Australia Women got their noses in front following a dominant win in the first ODI of the three-match series. Beth Mooney did the talking with the bat while Darcie Brown routed the opposition batters to ensure a 27-run victory for the hosts, who have retained the Ashes.
With the exception of Mooney, the Australian batting unit had a rare quiet day in the office. The Lionesses got off to a fantastic start as both Alyssa Healy and Meg Lanning chose to curb their hitting instincts against the moving ball in the early quarters of the match. Their score of 34 for one after the Powerplay equalled their lowest since the 2017 World Cup.
England dented Australia’s hopes of building a substantial partnership by dismissing Lanning, Healy and Ellyse Perry in no time. The latter’s dismissal was only the second golden duck in her ODI career, and it resulted in her average dropping below 50 for the first time since February 2019.
The Aussies put up some resistance following this and didn’t lose any wickets for the following 11 overs. However, by that point, Sophie Ecclestone and Nat Sciver had tried to suffocate the run-scoring proceedings, and the hosts managed just 22 runs within that period.
Katherine Brunt removed Tahila McGrath from the equation by dislodging her stumps, and Ashleigh Gardner was involved in an unfortunate run out. Beth Mooney seemed to be running out of partners before finding unlikely support from Alana King. The duo added 52 runs for the eighth wicket, which eventually proved to be the difference between the two sides.
Mooney’s herculean knock of 73 helped Australia get past the 200-run mark which once seemed improbable. She would go on to win the ‘Player of the match’ award.
Australia’s lower-than-par total looked more formidable following a brilliant opening spell from young Darcie Brown, who got rid of Tammy Beaumont and then removed Heather Knight for a golden-ball duck.
Heather Knight’s dismissal proved to be a massive breakthrough as Knight had played a mammoth knock of 168 to salvage a draw for England in the second Test only a few days earlier.
In the 20th over of the England innings, Amy Jones’ dismissal sparked plenty of discussion on social media. She clubbed McGrath’s full toss but was caught by Perry standing at deep mid-wicket. Although the delivery looked waist-high initially, the umpire ruled it to be borderline legal and as a result, the dismissal stood.
Megan Schutt became the second-fastest bowler to reach the milestone of 100 wickets in Women’s ODI cricket with the dismissal of Lauren Winfield-Hill. Schutt was excluded from the Test squad to manage her workload after testing positive for COVID-19, but she returned to the field with a bright spark.
Sciver tried to hold the innings together amidst a barrage of dismissals like Mooney had done for Australia, but Brown took a superb catch off her own bowling to get rid of that threat.
With England in deep trouble, Katherine Brown and Kate Cross tried to force the unthinkable, but the Australian bowlers held their nerves and won the contest. Darcie Brown also picked up the wicket of Ecclestone to complete her second four-wicket haul in only four ODIs.
Australia won the game by 29 runs, and having taken an 8-4 lead in the multi-format series, they will be retaining the Ashes. The prized Ashes has been in their possession since 2015. With two ODIs remaining, England will be desperately searching for consolation.
