The 10 teammates in yellow and green rushed towards Ash Gardner, who was left in shock after making one of the most spectacular catches in Women’s Ashes history.
After scoring his first international century, surpassing his highest ODI score, Gardner jumped on either side of the boundary to cement his catch as one of the greatest of all time.
“Actually, I clearly misjudged that, because I took it one-handed,” Gardner said.
“So I guess knowing where the string was behind me and my feet returning the ball is one of those things where you don’t necessarily practice a lot, but you have to let your instincts take over in those moments. “
Gardner returned to fine form with two player of the match performances in the ODI series. The 27-year-old scored 102 runs off a run-a-ball, facilitating two crucial partnerships in the Australian innings.
Early fortune with the ball put Australia 59 for four, a significant opportunity for the tourists. But a 95-run stand between Beth Mooney and Gardner laid a solid foundation, with Tahlia McGrath continuing the momentum.
“I think the partnership between Ash and Mooney was really good. They took calculated risks, a few balls just before the defensive players. I thought it was an outstanding innings from Ash,” said England captain Heather Knight.
“I think the wicket got progressively better as their innings went on and I think they were able to maximize their set batting.”
Tourists lacked these partnerships. Tammy Beaumont and Nat Sciver-Brunt provided the slight glimmer of hope England needed with their 89-run duo, but neither of the pair’s half-centuries were converted into tons and no third bowler has really found its rhythm.
“When you are chasing that score you need a lot of things to go well and unfortunately we lost wickets in bad times. I think we’re offering more courage from the hitters, and I think we were really proactive today. I think we did it really well,” Knight added.
Australia’s only change to their XI was the inclusion of Georgia Wareham, with Darcie Brown making way. Wareham’s 38-run cameo in 12 balls was the boost to push the Australians past the 300-mark, a daunting prospect for the second-batting side.
England don’t have a Wareham-style player to produce cameos consistently. His explosive style and ability to find the boundaries haunts teams like England, while remaining technically sound.
England’s biggest mistake was allowing partnerships to be created. With 309 runs up for grabs, it would have been the most successful run chase in women’s ODI cricket.
Another win in Hobart put Australia 6-0 up in the multi-format Women’s Ashes series with a whitewash in the ODIs that opened the campaign. With Australia currently holding the Ashes, England need to secure 10 points to win them back. Australia, on the other hand, only need eight points to retain.
There are three IT20s and the Test match remaining, meaning there are still 10 points available. England must win all remaining matches to win the Ashes; Australia need four more points to win and just two points to retain.
“It’s going to be difficult. We’ve been here before and the last Ashes series was 6-0 and we were able to turn things around. I think a format change will be really good for us. I think T20 cricket is one of our best formats and I think this little reset will do some good,” Knight said.
“We have to keep believing, but we can’t live too far away. The next game is obviously going to be really, really key and we’ll be trying to put in a really big performance in Sydney, but we’re still alive, we’re still in it and we’ve got to keep believing we can.
The England XI is expected to be heavily changed for the T20s. Lauren Filer will step down while Linsey Smith and Freya Kemp will join the team. Dani Gibson, Sophia Dunkley and Sarah Glenn, who were also part of the ODI squad, are likely to feature in the T20s.
Conspicuous absence from the ODIs was Kate Cross. Suffering back spasms while touring South Africa in December, Cross has since been sidelined, a significant setback for England’s bowling department.
“She was really close,” Knight said. “Kate felt like she was close enough and probably fit enough to play, but we felt like it was too risky because she hasn’t played a huge amount of cricket. She’s still in a place where it He’s a bit cranky and can flare up at any time.
Cross was not included in the T20 squad, meaning her only Ashes appearance would be in the Test match if she was fit to play.
“The Test Match girls will have a little camp outside of our training, so Tammy and Ryana MacDonald-Gay will be part of that so they get some really good preparation. This is moving in the right direction,” Knight added.
Five ways England’s bid to retain the Ashes was derailed in the ODI series
England traveled to Australia with one goal in mind: to return to the Women’s Ashes for the first time in a decade.
Three matches later, after the conclusion of the three ODI matches, England are on the brink of series defeat with a 6–0 runs deficit and must win all the remaining matches (three T20s and one Test match) to prevent the Australia to retain the trophy.
In the aftermath of third consecutive defeat in Hobart, captain Heather Knight said England must “keep believing” but it will take more than faith to turn the series tide and keep it alive ahead of the historic Test match in Hobart. Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Here, Telegraph sport takes a look at five ways the ODI series went for England.
Gaps against spin
England’s difficulties in playing spin are not new. In the Ashes 2023 in England, Ash Gardner took 12 wickets in the Test match and 23 in the series. During the summer of 2023, more than half of England’s wickets fell on spin, as well as those in Australia, and the problem resurfaced again.
In the three ODI matches in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart, England lost 17 wickets, with Alana King taking 11. It’s a problem that head coach Jon Lewis and captain Knight have no other choice than to resolve before the T20 series.
Dropped catches and struggles under pressure
The third ODI was a display of Australian dominance in arguably their most favorite format, but in the first two matches England missed missed chances.
In Sydney’s first match, Alice Capsey and Sophie Ecclestone took catches which helped set the tone for the innings, with England unable to defend a sub-par score of 204.
In the second ODI, England wasted too much with their wickets and also lost catches, with Amy Jones making a crucial tactical miscalculation on the last ball of the over and leaving No. 11 – which was subsequently bowled – exposed .
When Australia were under pressure, they kept their cool, but England succumbed to it, just as they did in the T20 World Cup in 2024.
England’s lack of strength in depth
In the third ODI, with Australia in trouble at 59 for four, Gardner stood up and dug in, forming partnerships with Beth Mooney (50) and Tahlia McGrath for her 102 from as many deliveries. England, on the other hand, consistently struggled to recover once the wickets started falling.
In the opening match, England lost the last five wickets for just 47 runs, in the second they went from 68 for two to 159 all out, and in the third the last six wickets fell for just 22 points.
In all matches, the English batters managed to get starts but without managing to score totals capable of changing the course of the match. It was not until the third ODI that two players, Nat Sciver-Brunt (61) and Tammy Beaumont (54), reached even half a century.
In the T20 series, the top order needs to be established, scoring doesn’t just start – in Hobart, four players scored more than 30 – but continues.
Australia’s dominance
While England did not showcase their best cricket down under, Australia proved why they are world champions. In the third ODI, they stumbled to 59 for four, but Gardner steadied the ship without taking unnecessary risks and guided his team to a winning total.
Ecclestone had been among the choice of England’s bowlers in the first two matches, but in Hobart she conceded 76 from her allotted 10 overs, including 17 in the final innings, with Australia showing their fearlessness in attacking a player widely regarded as the best spinner in the world.
Instead of turning to experience as England so often can with the bat, every Australian batter is capable of turning the match around. It’s an enviable quality and one that England will need to find an answer for to avoid losing the Ashes at the first opportunity.
Youth talents
The thorn in England’s side for the last two Ashes, Gardner, is only 27 years old. Phoebe Litchfield is only 21 and Georgia Wareham 25, but all have established themselves in the Australian set-up.
Maia Bouchier is yet to show the form she showed in South Africa, Capsey has had a series of poor returns with the bat and, although threatening, Lauren Filer’s bowling has been wayward. England’s core of experienced players are being asked to do too much, without some of the younger players stepping up to support them, although Lauren Bell played well.