Birmingham: An unbeaten 61 off 47 balls by opener Beth Mooney helped Australia beat England by four wickets with one ball to spare in the first T20I of the Women’s Ashes at Edgbaston.
Australia’s thrilling victory also means they are now at six points as compared to England, who are yet to get off the mark in the ongoing multi-format Ashes series and need just one more win in the remaining two T20Is and three ODIs to retain the trophy.
Beth was calmly spearheading the chase despite a mini-collapse at the other end, with Australia losing three wickets for ten runs in the space of 11 deliveries at the back-end of the chase.
Annabel Sutherland helped Mooney edge Australia closer through the 19th and 20th over by hitting two boundaries, before Georgia Wareham finished the job, nudging a single off the very first ball she faced against Sophie Ecclestone to chase down the target of 154.
Australia were effective with the ball at the start of the match, with Jess Jonassen (3-25) and Megan Schutt (2-33) stifling England’s aggressive batting line-up. It needed Sophia Dunkley’s 56 (49) and Amy Jones’ 40 not out from 21 balls as well as Heather Knight’s 29 (22) to ensure the hosts posted a competitive score.
After Sophia and Heather shared a 55-run stand for the fourth wicket, Amy hit 29 of England’s 31 runs in the final two overs of their innings for the hosts’ to go past 150, as Danni Wyatt, Alice Capsey and Nat Sciver-Brunt fell cheaply.
In the chase, Australia lost skipper Alyssa Healy (5) early, though Mooney and Tahlia McGrath (40 off 29 balls) pushed them forward. Though Tahlia fell to the left-arm spin of Ecclestone (2-24), Ashleigh Gardner (31 off 23 balls) ensured the momentum didn’t suffer a dip.
Leg-spinner Sarah Glenn (2-33 off four overs) gave England hope through her tight bowling to dismiss Ashleigh and Grace Harris in quick succession. But it was Beth’s maturity with the lower order, especially Annabel and Georgia, that ensured victory for Australia.
Australia and England will now move to London for the second and third T20Is of the women’s Ashes at The Oval and Lord’s on July 5 and 8 respectively.
Brief scores:
Australia 154/6 in 19.5 overs (Beth Mooney 61 not out, Sophie Ecclestone 2-24) beat England 153/7 in 20 overs (Sophia Dunkley 56, Amy Jones 40, Jess Jonassen 3-25) by four wickets
