England’s women fell to a defeat in their Ashes Test match as Australia, spearheaded by the superb Ashleigh Gardner, ripped them apart on the final day. The Aussie spinner was in no mood to mess about as she struck time after time, ending on eight wickets for 66 runs in the second innings - the second best figures in the history of women’s Tests.
Her outrageous total is only behind Neetu David, who took eight for 53 in 1995, while her match figures of 12/165 sit second behind Shazia Khan, who took 13 wickets for 226 in 2004. It was a day of history at Trent Bridge, even if it didn’t last for very long.
In retrospect, England could have been more aggressive, especially when one-day specialist Danni Wyatt was at the crease. She batted sensibly for the majority of the match before ending on 54, but in truth she was the only hope England had of reaching the total and she didn’t rack up the runs quick enough.
The day started badly for England, and got worse, rapidly. Fast bowler Kate Cross, who had been shoved up the order amid a quick loss of wickets, posted her best score of 13 before Gardner tempted her into a shot that she edged before being caught behind.
Amy Jones was then tragically stumped out, when it looked like she had more than enough time to get back after her missed effort. She placed her bat on the line, but not behind it as the wicketkeeper took off the bails and England were 151 for 7.
Australia needed just three wickets to win, but England weren’t about to give up hope. Sophie Ecclestone came to the crease with an air of calmness, and Wyatt showed a fair amount of restraint to sensibly hold onto her own wicket as she passed 50.
They took England within 100 runs of victory, and the Test match was in the balance, but then it all went to pot. Ecclestone was out LBW thanks to you know who, and Gardner was on fire with her spin constantly causing the hosts issues. She got another victim moments later as Lauren Filer missed her mark and just two balls later the game was up as Gardner struck again.
This time Wyatt had gone on the offensive and was out LBW, bringing a swift end to a fantastic Test match. It felt a little flat that it ended in the way that it did, given we looked to be in for another tight finish, but England simply weren’t good enough with the bat - while Gardner was simply unstoppable.
With eight wickets of the ten wickets to her name in the second innings, there was no doubt who the player of the match was as she made it 12 in total for the match. On this surface, she was finding the perfect level of grip and spin, which simply made batting an impossible task for England’s tail-enders.
It’s a huge win for the Aussies. It secures them four points in the series, and given each of the remaining short-form games are worth two points apiece, it means England can only lose one of the six if they are to win the Ashes back this year. This loss feels painful. The game was in England’s hands but they lost their final four wickets for 15 runs and went down with a whimper.
A tough one to take as the Aussies, inspired by Gardner, are victorious once again.
*18+ | BeGambleAware
