Danni Wyatt and spinners keep England alive in the Women’s Ashes

By Charlie On Jul 6, 2023

England 186 for 9 (Wyatt 76, Sutherland 3-28) beat Australia 183 for 8 (Perry 51*, Glenn 2-27, Ecclestone 2-35) by three runs

Danni Wyatt’s magnificent half-century set a Kia Oval crowd of 20,328 – and this Ashes series – alight before England’s bowlers combined to protect a lofty total and topple the mighty Australians by three runs in their second T20I.

Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley had set the hosts off to a fast start with a 57-run opening partnership. A flurry of wickets had them in trouble at 119 for 6 but then Sophie Ecclestone’s cameo of 22 off just 12 balls, including stands worth 31 each with both Wyatt and Sarah Glenn, helped lift England to 186 for 9, their highest T20I score against Australia. It was also the second-highest total ever conceded by the Australians in the format, behind the 187 for 5 in December against India, who won that match in a Super Over, Australia’s only other T20I defeat in their past 25 completed matches.

England withstood some early pressure when Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney set Australia off to a superior start, but spinners Ecclestone and Glenn claimed two wickets apiece and the visitors couldn’t get over the line despite Ellyse Perry’s brave unbeaten half-century. The hosts came into the match needing to win all five remaining matches to wrest back the Ashes and, having won five on the trot to reach the final of the 50-over World Cup last year after dropping their first three games, this victory could just have them daring to dream, trailing 6-2 but with eight more points up for grabs.

Australia gifted Dunkley a life on 13 when she skied Megan Schutt high to cover and while Tahlia McGrath sat under it, the ball slid between her hands in the most dramatic in a rash of misfields early in England’s innings. Wyatt helped herself to back-to-back boundaries off Ashleigh Gardener, over mid-off and threaded through third, and at the end of the powerplay England were 54 without loss in a vast improvement on their 36 for 2 in the opening T20I at Edgbaston, which Australia won by four wickets with one ball to spare. McGrath juggled another chance of Dunkley and her relief was palpable when she held on at cover this time as Dunkley departed for 23 off 19.

Nat Sciver-Brunt also departed for 23 when Gardner, whom she’d reverse-swept sublimely for four earlier, had caught at long-on but Wyatt carried on, bringing up her half-century off 36 balls when she swung an Perry’s short ball wide of midwicket for a one-bounce four. When Schutt conceded 25 off the 16th over, Wyatt was the chief destroyer, slapping the first ball to the rope through point as Schutt overstepped followed by three more boundaries in a row and five wides off what should have been the last ball of the over to Ecclestone adding to the Australians’ pain. Wyatt eventually fell for a when she holed out to deep third off Annabel Sutherland.

Sutherland swung the momentum Australia’s way when she claimed two wickets in as many balls as England slid from 100 for 1 to 109 for 4. Alice Capsey fell for her second straight single-figure score of the series advancing and attempting to hook Sutherland only to send a top edge high towards short fine leg, wicketkeeper Healy moving calmly back to take it. Then Heather Knight, playing her 100th T20I, was bowled first ball, a gem of a cross-seam delivery that angled in from wide of the crease, straightened and pegged back off stump. Amy Jones survived the hat-trick ball, digging out the yorker on leg stump, but then Sutherland took an excellent diving catch at running round from wide long-on and England had lost four wickets for 12 runs in the space of 13 balls.

A 31-run stand off just 15 balls for the eighth wicket between Ecclestone and Glenn had the crowd roaring, particularly as Ecclestone peeled off 4, 6, 4 off McGrath as England recovered to 181 for 8 and it took a stunning catch by Darcie Brown at short third off Gardner to remove Glenn.

It looked like Australia would do what Australia have done so often before when openers Healy and Mooney guided them to 58 without loss in the powerplay. With Healy particularly impressive on 37 off 18 including two huge sixes off Sciver-Brunt in the fifth over, over wide long-on and in front of square leg. But she failed to add to her score when legspinner Glenn came into the attack in the seventh over and struck second ball, taking the pace off as Healy looked to go over short fine leg and exposed her stumps as the ball crashed into middle. Then McGrath was run-out through a combination of a cool-headed Charlie Dean gathering a ball that dropped just short of extra cover and firing it in to wicketkeeper Jones, who threw down the stumps. Danielle Gibson, who made her debut in the opening match at Edgbaston, claimed her maiden international wicket when Mooney picked out Wyatt at deep midwicket.

Ecclestone had Gardner out to the simplest return catch imaginable to claim her 100th wicket in T20Is, becoming the fastest to the milestone from just 72 matches as Australia slumped to 75 for 4. After 12 overs, Australia needed to score at 11.5 an over and Dean, the offspinner who came in as the only change for either side after the opening match replacing seamer Freya Davies, bowled Grace Harris to keep England on top. Georgia Wareham threatened with a four followed immediately by two sixes off Dean in the 18th over but, needing 31 off the final two overs, Lauren Bell, who had been expensive, bowled Wareham with eight balls remaining. Australia needed 20 off the last over and while Perry kept fighting to the end, her boundary laden 51 not out off 27 balls was not enough.

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