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Right then. That brings us to the end of the Women's Ashes series, it has been a roller-coaster of a series as two great sides once again proved why they are the best in the world. Australia retain the Ashes but England will be mighty proud about what they've' been able to achieved in this Ashes season. For now, this has been me, Pradeep along with my partner Arya, as we sign off, stay safe and take care!
Alyssa Healy [Australia captain]: We can tuck that in the change rom, we got that bit done and we got the result we're after. I've never really a believer in the gap, you're probably asking the wrong person, when you look at the world tournaments in particular, we've done well in key moments and not surprise that people want to say that and England have come out and played well, we're seeing exciting things happening in Women's cricket, we can all be celebrating. Being able to give opportunities to those young players in big moments, like the Ashes series and with the Hundred too, they are getting exposed to high level cricket over here and the same thing happening back in Australia. I can see a lot of depth in Australian cricket, we saw that today too. It's been a great opportunity, one that I'm humbled by, to come over here and captain in an ashes series is no mean feat and to do in throughout hectic schedule it's been tough, but in saying that the support staff were behind and grateful for the support.
Ashleigh Gardner (Australia's Player of the Series): Yeah I guess so. Its been the consistency which I have been looking for. A bittersweet moment for us. We have retained the Ashes but England were the better side throughout the white ball leg. It sucks. We came here to win the Ashes, retaining the Ashes is good but we have plenty of things to improve on. We have lacked the fighting spirit. England have played a fearless brand of cricket and we must take the game on when necessary. Probably a little bit of both. You have to trust what you done and trust your preparations. You don't lose skill in one day so it's about trusting your process. Backing that and knowing that my teammates are around me. I guess we have to balance it. You cannot be perfect on all three skills everyday. Understanding that comes with maturity. For me it's about putting time in all three skills and find that balance what works for you individually. Quality over quantity is important for me in the nets as well.
Natalie Sciver-Brunt is the England's Player of the Ashes too! Here's what she has to say: The knee thing was a bit troubling really, test match was a bit emotional and was able to contribute to the team and thankfully help win games for our country. I don't really like to think about bigger picture, want to stay in the moment, just to take note of things I've been able to do and it's a special moment to be part of and we've really done well to come up with he draw. Being able to win the white ball has cemented the belief, we probably were we want to be but we've made huge strides in the series.
Heather Knight (England captain): Hugely pleased. We have got two trophies against the world champions which is very special. The way they have turned it around after the Ages Bowl, credit goes to the group. Continued how we played in the white ball leg. A lot on the line please and hugely impressed by how the girls did a remarkable job. I think the fact that we have gone toe to toe with Australia gave us more belief. We didn't get the result but that gave us confidence. Credit to the girls for still believing and credit goes to the support staff as well. It's been hugely impressive. Lot of leaders in the group and highly impressed with how they have led. It's exciting. We haven't played our best cricket. Today was the closest to a perfect game. It's about us keep improving, keep working out different things and working out how to execute things in different conditions. It's a hugely exciting time for the team. The point system is strict but that happened with us the last time around. We lost the two white ball series but won the Test and won the Ashes. So not really sure about the point system (if it's spare). The amount of effort done by ECB is a benchmark and thanks to the crowd for coming in numbers to support us.
Natalie Sciver-Brunt is the Player of the Match and the Player of the series as well! Here's what she has to say: Tried to take it ball by ball today, came in under pressure and difficult conditions and Heather needed to rebuild a bit, glad to be taking it through. It is satisfying, we're proud of what we've achieved and we have done well for the people that have come to see the game. We've always had a good reception at Taunton, just to have the atmosphere is brilliant and hopefully they come and watch us again the summer. I'm pretty tired, glad I didn't have to bowl another spell, I'm ok and there's a little bit of time off.
Time for the post match presentation ceremony.
England W won by 69 runs (DLS method)
Nat Sciver-Brunt 129(149) | Kate Cross 3/48(8) Ellyse Perry 53(58) | Jess Jonassen 3/30(5)
Australia needed to get off to a good start for them to chase down a stiff target of 286. The English new ball bowlers Lauren Bell and Kate Cross started brilliantly as Alyssa Healy and Phoebe Litchfield were dismissed in quick succession. The innings were resurrected by Ellyse Perry and Tahila McGrath. The pair looked in great touch and struck some delightful shots during their stand of 43 runs.
Perry looked in ominous touch but McGrath had a few iffy moments here and there. She was eventually dismissed by Sophie Ecclestone as she stepped down the track only to miss that completely and Amy Jones did the rest behind the stumps. Out came Beth Mooney and Perry in her company settled down nicely. The rain break meant that the match was reduced to a 44-over affair with the target being 269.
Perry and Mooney looked in good touch post the break but the decision to bring back Kate Cross turned the game on its head. Two wickets in two overs and England were firmly in the ascendancy. However, the likes of Ashleigh Gardner and Annabel Sutherland had other ideas. Gardner looked at her brutal best, smashing a quickfire 41 off just 24 deliveries which included 3 fours and a couple of sixes.
She looked set but a horrible mix-up cost resulted in her departure. From there on, the lower order couldn't quite get the job done. Georgia Wareham played some impressive shots and rotated the strike well with Sutherland. It was Nat Sciver-Brunt and Charlie Dean who bagged a couple of crucial wickets to push them to a corner. In the end, it was Dean who finished the match with the wicket of Jess Jonassen.
In another exhilarating display by the hosts England, they defeated arch-rivals Australia by 69 runs in a rain hit contest as they won the ODI series 2-1 after pocketing the T20I series by a similar margin. Heather Knight was quite special with her captaincy and it's a moment to cherish for England. However this will be a bitter sweet moment for them as well as Australia pocket the Ashes irrespective of the results in the white ball leg. Australia pride themselves in winning games and that won't sit well with them despite winning the Ashes.
35.3 Charlie Dean to Jess Jonassen, OUT! ENGLAND WIN THE ODI SERIES! Went straight up in the air and Bell takes a sitter at short third. Length delivery on the off-stump, Jonassen swings across the line but has top edged it and spooned an easy catch to Bell. Australia have retained the Ashes, but England take the consolation ODI series!
Jess Jonassen c Lauren Bell b Charlie Dean 5 (7b, 0x4, 0x6)
35.2 Charlie Dean to Megan Schutt, OH! Low full toss on the off-stump, Schutt does well to get bat on it as she sweeps across the line to deep square-leg for one.
35.1 Charlie Dean to Jess Jonassen, length delivery on the pads, Jonassen whips it behind square and picks up a single.
England are nearly there. Just one more wicket left and they would be overjoyed with the outcome so far. Australia have retained the Ashes but winning T20 and ODI series against Australia is no mean feat.
35
overs
197/9score
1
1wd
0
W
2wd
1
0
0
runs
Megan Schutt*
0(2)
Jess Jonassen
4(5)
Lauren Bell
2/53
34.6 Lauren Bell to Megan Schutt, length delivery on the fourth stump, Schutt pushes it straight to the cover fielder for another dot.
34.5 Lauren Bell to Megan Schutt, back of a length on the off-stump, Schutt right behind it and defends it into the off-side.
34.4 Lauren Bell to Jess Jonassen, back of a length on the off-stump, Jonassen nonchalantly hoicks it with good timing on it, but finds the fielder at deep square-leg for just one.
34.4 Lauren Bell to Megan Schutt, WIDE! Strays this one down the leg-side, Jones doesn't collect neatly and they pick up a quick bye.
Megan Schutt, RHB is the batter in at No 11.
England are almost there and Australia on the verge of losing their first bilateral ODI series in 10 years. Another bowling change does the trick for England.
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Megan Schutt
*
Lauren Bell
Video
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The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton
