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England Set Australia Target Of 154: Women’s Ashes, First T20 Match – Live

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18th over: Australia 138-4 (Mooney 56, Perry 6) Davies is back. She’s bowling into the pitch which prevents the Aussies from planting their front foot and giving it a whack, but it does allow them to go back and pick their spot. Perry takes two twos in the deep and a couple of singles. Mooney picks up two singles of her own. Eight off it. Handy from Davies.

16 needed from the final 12 balls.

17th over: Australia 130-4 (Mooney 54, Perry 0) Is that the over that turns this match? Glenn finishes with 2-33 from her four overs. After getting whacked for a six she continued to get it up there and got her rewards.

24 needed from 18.

WICKET! Harris b Glenn 0 (Australia 130-4)Two in two! Harris is bowled through the gate first ball. A peach of a delivery. Flighted, drawing out the drive, spinning through the gate. England are fighting back!

WICKET! Gardner c Jones b Glenn 31 (Australia 130-3)England needed that! Gardner has just clobbered Glenn for six to put Australia within touching distance of victory. But fair play to Glenn. She remained brave and gave her leggie a bit of air. Gardner went for another big one and got a thin edge on it. Jones – who has been outstanding with the gloves – pouches it. England with a sniff.

Mooney reaches 50 with Australia in control16th over: Australia 122-2 (Mooney 53, Gardner 24) With the final ball of this Bell over, Mooney reaches 50 with a fine tickle down to fine leg. It was a good ball. But Mooney was too good. The ball before Gardner was given a life as she skied one high in the air. Bell called for it but couldn’t reach it. 10 off that over.

32 needed from 24.

15th over: Australia 112-2 (Mooney 47, Gardner 20) Ecclestone returns and Gardner looks to attack from the word go. She’s down the crease and loses her shape as she swipes at a flighted ball. A thick edge saves her from a stumping and also gives her three. Mooney is more circumspect and is happy to look for singles. Ecclestone only gives up three of those. Australia will look to score from the other England bowlers.

42 needed from 30.

14th over: Australia 105-2 (Mooney 45, Gardner 16) Another good over for Australia with eight from it. Mooney guides Gibson past the fielder at short third and takes four off the target. Four singles elsewhere.

48 needed from 36.

13th over: Australia 98-2 (Mooney 39, Gardner 14) Gardner ends this Glenn over with a skip down the crease, a good swing of the limbs and a crack of willow on leather as she sends the bail sailing over wide long on. There were three singles before then so Australia needed that. England need a wicket. This is slipping away from them. Surely Ecclestone has to come back on!

56 needed from 42.

12th over: Australia 89-2 (Mooney 37, Gardner 7) Capsey’s back. Six off this one. Australia being asked to heave over the top with pace off the ball but so far they’re batting within themselves. With wickets in hand they’re not taking the bait just yet.

65 needed from 48.

11th over: Australia 83-2 (Mooney 35, Gardner 3) Davies returns and is spanked for two consecutive fours by Mooney. The second was a real pie down the leg side and the young debutant has to gather herself. That’s exactly what she does and rediscovers her radar, coughing up just two singles from the rest of the over.

Starting the countdown now: Australia need 71 from 54

10th over: Australia 73-2 (Mooney 26, Gardner 2) A typically brilliant over from Ecclestone who nabbed the big wicket of McGrath and then almost had Gardner lbw. Four singles between those balls has helped drag her team back in the contest. She’s the top ranked bowler for a reason and that spin, dip and change of pace throughout showed everyone why she’s the top of the tree.

It’s umpires call! Would have just clipped Gardner’s leg stump. She was down the track and it turned after bouncing. Very close.

Review for lbw. Original decision not out but I think Ecclestone has another one…

WICKET! McGrath st Jones b Ecclestone 40 (Australia 69-2)The first round in the battle of the world No. 1s went McGrath’s way but Ecclestone has the final say as she drags the Aussie batter out her crease and gets one to zip past the outside edge. Jones behind the stumps has to climb with the sharp bounce and is quick with the gloves to whip off the bails. She’s have a great night. England’s is a lot better now with that breakthrough.

9th over: Australia 69-1 (Mooney 24, McGrath 40) McGrath is in the zone now. She gets inside the line to Glenn’s straight flighted ball, goes down on one knee and times the leather off that slog sweep. Glenn does well to fight back and keeps the rest of the over to just three singles.

8th over: Australia 60-1 (Mooney 23, McGrath 32) There’s a chance for Alice Capsey but Mooney’s gets just enough on it clear the fielder at mid-on and find the boundary. There’s a couple wide of long-off and Mooney keeps the strike with a single to the sweeper at deep extra cover.

7th over: Australia 52-1 (Mooney 18, McGrath 29) Sarah Glenn into the attack but it make no difference to McGrath who leans back and crunches another cut shot for four. Three singles adds to the total. England need to end this partnership quick!

6th over: Australia 45-1 (Mooney 16, McGrath 24) Gibson continues and McGrath starts the over with a thick outside edge for four the screams between Jones with the gloves and Knight at second slip. Two more boundaries – one scythed through the covers and another dabbed to a vacant deep third – has Australia cruising at the end of the powerplay.

5th over: Australia 31-1 (Mooney 15, McGrath 11) We’ve got the number one ranked bowler in Sophie Ecclestone on now and she’s bowling to the top ranked batters in the world. McGrath, first on the ICC’s metrics, is beaten with a ripper than turns sharply from a good length. But she then plays a delicious cut backward of point and an even better lofted cover drive after a little shimmy down the track. Wonderful cricket.

4th over: Australia 22-1 (Mooney 15, McGrath 2) In her first over in international cricket, Gibson lands the ball on a perfect spot and concedes just one run. The run-rate has now dropped below six and the required run-rate is hovering around 8.2. Game on.

3rd over: Australia 21-1 (Mooney 15, McGrath 1) Bell had just delivered the worst ball of the innings – a filthy half tracker that was smacked towards the cover point boundary by Healy. But she gathered herself and got the next one fuller. Healy looked to turn it towards the leg side but closed the face of the bat too early and sent a skier towards Glenn who had plenty of time to think about what she was doing. Fortunately for England, she kept her cool and made a tricky grab look easy.

WICKET! Healy c Glenn b Bell 5 (Australia 20-1)You could have boiled a kettle in the time it took that ball to explode off Healy’s leading edge and the time it finally nestled in Glenn’s hands at backward point. At least that’s what it felt like after Bell’s fuller delivery around middle and leg found the Aussie skipper’s turning bat and ballooned high into the Birmingham sky.

2nd over: Australia 16-0 (Mooney 15, Healy 1) Freya Davies starts well but a loose delivery on Mooney’s hips from round the wicket is swivelled away for four. She follows that up with a rank full toss around knee height that is smacked to the fence as well. Australia match England’s score after two overs.

1st over: Australia 6-0 (Mooney 4, Healy 1) A lovely cover drive gets Mooney going. Too much width from Bell but some good shape out of the hand early on away from the left hander who swipes at one from the back foot and is lucky not to edge it.

Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy explode out of the gate. Looks like Lauren Bell has the new ball in her hands. Honestly not sure where this goes. I reckon Australia still favourites, but 60-40. Nothing more.

So, what do we reckon? Have England got enough?

England post 153-7A game changing innings from Amy Jones! She heaves the final ball for six as Gardner drops it short. The ball before was swatted away past point for four and Jones ends with 40 from just 21 balls. Is that enough? It just might be. Dunkley might have score more runs but there is no doubt that Jones’ knock is the standout on that scorecard. Outstanding hitting.

19th over: England 140-7 (Jones 29, Glenn 3) That is the over England desperately needed and they can thank Amy Jones for it. 18 runs, including one mighty six over midwicket and two boundaries lofted over the covers means England inch towards a score they can be proud of. Jones has some luck as she’s put down in the deep, but that’s what happens when you fight back with some guts. Brilliant from Jones.

18th over: England 122-7 (Jones 11, Glenn 3) A double strike from Jonassen has derailed England’s push to a defendable target. There’s almost a run-out from the final ball. A better throw and/or pick up from Healy would have ended Glenn’s brief stay.

WICKET! Ecclestone c Healy b Jonassen 0 (England 118-7)Jonassen is on a hat-trick! It’s a brilliant take behind the stumps from Healy who moves with the ball as it skids past Eccelstone down the leg side but not before catching the smallest tickle of the bat. Excellent keeping.

WICKET! Gibson c Schutt b Jonassen 1 (England 118-6)England are capitulating. Gibson takes a swipe at this flatter ball from Jonassen but can’t generate power as she fails to free her arms. It loops towards Schutt in the covers who takes a simple catch.

17th over: England 118-5 (Jones 10, GIbson 1) Very good from Schutt who will leave here with both openers’ wickets. There’s almost a leg side stumping as well as Australia turn the screw.

WICKET! Dunkley c Brown b Schutt 56 (England 115-5)England in big trouble now! Brown wasn’t putting this dolly down. Dunkley goes for a heave across the line to the returning Schutt and can only meet it with the edge of her wafting blade. It squirt to Brown saving one in the gully region. A handy knock that gives her team a sniff. But you fear whatever they get from here won’t be enough.

Brown catches the wicket of Dunkley. Photograph: Dan Mullan/Getty Images16th over: England 115-4 (Dunkley 56, Jones 8) Jones is given out lbw but is saved after a review shows she got a little clip on it. That was from an attempted sweep off Jonassen’s left arm spin. Earlier in the over Jones caught all of one from a reverse scoop that found the boundary.

15th over: England 107-4 (Dunkley 55, Jones 1) It was looking so good when Knight shimmied across her stumps, got down on one knee and lifted a sweep for four to fine leg. Before that Dunkley’s two over cover brought up the 100 and a single to deep square raised the 50 partnership. But McGrath, into the attack, snaffled the big wicket of the England skipper with a clever slower ball.

WICKET! Knight c Sutherland b McGrath 29 (England 106-4)Slower ball, toe-end of the bat, simple catch in the deep and England lose their captain. She had no choice, really, did Knight. And having just played a great shot towards fine leg for four, she was clearly seeing it well enough. But the change of pace ends her handy cameo.

McGrath of Australia celebrates with her team mates after dismissing Knight. Photograph: Dan Mullan/Getty Images14th over: England 98-3 (Dunkley 52, Knight 25) Jonassen back on. Spin into the wicket and England can only manage a single off each ball. Good set from the Aussie.

Dunkley reaches 50 off 42 ballsA very important knock that’s held this innings together. Bat on Soph!

Dunkley celebrates reaching her half century. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images/Reuters13th over: England 93-2 (Dunkley 49, Knight 23) You have to go watch this comical bit of fielding to end the over. Sutherland digs one in to Dunkley who catches a top edge that flies down to Brown at deep third. It’s short but kicks off the grass and spins away. Brown has to dive to reach it but can only parry it towards the rope for four. Sutherland is not impressed as she was keeping things tight before with only three singles off the over. England upping the rate – these last five overs have gone for 41.

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