to her counterparts. She ended up with the top-scorer for England in the ODI series. Again, in the second T20I, she scored 43 runs off 39 balls but unfortunately did not receive the support required from the other end to really threaten Australia.
- ALYSSA HEALY: The Australian wicket-keeper also had a good series with the bat. She started off by making 2 half-centuries in the ODI series. She top-scored in the first game making 66 runs in 71 balls as the rest of the batting lineup crumbled around her. In the third game, she made 68 runs off 66 deliveries to build a strong foundation for Australia with Meg Lanning for company, with a second-wicket partnership of 109 to haul Australia to 269/7 in 50 overs. Ending up with Australia’s leading run-scorer in the ODI series with 143 runs, she scored yet another half-century in the first innings of the Test match.
- SOPHIE ECCLESTONE: If Tammy Beaumont performed admirably for England with the bat, Sophie Ecclestone was the pick of the bowlers for her team. She picked up 13 wickets throughout the series – 4 wickets in the ODI leg, 3 wickets in the test and 6 wickets in the T20Is. Looking menacing during the test match by getting vicious turn on offer, she would have been more successful if she got a couple of close lbw shouts in her favour, which could have changed the complexion of the series.
- MEGAN SCHUTT: Australia’s prime fast bowler and the leader of the bowling unit, Megan Schutt consistently was among the wickets to drive home the early advantage for her side. She picked up 10 wickets throughout the tour with 5 wickets coming in the ODI series and 5 dismissals in the T20Is. Apart from being wicket-taking, she was also economical and just did not let the England side get away with tight line and lengths.
- JESS JONASSEN: Australia’s Jess Jonassen is an important contributor for her side. She showed that throughout the series. She picked up wickets regularly, ending up picking out 5 wickets in the ODIs and 4 wickets in the T20Is. She even took 2 wickets in the test match taking her overall series tally to 11 wickets. As a lower-middle order batter, she also scored important runs for her team down the order to lift Australia while batting.
- NATALIE SCIVER: England’s veteran all-rounder had a decent outing with both bat and ball. She scored a gritty 64 in the opening match of the Women’s Ashes when the rest of the English players found it difficult to get going. She also was the backbone of England’s reply to Australia’s first-innings total of 420/8 in the test match. Her knock of 88 in that innings was very important from the view point of England as she formed substantial partnerships with the lower-order players to give England a chance. She even picked up a few wickets throughout the Women’s Ashes 2019.
- DELISSA KIMMINCE: Australia’s Delissa Kimmince had some good performances during the tour. However, her five-wicket haul in the second ODI was her best analysis, not only during the tour but also for her entire ODI career.
There were some other notable performances which is worthy of mention. Australia’s new girl on the block, Tayla Vlaeminck, showed what she is capable of as a lethal fast-bowler as her performance in the tour matches show. Sophie Molineux also had an excellent show in the warm-up test as well as the test match against England.
With the Kia Super League kicking off shortly, we are bound to have some outstanding performers next month as well, where some top names will be participating along with aspiring new entrants. Tune in again next month for a glimpse of the outstanding performers of the Kia Super League.