England remain winless after T20 defeat seals Ashes for Australia

Women’s Ashes: Second T20, Canberra

Australia 185-5 (20 overs): McGrath 48* (35); Dean 2-28

England 168-4 (19.1 overs): Wyatt-Hodge 52 (40); Schutt 2-32

Australia won by six runs (DLS); lead series 10-0

Scorecard

England remain winless in the Women’s Ashes as Australia won a dramatic rain-affected encounter by six runs in the second T20 to complete an outright series victory.

Set a challenging 186 to win in Canberra, England needed 18 from the last five balls with Heather Knight unbeaten on 43 before heavy rain fell and no further play was possible.

England finished on 168-4, an agonising six runs short of the required score set by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method.

The result sees Australia take a 12-0 lead in the points-based multi-format series, which ends England’s hopes of a draw.

Rain had also disrupted the tourists’ chase after 8.4 overs, with England two runs ahead of DLS at 69-1, but it eased enough for play to resume with no overs lost.

Knight’s brilliant partnership of 65 in 6.5 overs with Nat Sciver-Brunt kept England in contention throughout before the final result was taken out of their hands and the captain walked off visibly upset.

Opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s 52 from 40 balls at the top of the order kick-started England’s brave effort, supported by Sophia Dunkley’s 32, but ultimately they were left to rue a sloppy final three overs of their bowling innings which conceded 48 runs.

They were in the game when the hosts stuttered to 137-5 after 17 overs, only for Tahlia McGrath and Grace Harris to bludgeon their way to 185-5.

McGrath, standing in for captain Alyssa Healy because of a foot injury, smashed an unbeaten 48 from 35 balls and Harris launched three sixes in her 17-ball 35.

Off-spinner Charlie Dean was the pick of the bowlers with 2-28 but she dropped McGrath on 42 on another poor night for England’s catching statistics, with Lauren Bell and Freya Kemp also putting down chances off Georgia Voll and Annabel Sutherland – they were not particularly costly in terms of runs, but it remains a big concern for Knight’s side going forward.

The third and final T20 takes place in Adelaide on Saturday, followed by the one-off Test match in Melbourne on 30 January.

After a tumultuous couple of days off the field for England, involving the fall-out from spinner Sophie Ecclestone refusing a television interview with pundit and former bowler Alex Hartley, they responded impressively and a first win of the series was within their sights.

Australia raced to 47-0 from five overs with Beth Mooney scoring 44 of them, but England’s spinners dragged things back and the hosts slipped to 75-4.

Mooney’s opening partner Voll was run out by Maia Bouchier for five, Ecclestone had Mooney stumped and then in the 10th over, Charlie Dean removed Ellyse Perry for two and Phoebe Litchfield for 17 to shift momentum England’s way.

Freya Kemp dismissed Sutherland for 18 and at 114-5, Australia looked in danger of throwing it away, but as they have proved throughout the series, they are the masters of finding a way to win from tricky situations and one of their array of world-class players is always prepared to step up.

In this instance, McGrath led from the front with her counter-attacking knock as England’s familiar fielding mistakes began to creep in under the pressure.

Harris provided the firepower and took the wind out of England’s sails, as they could only watch the ball sail over the ropes and into the gaps with alarming regularity.

Ecclestone finished with 1-33, including 18 from one over which was her most expensive ever in T20s, while Bell and Sarah Glenn were also targeted and conceded 0-38 and 0-39 respectively.

After meek showings in the one-day international series which Australia won 3-0, Knight frequently called for more “bravery” and despite falling short, this was finally a batting performance of which she could be proud.

With the rain threatening, England’s task was clear when faced with a huge target and the clarity appeared to help the batters, who came out full of confidence.

Wyatt-Hodge and Bouchier added 46 inside six overs before the latter softly chipped one back to Sutherland for 13, which got Australia back into the game on DLS until Dunkley came to the middle and continued her form from her half-century in the first T20 in Sydney.

McGrath dropped a difficult chance with Dunkley on 22 after the first rain delay which suggested that the luck could be swinging England’s way, but seamer Megan Schutt delivered the hammer blow in the 13th over to remove her and Wyatt-Hodge.

Knight batted with the steely resilience of a captain with a point to prove and showed the grit that England have been missing throughout the series and her frustration told as she dropped her bat on the floor when the umpires made the final decision, finishing unbeaten on 43 from just 19 balls.

England can no longer reach Australia, who now lead 10-0, so they are simply playing for pride and aiming to get some points on the board in the face of a ruthless opponent who have their eyes firmly on a 16-0 clean sweep, which has never been achieved in the multi-format Ashes.

England captain Heather Knight: “Shame, it was set to be a really thrilling game.

“I felt like it was on, I felt like I was set, obviously the weather came at the worst possible time and we weren’t able to see the complete conclusion. It was going to be a tough ask, but I felt like I was set and was going to get it done.”

Ex-England spinner Alex Hartley: “For three-quarters of the game, England were better. There are still things to be improved; there were misfields, there were dropped catches. You are going to drop catches, we saw Australia do the same.

“But England were definitely better than they have been.”

Ex-Australia batter Michelle Goszko: “It feels a bit hollow – this is not a great way to win the Ashes for Australia.

“The final over probably shouldn’t have started as it was clear that it wasn’t going to be finished.”