The third ODI of the Women’s Ashes 2019 took place in Canterbury on 7th July 2019. England won the toss and opted to field first.
Australia started off poorly again with Nicole Bolton leg before to Anya Shrubsole for just 4 runs off 16 deliveries. With the score on 21/1, Meg Lanning, the Australian captain came in and looked to steady the ship. Lanning and Alyssa Healy striking the ball fluently, the pair added 109 runs. Lanning had reached a run-a-ball fifty and was looking good for something substantial. Australia raced to 130 runs in just 22 overs with Healy on 68 off 66 balls when she was caught by Danielle Wyatt off the bowling of Nat Sciver. Until then, it looked like a score of 300 was on the cards.
England pegged things back with another 2 wickets, Sciver again accounting for the dangerous Lanning, who was on 68 runs off only 66 balls. She then took the prized wicket of Ellyse Perry with Sarah Taylor completing a smart catch for just 7 runs with Australia on 161/4. Beth Mooney followed soon after, lbw to Kate Cross for just 19 adding only 27 runs with Rachel Haynes. Haynes got out to the bowling of Sophie Ecclestone for 12 to make it 208/6. Ashleigh Gardner (29), Jess Jonassen (24) and Kimmince (18) added some vital runs at the end to propel Australia forward to 269/7 in their 50 overs.
Meg Lannning and Alyssa Healy were the pillars of Australia with the bat scoring 69 and 68 respectively. Nat Sciver was the pick of the bowlers picking 3/51 off her 8 overs. Anya Shrubsole, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone and Laura Marsh picked up a wicket each.
With England needing to record their highest chase in order to win the match, they were up against a tough ask. Their top-order fell away with a brutal spell from Ellyse Perry picking up the wickets of Amy Jones (0), Tammy Beaumont (4) and Sarah Taylor for a first-ball duck. With the score at 5 runs for 3 wickets, Australia were already all over England. Megan Schutt dismissed Nat Sciver for a duck to make it 10/4 for England and put the game firmly in Australia’s grip. In her 5th over, Perry dismissed both Heather Knight and Danielle Wyatt to complete the five-wicket haul in the match. England were tottering at 21/6 at that stage.
Fran Wilson came in and survived a few chances to take the score to 40 before she too got out bowled to Schutt for 17 runs. Anya Shrubsole became Perry’s sixth victim, gone for 11 and Sophie Ecclestone became her seventh as she was dismissed for a duck. Laura Marsh and Kate Cross stuck around but they just managed to delay the inevitable as Marsh was the last to get out lbw to Jess Jonassen for 21 runs. England were routed for 75 and Australia won the match by 194 runs.
Ellyse Perry picked up her career-best figures of 7 wickets for just 22 runs in her 10 overs. Her analysis ended up becoming the best bowling analysis by an Australian in an ODI and the fourth-best overall. England’s 75 was the lowest innings total against Australia and the third-lowest overall. The defeat was also their second-heaviest in history.
England was left searching for a lot of answers after this defeat. The defeat also meant that England will have to win the test match and atleast 2 T20Is that follow, while avoiding defeat in the third match, which looks like a very tough ask at the moment.
Australia – 269/7 (50 overs)
Meg Lanning 69 (68)
Alyssa Healy 68 (66)
Nat Sciver 3/51 (8)
England – 75 all out (32.5 overs)
Laura Marsh 21 (45)
Ellyse Perry 7/22 (10)
