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Cricket

Australia chases target of 154 off the penultimate ball against England

Australia’s successful chase in the first T20I against England means the team is one win away from reclaiming the Women’s Ashes in the United Kingdom. Beth Mooney stood up for the tourists once more, scoring an unbeaten 61* off 47 balls to help secure a four-wicket win off the last ball of the match. Mooney remained composed in the face of a mini-collapse at the other end, with the Aussies losing 3/10 in the space of 11 deliveries towards the tail end of the chase.

Captain Heather Knight had handed the final over to the finest bowler in the world, Sophie Ecclestone, with Australia requiring five runs from it. Annabel Sutherland hit the opening ball of the over for four, but Ecclestone leapt to save the single, and Amy Jones got a challenging high catch off Sutherland’s bat. Mooney was supported by Annabel Sutherland in the 19th and 20th overs, before Georgia Wareham finished the job, edging a single off Sophie Ecclestone’s delivery to chase down the target of 154.

Darcie Brown’s ball struck the stumps but the bails hung on, giving Danni Wyatt a lucky escape, only for Megan Schutt to take out her off-stump in the following over. Brown ran out Alice Capsey for three runs off her own bowling, with replays showing Capsey’s bat beyond the line but not grounded, while Georgia Wareham took a superb catch at deep mid-wicket to remove Nat Sciver-Brunt to leave England 51-3.

Dunkley hit a half-century off 42 deliveries to spearhead the hosts’ comeback, putting on a 55-run fourth-wicket partnership with Heather Knight (29) before being caught at long-on off a slower delivery from Tahlia McGrath. Schutt dismissed Dunkley for 56, while Jess Jonassen dismissed debutant Danielle Gibson (1) and Sophie Ecclestone in quick succession, only for Jones to hit 31 off the final two overs to enable the hosts reach 153.

Overall, Australia’s performance on the field was surprisingly clumsy. Jess Jonassen had missed an easy opportunity to run out England’s wicketkeeper four balls into Jones’ batting, and she was also dropped by Wareham at deep midwicket while on 15.

“It was a lot of fun, the crowd was awesome. Not many people there on my side, apart from a couple in Mooney Shirts up there. Awesome atmosphere, amazing we could get the job done like that. Absolutely, I felt all 20 thousand, every person out there was supporting England,” Mooney said in a video posted by Australia women’s cricket

“That’s what we live for, I never thought I’d play in front of crowds like these so it’s really nice to be over here in the UK and seeing the support England girls are getting. Yes, it feels pretty good , could’ve gone either way that game I think so it’s really nice to get over the line,” she added.

With four Women’s Ashes series points following the Trent Bridge Test triumph and two points from the first T20I, Australia just needs one more victory throughout the two remaining T20Is and three ODIs to retain the series as the current holders. Australia and England will now travel to London for the second and third Twenty20 Internationals, which will be played at The Oval and Lord’s, respectively.

Farzeen K

Farzeen K

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