Australia have defended a paltry 180 within the second ODI towards England in Melbourne, securing a dramatic 21-run win that provides them a vital early lead within the girls’s Ashes.
After comfortably successful the sequence opener in Sydney on Sunday, Australia had been in peril of slumping to a heavy defeat on Tuesday once they collapsed to their lowest rating batting first on dwelling soil since 2009.
However on a Junction Oval pitch offering loads of help for the bowlers, Australia rallied via spinner Alana King (4-25) and Irish-born seamer Kim Garth (3-37) to bowl England out for 159 within the forty ninth over.
King, who claimed her finest ODI figures, got here severely near taking a hat-trick when she beat the bat of Lauren Filer the ball after dismissing Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone.
However the 29-year-old’s most necessary wicket was celebrity batter Nat Sciver-Brunt, who made 35 and was at all times going to be the important thing to England’s fortunes within the run chase.
Keeper Amy Jones (47 not out from 103 balls) threatened to raise England to victory after she was dropped by Australia star Ashleigh Gardner on 21.
Jones tried to hit all of the runs herself, as she refused to take singles and permit Australia to bowl at her lower-order companions.
However Jones forgot to run on the final ball of the forty eighth over, with No.11 Lauren Bell then bowled by Megan Schutt off the subsequent supply to finish the sport.
“Fairly bloody stoked we obtained the job performed,” King mentioned.
“We by no means again down, regardless of when our backs are towards the wall.
“We positively did have our backs towards the wall with a sub-par rating.”
Australia go up 4-0 within the multi-format sequence, with every of the three ODIs and T20s incomes the winner two factors, and the day-night Take a look at on the MCG price 4.
“It’s an excellent begin to the sequence and I’m fairly completely happy to be within the Australian shirt with a 4-0 lead,” King mentioned.
It was a dramatic turnaround for Alyssa Healy’s crew after they fell into bother on Tuesday once they had been despatched in to bat by England captain Heather Knight.
Cruising at 1-92, Australia then misplaced 9-88 as they had been undone by spin, with England star Ecclestone (4-35) and Alice Capsey (3-22) working riot.
Australia had been bowled out within the forty fifth over, with solely King (13) reaching double figures of the batters six-to-11.
Star allrounder Ellyse Perry (60 off 74 balls) made the one sizeable contribution, boosting England’s probabilities of levelling the sequence as they goal to win the Ashes for the primary time since 2013.
“It’s a sport that we obtained ourselves right into a place to win and we let go,” Capsey mentioned.
“We’ve missed an actual alternative to get two factors on the board, so I feel there’ll be extreme disappointment throughout the group.”
Australia misplaced 4-7 in 27 balls through the center of their innings, with the important thing wickets of Annabel Sutherland, Gardner, Perry and the out-of-form Tahlia McGrath all falling.
Vice-captain McGrath’s spot is in jeopardy, scoring simply 463 runs at 22.04 in worldwide cricket for the reason that begin of 2024.
Younger opener Georgia Voll, who starred when she crammed in for injured captain Healy towards India lately, is patiently ready for her subsequent alternative.
The third and remaining ODI takes place in Hobart on Friday, with the T20 section of the Ashes beginning on Monday in Sydney.
© AAP
