The 2025 Women Ashes series has reached its final stage, as the one-off test kicked off today at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

With what has been the story of the entire series, Australia continued to demonstrate their dominance holding a strong advantage over England after Day 1 play.
England delivered an underwhelming performance as they were dismissed for 170 runs in 71.4 overs. Australia gave a solid response, despite England striking early. As Phoebe Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland remained unbeaten on 20 and 24, Australia ended the day at 56 for 1, trailing by 114 runs.
Alana King, the right arm leg spinner was the standout performer for Australia, clinching four important wickets in her 23 over spell. “Ball was fizzing out of my hand really nicely, and I guess the beauty of test cricket is that you can do it for a longer period of time, and you’re not restricted to ten overs”, she said in the post-match press conference.
Alana broke the crucial partnership between Sophie Dunkley and Nat Sciver-Brunt by dismissing the former with a return catch. She then removed Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Sophie Ecclestone. Her best scalp came when she bowled out Nat Sciver-Brunt with a delivery that turned from leg to middle stump.
When asked about the same, she said, “Nat is an exceptional player and yeah, it’s always nice to pick up the wicket of her or any top order batter. She’s classy, she was the only one who made a 50 for her team, it was nice to see the back of her at a crucial part of the game.”
It was Kim Garth who provided Australia their first breakthrough as she dismissed the opener, Maia Bouchier. On being asked about Kim, Alana said that Kim was their key bowler, and she plays a crucial part with the new ball.
Nat Sciver-Brunt was the lone warrior for England. Coming in to bat when England was two down for 23, she helped them to reach 170 by building resilient partnerships with Heather Knight, Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt. She was the highest run scorer for England, hitting 51 runs including four boundaries.
However, she too, fell prey to Alana King’s tactical bowling. Speaking to the media after the match, she described the pitch conditions, noting that it initially felt tacky and caused the ball to move around a bit, making it slower. However, as the day went on, the pitch dried out and became firmer, resulting in the ball coming off the surface more quickly.
“She has bowled pretty consistent areas and obviously got quite a bit of turn throughout the series. And I think, the fact when it does turn it’s not always the same amount every time, some might skit, some might turn and bounce, so yeah that makes it quite tricky when the stumps are always kept in play,” Nat said about Alana King.
Nat Sciver also outlined the team’s plans for Day 2, emphasizing the need to bowl consistently in the right areas, position the fielders effectively, and make it challenging for the Australians to score. She focused on building pressure and aiming to take frustrating wickets to turn the game in England’s favor.

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