Cricket fans across the globe witnessed a remarkable day of Test cricket on Sunday as Australia and England brought to us a thriller performance on their race to add crucial 4 points to their 2021-22 Women’s Ashes score.
The match witnessed an incredible display of cricket with both captains leading their team from the front- England’s skipper Heather Knight played a player of the match performance with an outstanding unbeaten knock of 168 in the first innings while the Australian Skipper Meg Lanning scored a crucial 93 also in the first innings that included over 150 runs partnership with vice-captain Rachel Haynes who scored 86.
In fact, it wasn’t just the captains, excluding them the match saw a total of 5 more half-centuries coming off the bat of Haynes, Tahlia McGrath, Ashleigh Gardner, Nat Sciver, and the bold Beth Mooney who got the surgery done for a broken jaw just days back.
An immense contribution to the final day of the Test. pic.twitter.com/1BNR34ANnD
— Australian Women’s Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) January 30, 2022
The batters did their job and so did the bowlers, making their test debut, Alana King and Charlie Dean impressed many with their deliveries. King finished the match with 3 wickets while it was 2 for Charlie Dean. Among others, the experience of Katherine Brunt who finished with impressive 8 wickets (5 in 1st, 3 in 2nd) along with a number of 3 wicket hauls bagged by Nat Sciver (1st), Ellyse Perry (1st), and Annabel Sutherland (2nd) was what made the match more interesting to watch.
The last day of the match, particularly the last session, had some dramatic moments. From being on the course of creating a history, England tumbled down to the strong Australian bowling line-up, losing 6 wickets for just 26 runs. By the end of the 46th over the English side had just 1 wicket in their hand with still 2 overs to play in order to keep the Ashes hope alive. The team switched to survivor mode and though felt 12 runs short of a win, did succeed to end it in a draw, adding crucial 2 points after the Aussies failed to get the last wicket.
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After an incredibly chaotic conclusion to the #Ashes Test, you can’t blame Meg Lanning for being a bit frazzled! @CommBank | #Ashes pic.twitter.com/346780yfFy
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 30, 2022
Match Summary:
Toss: England- elected to ball
1st Innings-:
Australia: 337-9 (declared)
England: 297 (all-out)
Australia had a lead of 40 runs
2nd Innings-:
Australia: 216-7 (declared)
England: 245-9 (Target- 257)
Match Drawn
Player of the Match- Heather Knight (ENG)- 168* & 48
Top Performers-:
1st Innings-:
Heather Knight: 168* (294)
Meg Lanning: 93 (170)
Katherine Brunt: 5-60
2nd Innings-:
Beth Mooney: 63 (137)
Nat Sciver: 58 (62)
Katherine Brunt: 3-24
With the series currently at 6-4 and 6 points still available, we now head into the three ODIs (2 points each) starting Thursday with the first being played on the same ground that witnessed one of the greatest test finishes today, Manuka Oval in Canberra.
Author of the poetry book ‘The Scent of Rhythm’, I am a passionate writer and a Sports enthusiast who writes on Cricket and plays Badminton.