England lose Ladies’s Ashes Test as Ashleigh Gardner skittles hosts’ tail
The Trent Bridge Test has been a story of two spinners. England’s Sophie Ecclestone has rightly dominated headlines for her herculean efforts over the previous 5 days, but it surely has in the end been Australia’s Ash Gardner who has impressed her workforce and brought them to victory.
Four wickets within the first innings was adopted up by eight within the second, to complete with match figures of 12 for 165, the second greatest in ladies’s Test historical past.
England entered right now as underdogs, however with a stage of hope that grew after Danni Wyatt, who was finally out for 54, and Kate Cross acquired them off to a vivid begin, scoring 22 runs off the primary 4 overs.
It was all the time going to be unlikely that England would chase down Australia’s 268 after final night time’s top-order collapse, however because the runs ticked down and with 5 wickets nonetheless remaining, the house workforce dared to dream.
But Gardner had different concepts. And having taken the wickets of first-innings double-centurion Tammy Beaumont, in addition to Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt late on day 4, she then added Kate Cross and Amy Jones to her record of victims in a gap 40 minutes of play that additional dragged the sport Australia’s method.
It was Cross who departed first for 11, edging behind to captain Alyssa Healy who took an excellent catch. That wicket introduced Jones to the crease, with Australia focusing on England’s wicketkeeper and bringing all of the fielders as much as crowd her for room and maintain her on zero.
It wasn’t till Jones’ 14th supply that she discovered a boundary to get her off the mark. However, any suggestion that that had settled the nerves had been brief lived because the very subsequent ball she was stumped after she charged and missed a Gardner supply. Wicketkeeper Healy fumbled the ball on the first try however, a lot to everybody’s shock, replays confirmed she had eliminated the bails within the nick of time earlier than Jones made it residence. In disbelief, Jones needed to drag herself off and Gardner had a maiden five-wicket haul.
That wicket introduced bowling hero Ecclestone to the crease, who while no slouch with the bat, can also be no specialist. Ecclestone had already carried out her fair proportion of miracles this Test, however now England wanted yet another.
She and Wyatt batted for ten overs collectively at a much more watchful price. Wyatt was, realistically, England’s final hope, however even her pure attacking instincts had been being reined in as Australia unfold the sector to chop off her boundaries and bowl completely to Ecclestone on the different finish.
But simply as England threatened to be getting their toes beneath the desk and settle in for the lengthy haul, it was throughout, as their closing three wickets all fell to Gardner within the house of three overs. First, Ecclestone was trapped LBW after Gardner, coming across the wicket, acquired one to pitch in line and straighten, earlier than Lauren Filer was bowled and Wyatt went LBW going for a heroic heave.
A incredible efficiency from Gardner capped off a deserved win for Australia, who regardless of being challenged to the very finish by a spirited England aspect, in the end got here out on prime.
The win implies that Australia go 4-0 up within the multi-format Ashes sequence, with three ODIs and three T20s remaining, all of that are price two factors every. With Australia the reigning champions, England now face a mountainous problem to regain the urn, as they’ll must win 5 of the six white-ball matches to topple an Australia aspect who’ve misplaced simply eight of their earlier 110 restricted overs matches.