Skipper Heather Knight leads the way for England in the first ODI to break the long-standing winning streak for Australia. England won the T20I series to bring themselves back into contention to regain the Ashes, after losing the one-off Test match. The caravan now moves on to the ODI series which will decide who takes the Ashes trophy home. England cannot afford to drop even a single game in the series if they are to bring the Ashes back home after 2013-14. In this article, we will discuss how things panned out in the first ODI at Bristol.
Australia skipper Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to bat first. The 20-year-old left-hand batter Phoebe Litchfield found her way back into the playing 11 for Australia after missing out on a place in the T20Is. The visitors got off to a disappointing start losing skipper Alyssa Healy in the first over of the innings. Right-arm pacer Kate Cross trapped the opposition skipper right in front as she misses the flick to provide England their first breakthrough.
Ellyse Perry joined Phoebe Litchfield and the duo put together a 61-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to steady the innings for Australia. Nat Sciver-Brunt dismissed the opener Phoebe Litchfield to provide the 2nd wicket courtesy of a stunning one-handed catch from Sophie Ecclestone to bring an end to an innings, growing in confidence. Beth Mooney joined Ellyse Perry and the partnership was slowly growing into a substantial one before the leg-spinner Sarah Glenn enticed Ellyse Perry into a false shot chipping it straight to Nat Sciver-Brunt at short midwicket.
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going
Beth Mooney, an absolute star showed resilience with 81 Runs when Australia needed it the most. 👏#CricketTwitter #Ashes2023 pic.twitter.com/J05880ly3Q
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 12, 2023
Beth Mooney kept losing her partners at the other end and she eventually stayed right till the end, unbeaten on 81 off 99 balls to take Australia to 263/8 in their quota of overs. Her knock included six boundaries. The left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen also chipped in with a handy contribution of 30 runs with the bat. England utilized six bowling options and each of them was amongst the wickets. Nat Sciver-Brunt (2/38) and Lauren Bell were the pick of the bowlers as they picked up a couple of wickets each while bowling at an economy of under 6 runs an over.
Chasing a target of 264, England got off to a quick start, scoring at 9 runs an over in the first three overs of the run chase. Ellyse Perry provided the initial breakthrough by dismissing the England opener Sophia Dunkley with a ball nipping back in, breaching the defense of Dunkley. Alice Capsey joined Tammy Beaumont at the crease and the duo staged a recovery with a 74-run partnership for the 2nd wicket, before Tammy Beaumont timed the half-tracker straight to short midwicket to give Georgia Wareham her first breakthrough of the match.
England skipper Heather Knight joined Alice Capsey, the 18-year-old batter departed for a well-made 40 off 34 balls, trying to go ariel in her bid to step on the accelerator, mistiming the ball to long-on giving Ashleigh Gardner her first wicket of the day. England kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Skipper Heather Knight eventually saw her side over the line staying unbeaten at 75 off 86 balls, overshadowing an unbeaten knock (81 off 99) of Australia’s Beth Mooney.
Captain's knock 🙌
Take a bow, Heather Knight 🫡❤️#CricketTwitter #Ashes2023 pic.twitter.com/ophtqbDg8n
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 12, 2023
Ashleigh Gardner (3/42) and Georgia Wareham (2/34) were the pick of the bowlers for Australia. England skipper Heather Knight was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning knock with the bat. The victory in the first ODI has not only helped the home side keep their hopes of regaining the Ashes alive, but they have also managed to halt Australia’s long-standing winning streak that spanned around 22 months. Before their defeat to England in the first ODI, they were last beaten in an ODI in September 2021 by India.
England beat Australia in the 1st ODI!
The series is now 6-6. 😍#CricketTwitter #Ashes2023 pic.twitter.com/NmujFrsalQ
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 12, 2023