‘How good is it to have a end result?’ – Girls’s Ashes captains hail five-day Tests

Australia duly wrapped up victory shortly earlier than lunch on the ultimate morning, as Gardner claimed every of the ultimate 5 wickets to fall for the addition of 62 extra runs, and have now taken an enormous leap in direction of retaining the Ashes for fifth collection in a row, with England probably needing to win 5 of the remaining six matches, beginning with the primary of three T20Is at Edgbaston on Saturday.

“It just shows having five days in the Test match to actually get a result is super-important,” Gardner mentioned on the post-match shows, having performed out attracts in every of her earlier three appearances within the format.

“We obviously need to celebrate this because it’s super-special,” Gardner added. “This is the first time that I’ve been involved in a Test match where we’ve got a result, but then we also turn our attention pretty quickly onto the T20s. We know how good England are at T20 cricket, so we need to be ready for that first match in Birmingham.”

For Healy, captaining Australia within the absence of Meg Lanning, there was pleasure at overseeing a well-known end result, but in addition reduction – each at ending her personal barren run of kind in Ashes Tests with an important second-innings fifty, and in not messing up in her stand-in function.

“It was stressful,” she joked. “I’ve got a few more grey hairs. But I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity and I’m really honoured to have been able to do it in Test match, and obviously win one as well. I’m pretty chuffed standing here, but I really thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

She added: “First and foremost, how good is it to have a end result, and I’m happy to be on the appropriate finish of it. I suppose, once you take the stress off the captains and the groups to try to manipulate a end result, it most likely makes just a little bit simpler, however we’ll have to attend and see how [five days for women’s Tests] pans out. Even if it is only a potential of a reserve day, if there may be rain, that would not be such a nasty concept.”

Knight, meanwhile, has been one of the loudest advocates for a fifth day in women’s Tests – not least since her brilliant performance in the last Ashes Test at Canberra in January 2022, where her first-innings century set up the game, only for England to have to settle for a draw, nine wickets down, after a thrilling fourth-innings chase.

“I’ve been fairly vocal about having 5 days and I feel at the moment – and the entire 5 days, truly – confirmed why that was,” she said. “Credit to Australia. They have been excellent, however our ladies went toe to toe with them for a hell of a very long time. And that was actually spectacular.”

“Sophie, we known as her Merlin [like the bowling machine], she simply saved going from one finish,” Knight said. “Obviously with the lack of a bowler to a niggle, we needed to have bowlers that stepped up and actually take the job on and so they’ve actually grafted exhausting there.

“She’s a captain’s dream, I’ve been able to get the ball to her and just for her to hold up an end, she’s so consistent. And, on that pitch, she was a real wicket-taking threat. I did wonder whether I was over-bowling her at one point, but she came back and again and again, and hardly bowled a loose ball all Test match.

“She’s fairly drained however she’s carried out a tremendous job for the group. She’s actually dug deep and carried out an actual job for us.”

The final word, however, went to Australia’s own star spinner, as Gardner took confidence from Ecclestone’s success and ripped the contest her team’s way at the crucial moments.

“I could not have dreamt of it, to be sincere,” she said after her 12-wicket haul. “There was just a little little bit of luck concerned with the situations on the market, however I feel as an entire bowling unit we bowled rather well all through and simply tried to bowl in partnerships. I suppose I used to be the fortunate one to return away with wickets.

“We just said to keep the stumps in play as often as possible, to keep all modes of dismissal in play. Thankfully for me some kept low, some turned – most of mine didn’t turn – but it was just awesome to be able to put a performance on for the team.”