A ‘pure delight’ moment for Knight and Cross as England retains the series epically. Australia’s captain, Alyssa Healy, has pushed her team to abandon excuses and rally for a reaction after admitting that England’s third successive victory in the white-ball leg of the Women’s Ashes has put the series “on the line now, proper.”
After falling behind 6-0 after losing the one-off Test at Trent Bridge and the first T20I at Edgbaston, England has now surged back into contention, tying the series at six points all with a nailbiting two-wicket triumph in Bristol, with two final ODIs at Southampton and Taunton to play.
While Australia only needs to win one of the two matches to retain the trophy they have held since 2015, the fearlessness of England’s comeback – led on this occasion by Heather Knight’s superb captain’s innings of 75 not out but epitomized by an incredible penultimate-over ramp for four from Kate Cross – has instilled fundamental belief in their team’s challenge.
It was left to Knight to seal the chase with an emphatic slap for four through points off Jess Jonassen, after which she flung away her bat and let her emotions pour out as she leaped into Cross’ arms and soaked up the acclaim of another sold-out crowd of 5,731 at Bristol’s County Ground.
“It was just pure relief and ecstasy,” Knight remarked after the match. “I thought it was slipping away there when we were eight down, because we kept losing wickets at regular intervals and making it difficult for ourselves, but I was just trying to stay in my little bubble and stay really calm.”
At 235 for 8, England still needed 29 runs to win the series, with only Lauren Bell remaining, but Cross got right to work with back-to-back fours off Jonassen before Knight climbed into the spin of Ashleigh Gardner with a magnificent six over cow corner. Then, with the threshold down to single digits, Cross unleashed the stroke that signaled England’s resolve.
“Kate Cross, what a hero,” Knight remarked. “When she came in, she was quite nervous, but we just broke it down, trying to get it in tens.” And when fine leg came up, I told her, ‘paddle’s on, I’ll back you up.’ I feared she’d bolt, but Crossy did it flawlessly, relieving all the pressure.”
Cross finished unbeaten on 19 from 20 balls at No.10, a crucial contribution that more than compensated for a challenging day with the ball, with her six overs in Australia’s innings going for 42. Furthermore, after being sidelined by a tropical ailment in March, which hampered Cross’s preparation for this series, it was further evidence of the battling qualities that had gotten her back to complete condition for this campaign.
“I kept saying to her, ‘Lauren Bell’s in next, so keep going, keep getting it down,” Knight jokingly said. “Poor Lauren was nervous, but I’m so happy for Kate.” She certainly hadn’t had the nicest day, but she’s one of the strongest people I know, so seeing her do it was incredible.”
Healy and Australia suffered a humiliating defeat during the Ashes
It was, however, a humbling defeat for Healy and Australia. Their 2-1 loss in the T20Is last week was their first series loss since 2017-18; now they have dropped their first ODI in 16 attempts – and only their third in 46 – and have lost three matches in a row for the first time since February 2017.
“The Ashes are on the line now, proper, right?” Healy stated. “I don’t know what else to say if that doesn’t galvanize the group.” We haven’t been in this situation too often. And you know, we see it as an opportunity to learn and grow or make excuses. So it’s up to us to turn things around in the next two games, [since] the Ashes trophy is on the line.”
Australia was spooked early on, defending 264, by a superb Powerplay onslaught from Tammy Beaumont and Alice Capsey, whose fast-paced 40s guided England to reach 84 for 1, their biggest 10-over score in ODI history. Although their spinners, in particular, helped to stem the tide, the run rate remained below five and over for most of the chase.
Despite a sloppy performance that included 23 extras, the multiple World Champions refused to give up without a fight, which provided Healy some solace as she prepared for what will undoubtedly be a painful post-match debrief.
“It ended up going right down to the wire,” she explained. “Look, we just got outplayed a little bit at the end, but I thought we fought really hard to stay in the game.” Overall, it was a good game of cricket.
“We were 20 runs short with the bat, and then we bowled 20-odd extras, so that’s 40 runs in the game, and that’s what did us in the end.
“We’ve been showing it in patches,” she continued. “The fact that we went as deep as we did shows that it’s still there.” We need to be sharper in different areas to go over the hump. And that’s what we’ll have to figure out over the next few days.”
Even after this dramatic victory, England still has space for improvement, particularly in their fielding performance, which included six lost catches and a failed stumping. Knight, on the other hand, credited the Bristol fans with keeping the team’s spirits up and carrying them to victory.
“We can do a lot better as well,” Knight admitted. “It was clearly not our greatest day. But the fight on the side is incredible, as we demonstrated today.”
“I found it to be a really tricky wicket, I don’t think I middled one until I was about 30,” Knight remarked. “It was difficult to feel fluent and rotate the ball around, but the crowd kept us going.”
“We know Australia is a fantastic team, and we’ll have to go again in Southampton, but the crowd support was incredible.” I struggled to keep my cool when everyone was singing Hey Jude at the conclusion, and I had to try not to sing along in my thoughts, but it’s been amazing.
“The support has made a difference for us, and we hope that continues in the coming games.” It’s been a fantastic series. I would have preferred fewer nail-biters, but the ending was pure bliss.”
For more latest cricket news visit IPLWIN
