Women’s Ashes: Australia win series with victory in first ODI
England’s Women this morning failed to stay in Ashes contention as they collapsed against Australia.
The touring side were in the difficult position of needing to no lose every one of the remaining three matches following a drawn Test.
Australia set a under-par first innings of 206 largely thanks to Beth Mooney’s knock of 73 – no other Australian player managed to reach 30.
England looked to chase the total but fell 27 runs short – their biggest contribution was a knock of 45 by Natalie Sciver.
Following the series loss, England captain Heather Knight said: “They way we bowled was outstanding, we were unlucky not to take more wickets.
“We weren’t with the bat, they bowled pretty well but we just needed that one big partnership.
“In the three games we’ve played we have not had a complete performance with bat and ball.
“We’re really not far away from Australia.”
With the 8-4 current score now unassailable for England, their best bet is to now draw the series.
Should Australia go on to win the series outright, it would be the first time since 2013 that the home side have won the Ashes by a clear margin.