The most anticipated series of the English summer, the Women’s Ashes is slowly, living up to its expectations and all the hype around it. The one-off Test match at Trent Bridge was an intriguing and closely fought contest between two of the most competitive sides England and Australia battling out against each other.
Australia beat England by a comprehensive margin of 89 runs, courtesy of a historic spell from off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner, who returned with figures of 8/66 in her spell, single-handedly burring the hopes of the home side in a run chase. The Ashes caravan now moves on to the limited-overs series. Kickstarting with the T20I series followed by the ODI series. In this article, we will be having a look at how things panned out in the first T20I at Birmingham.
Australia’s stand-in skipper Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to bowl first in the first T20I. The England openers were off to a steady start before Danni Wyatt in her bid to go over the top missed the ball completely to see her off-stump getting rattled. Alice Capsey soon followed the opener as England lost 2 wickets within the powerplay. England was in further trouble at 51/3, Skipper Heather Knight and the wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones stitched together a 55-run partnership, trying to take the attack to the opposition.
Nothing much, just Beth Mooney doing Beth Mooney stuff.
She remained unbeaten on 61 to guide Australia home.#CricketTwitter #Ashes2023 pic.twitter.com/6snySBXFeT
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 1, 2023
Skipper chipped in with a 22-ball 29, including three boundaries and a maximum, scoring at a strike rate of 131.81. The wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones provided the finishing touches to the innings staying unbeaten at 40 off 21 balls, including four boundaries and a couple of maximums, scoring at a strike rate of 190.47. A strong finish resulted in England putting a competitive total on the board. The left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen (3/25) was the pick of the bowlers for Australia, alongside Megan Shutt picking up the wickets of England openers, Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley.
Chasing a total of 155, Australia got off to a similar start, losing Skipper Alyssa Healy early in the run chase. Tahlia McGrath infused the momentum into the run chase with a steady knock (40 off 29 balls) stitching a 49-run partnership to stabilize the run chase to bring Australia back on track. Ashleigh Gardner joined Mooney and stitched yet another substantial partnership to strengthen Australia’s grip on the run chase and the match.
However, England made a comeback and triggered a mini-collapse initiated by the leg-spinner Sarah Glenn. Beth Mooney stayed unbeaten right till the end, scoring 61 off 47 balls, including nine boundaries at a strike rate of 129.78, ensuring no further hick-ups, seeing Australia through in the run chase.
Nail-biter at Edgbaston and Australia hold their nerves to win the 1st T20I by 4 Wickets (1 ball remaining)#CricketTwitter #Ashes2023 pic.twitter.com/LCFylAO5Mk
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 1, 2023
“It’s a bit harder to take being so close but there are definitely positives. The gap feels like it’s closing. We’ve felt like underdogs the whole way through but after the Test and this T20, our confidence is growing and it feels to us like the gap is closing. That’s a really exciting feeling amongst us.” England Wicket-keeper Amy Jones is optimistic about her side’s growth despite a heartbreaking loss in the 1st T20I at Birmingham.