Women's Ashes: Australia win series outright as England suffer agonising six-run DLS method defeat in second T20

Australia have retained the Women's Ashes outright with a six-run win in the second T20 to move into a 10-0 lead; Rain stopped play with five balls remaining in England's innings with 18 runs needed for a win for the visitors

Thursday 23 January 2025 15:41, UK

Australia sealed the Women's Ashes outright with a dramatic six-run win via DLS over England in the second T20 at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.

With skipper Heather Knight (43no) and Amy Jones (0no) out in the middle for the final over, England needed 22 runs from the final six deliveries and after Knight started with a boundary to leave them needing 18 runs from five balls, the umpires stopped play and left the visitors fuming as they were brought off at a crunch time.

From there, with the rain still pouring, the game was called and with it, the hosts now have a 10-0 lead in the contest.

Now, even with victory in the final T20 and one-off Test, Heather Knight's side can only bring the scoreline back to 10-6. England had entered the second T20I with an 8-0 deficit in the Ashes after being swept 6-0 in the preceding ODI series and then losing the first T20I by 57 runs which saw the hosts retain the Ashes.

After putting Australia into bat and being set a tough target of 186, Danni Wyatt-Hodge (52) and Sophia Dunkley (32) built a crucial partnership for England, 12 fours and one six between them having England's tally ticking along nicely.

However, a decisive 13th over from Megan Schutt (2-32) turned the tide and saw both dismissed after a rain delay, reducing England to 99-3 and Australia once again winning the pressure moments.

That brought Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt (22) out to the middle and gave two England stalwarts the task of chasing down the remaining 87 runs required, the pair coping under pressure after adding 17 runs from the 17th over.

Despite their late aggressive partnership, with the rain returning the total proved too much and England fell six runs short of an Australia total that was boosted by a late surge from Talia McGrath (48) and Grace Harris (35), the partnership picking up 48 runs from the final three overs their stand worth an unbroken 71 from 35 balls.

The loss will leave England reeling and the question of whether they had left it too little too late unanswered.

The series continues with the final T20 at Adelaide on Saturday and then concludes with the pink-ball Test match at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground from January 30.

England's intent improves as pressure moments in the field cost them

At the start of the contest, England's spin bowlers looked dangerous and struck early to see Australia collapse from 66-1 to 75-4, Sophie Ecclestone (1-33) and Charlie Dean (2-28) combining to remove Beth Mooney (44), Elyse Perry (2), and Phoebe Litchfield (17).

However, after Freya Kemp (1-21) made up for dropping Annabel Sutherland (18) in the 11th over by dismissing her in the 15th, Australia picked their moment and regained control of their innings.

With McGrath and Harris going aggressive and putting the pressure back on England's bowling attack, they passed their half-century partnership to post a combined 83 runs and wrestle the control back for their side.

England's fielding had been questioned throughout the series and although the increase in their level of intent was palpable, the strike power throughout Australia's side saw dropped catches and runaway boundaries still play their part, Dean dropping strike-woman McGrath in the 19th over which saw 18 runs added to Australia's tally.

Knight: I thought I was set | McGrath: We want to embarrass England

England captain Heather Knight on TNT Sports:

"It was a brilliant game of cricket and disappointing for the brilliant crowd that we couldn't let it get to a climax.

"I felt we were in the game and I felt I was set. It was a tough ask but I felt like it was definitely on.

"I am proud of the way the girls fought."

Player of the Match, Australia skipper Tahlia McGrath (48no off 35) to TNT Sports:

"It feels pretty nice [to win The Ashes]. My heartrate has only just gone down, it was pretty tense constantly looking at Duckworth-Lewis-Stern.

"I am exhausted and glad it's over! To win the Ashes this early, I'm very happy, but we're still not done."

Australia all-rounder Grace Harris, speaking to BBC Test Match Special:

"I have, of course, thought about 16-0. A whitewash would be outstanding. England got the better of us in England in the last Ashes series - they won two of the white-ball series and we just retained the Ashes.

"To me, it's a loss. A draw is boring. But 16-0... it would be very, very good if we could embarrass this England team because they're actually a very competitive outfit and they've got some really good players among them.

"Let's hope we keep performing as a team and really put them to the sword."