The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
More five-day Test matches for the Women's game will certainly be a talking point, especially with this one providing a result. Neither of the teams had to go searching for a result, and that produced a spectacle for the viewers. There will be more of that with three T20 and three ODI games coming up in this multi-format series. For now, though, it's all we have from the coverage of this one-off Test. This is Pratyush Rohra, signing off on behalf of my partner, (Lord) Maanas Upadhyay, and the rest of the team at Sportskeeda. Thank you for joining our coverage. Ciao!
Well, then. That was an absolutely absorbing and thrilling five days of Test cricket. As it happens so often, Australia came out on top once more, and they've taken a significant step in retaining the Ashes. Alyssa Healy joins her side for the photo ops with the trophy to get the celebrations underway. It's her first Test win as captain, and how good is it to have a result in a Women's Test for a change?
Alyssa Healy (Australia captain): Very happy. First and foremost to get a result and to be on the right side of it. I guess when you take the pressure of the captains and the teams to force a result, it makes a little bit easier. Even if we have a reserve day in case of rain, it won't be a bad idea. You always feel lucky but we had no doubt in batting. We knew they would bowl very good with the new ball but it was all about hanging in for the first hour and a half. We got a good total and they got pretty close to it. When you get a batter who's made two hundred, they're gonna get pretty close. We gave too many runs at times but we got wickets and built pressure which we did in the fourth innings as well. The wicket was really good and started to play tricks towards the end which we thought. You need a bit of luck in cricket and it felt my way. I thought the girls did a really good job to blunt that out. Sophie was bowling very well and we told them to hang in there. We wanted a little bit more but if we bowled well, we could get the job done. It's a blessing and a curse when you have eight bowling options. Trying to use them at the right time. Ash Gardner was outstanding, Tahlia McGrath bowling at the other end. Kim Garth was outstanding too. There were a few who would've liked a bit more of an opportunity but the way it was going, we decided to continue bowling them. Stressful, a few more grey hairs but thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity. Enjoyed the experience. Got the white ball series coming up and we need to reset. It's come to life (fingers). We'll just manage them over the next few days.
Heather Knight (England captain): First of all, what a game. I've been quite vocal about having five days and today shows why. Credit to Australia for the way they played. Our girls were in the game throughout. Some incredible performances. Tammy, unbelievable. Sophie, call her Merlin. She keeps going and going. Obviously, we lost a bowler. So, that's never easy. It's a couple of sessions we didn't do as well as we could have in the day. The crowd has been behind us, it was an exciting game of cricket. It was in the balance, wasn't it? (Beaumont) The way Tammy batted and the way we batted, to get close to the total after being in the field for so long was really pleasing and something we can be proud of. The way we fought and bowled on yesterday was great. We sat out to play some entertaining cricket and get the crowd on our side. I feel like we did that this week. (Australia) They batted well, but we could have probably bowled better. Maybe we tried to take many wickets initially and the next day we kept it simple. Australia came hard at us. That's what happens in test cricket. We had a bit of a lull and they capitalized on it. (Ecclestone) She's a captain's dream. Just for her to hold up an end, she's so consistent. She's a wicket-taking threat, especially on surfaces like these. She bowled so many overs, and she hardly bowled a loose ball. She's really tired but she did a great job for our side. She really stepped up. To get two fifers, she's been talking about that for a while. I had to calm her down. (Filer) It's pleasing. We feel like she can make an impact. My favorite moment in the Test was her spell before Lunch yesterday with the crowd behind her. She can make things happen with the ball in hand with her extra pace. (What next?) We'll reflect on the five days. The girls won't be too down. We've played a great game and are proud of it. We'll probably watch some Glastonbury highlights and then get into our work for the T20 series.
Ashleigh Gardner (Player of the Match): I wouldn't have dreamt of it but it shows having five days to get a result is super important. There was a little bit of luck involved with the conditions there but as a bowling unit we bowled very well - we bowled in partnerships. As a bowling unit, we thought to keep the stumps in play. Thankfully for me some kept low, some turned. Awesome to put in a good performance for the team. It's a natural pace. I bowl a little quicker naturally then some of the other spinners around the world. For me, it was just about getting the stumps in play. She (Healy) was fantastic all Test match. Standing up the stumps a lot and taking caught behind is super difficult. I am no keeper but I can only imagine. It is super important to have someone behind the stumps who you can trust. It is super special because this is the first time I have been involved in a Test match that has a result. We can celebrate but we need to be prepared for the first T20. For me, it does not change too much.
Game, set, match. Rather comprehensively done in the end, it must be said. It was an absorbing Test match, fitting enough to mark the five-day game and advocating for why we need more of the same in the women's game. Australia got their noses in front after batting first, courtesy of knocks from Ellyse Perry and a maiden Test century from Annabel Sutherland.
England matched Australia stride for stride in that first innings, with Tammy Beaumont making history to become the first English women's player to score a double century in a Test match. Records galored a plenty in this game, with the hosts fighting back in the contest courtesy of Sophie Ecclestone's wizardry, helping her bag her maiden ten-wicket haul in Test cricket. At that stage, England had managed to put themselves in the ascendancy.
As so often is the case with this Australian side though. It's never over till it's over. After three ducks in a row, Alyssa Healy stepped out to play a crucial knock for her side, leading from the front with a half-century to make sure her side posts a competitive target on the board. In response, England showed that they were in it to win it in the final innings, keeping everyone on the edge of their seats.
Tammy Beaumont and Emma Lamb got the hosts to a rollicking start to the run chase, laying down an early marker of intent to put the Aussies under some serious pressure. They were cruising along towards the target before a certain Ashleigh Gardner wrecked them like a one-woman wrecking crew. After four wickets in the first innings, the all-rounder bagged eight wickets in the second innings to take this game away from England in a matter of less than two sessions.
Having had a double-centurion and a bowler who bagged 10 wickets in the innings, you'd expect the team to end up on the winning side more often than not. England certainly gave it their all in this game to try and be on the right side of the result, and had the mighty Australians under pressure for significant periods in this game. There's a reason this Australian side is a juggernaut though. If you give them a sniff, they'll bite your hand off.
So, their domination continues in the Ashes as they take charge of the multi-format series and pocket the four points. That's already a significant step taken for them to retain the Ashes. The attention will turn to the white-ball leg of this series, where England will have it all to do against the world champions. Before getting into that, we'll bring you all the post-game thoughts from the two captains from this memorable Test.
49
overs
178/10score
0
1
0
W
1
w
2
runs
Danielle Wyatt*
54(88)
Lauren Bell
1(1)
Ashleigh Gardner
8/66
48.6
W
Ashleigh Gardner to Danielle Wyatt, OUT! LBW! ANDAUSSIESWIN! Wyatt, however, chooses to review it. Was a tossed up delivery outside off spinning in. With nearly all fielders inside the circle, Wyatt wanted to try something fancy. Shuffles across a long way, gets down on one knee and looks to sweep it away. Misses and the ball thuds her on the front pad. A huge appeal and the umpire obliges to award Ashleigh her eighth wicket! No bat involved as confirmed by Ultra-Edge. Three reds on ball tracking and it confirms that Australia clinch the valuable four points in this series!
Danielle Wyatt lbw b Ashleigh Gardner 54 (88b 5x4 0x6)
48.5
1
Ashleigh Gardner to Lauren Bell, length ball on the middle stump spinning in, Bell looks to defend but gets the outside edge through the third man region for a single.
Lauren Bell, RHB, comes to the crease
Seventh heaven for Ash Gardner! What a player she is.
48.4
W
Ashleigh Gardner to Lauren Filer, OUT! BOWLED! Gardner has her seventh and she has been unplayable! Tossed up and on the fourth stump line spinning in, Filer defends in the wrong line. The ball does not spin as much as she expected it to and ends up clipping the top of off stump! That's an absolute peach!
Lauren Filer b Ashleigh Gardner 0 (9b, 0x4, 0x6)
48.3
0
Ashleigh Gardner to Lauren Filer, length ball outside off, Filer has a good look at that and decides to leave it alone.
48.2
1
Ashleigh Gardner to Danielle Wyatt, tossed up and on the middle stump line, Wyatt gets low for the sweep and ends up getting the top-edge over the keeper's head for a single.
48.1
0
Ashleigh Gardner to Danielle Wyatt, length ball outside off, keeps low as Wyatt looks to cut it away. Fails to get bat on ball in the end.
That one wraps Filer on the hand. Nothing too serious, by the looks of it, but she was wincing a little bit. Wyatt, on the other hand, is showing signs of looking to be a bit more expansive now. Australia won't mind that.
48
overs
176/8score
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
runs
Lauren Filer*
0(7)
Danielle Wyatt
53(85)
Tahlia McGrath
1/28
47.6
0
Tahlia McGrath to Lauren Filer, length ball on the middle stump swinging in, rises sharply and raps Filer on the gloves as she leaned in for the defense.