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Somehow, despite the MCC’s historical antipathy to women’s cricket, Lord’s always seems to be a ground where female cricketers make history. England Women have three times won a World Cup here, in 1993, 2009 and 2017. In 1998, the Harris Garden was their site of choice when, after 64 years of England-Australia contests, the women finally created some “ashes” of their own, in a unique and slightly bizarre ceremony involving the burning of a miniature bat in a wok (handily provided by the MCC kitchen).
Fitting, then, that as the Women’s Ashes series finally returned to Lord’s on Saturday evening for the first time in ten years, and on a day in which MCC President Stephen Fry unveiled a plaque to commemorate the trophy’s creation, it was Lord’s which laid witness to an English victory in front of an historic crowd of 21,610 – smashing the record for a bilateral women’s international in England.
Rain may have foreshortened the match, but England supplied a thrilling spectacle nonetheless, chasing down their 119-run DLS target with just four balls to spare (of the 14 overs available). For the second time in four days, the previously all-conquering Australians proved beatable – just about. After a mad scramble which saw England lose three wickets in the space of 11 balls, Dani Gibson’s reverse sweep finally took them safely to their first T20 series win against Australia since 2017.
England’s Ashes hopes still hang in the balance – they remain 6-4 down in the series and need to win all three of the ODIs to regain the Ashes – but after Saturday at Lord’s, it no longer feels impossible that the remnants of that wok-burned bat might at last be returning to English hands.
For a time, England made it look easy, as Alice Capsey smashed her way to 46 off 23 balls, including two effortless slog-sweeps for six, which landed way back into the Tavern Stand. But Capsey was caught at midwicket trying to hit a third maximum, and Georgia Wareham then took out the stumps of Nat Sciver-Brunt (25 off 25).
With just two runs needed from the final over, Jess Jonassen trapped Heather Knight lbw; the England skipper’s appeal to DRS was in vain, and Gibson was left to finish the job.
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Earlier, Australia had seemed to benefit from a 10-minute rain delay between the 15th and 16th overs of their innings, striking 49 runs off the final five to leave them with a total of 155 for seven, courtesy of Ellyse Perry (34 off 25) and Grace Harris (25 off 15). Sciver-Brunt finished with two for 31, but her fourth over cost England 17 runs, all coming off the bat of Perry.
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Perry fell lbw to Lauren Bell in the 19th, but Sophie Ecclestone’s final over saw England add two further dropped chances to a match-tally of five, as the now-slippery ball eluded Bell at short third and Dani Gibson at long on.
Earlier, Australia had struggled to get going, despite Beth Mooney and Ash Gardner adding 32 runs apiece. Mooney was bowled after recklessly trying to ramp Sciver-Brunt, while Gardner wildly swung at one, failed to properly connect, and promptly fell victim to a brilliant piece of glovework by Amy Jones, standing up to the stumps. The only uncertainty was whether it would go down in the scorebook as caught behind or stumped – either way, it was goodbye, Gardner, as England enjoyed one of many Saturday evening celebrations.
