Australia win Kia Women’s Test at Canterbury
Friday 14th August 2015
Pace bowler Ellyse Perry bagged six wickets as Australia romped to a 161-run win over England in the Kia Women’s Test at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence and claim a six-point lead in this season’s Ashes series.
The 24-year-old right-armer from Wahroonga, New South Wales, claimed Test-best figures of six for 32 as England capitulated for 101 inside 59.1 overs – the lowest all out fourth innings score in any women’s Test.
Having been set an improbable victory target of 263 from 89 overs – which would have been a women’s world record pursuit – England’s tough task became nigh-on impossible after the loss of two wickets in six balls just prior to lunch.
Opening bat Heather Knight (5) departed lbw after pushing outside the line of a Sarah Coyte in-swinger, then Sarah Taylor bagged a pair when dragging a lavish drive against Perry onto her off stump to make it 12 for two.
Home captain Charlotte Edwards then survived a huge second-ball appeal for leg before by Perry as she and her side limped in at lunch in deep trouble on 16 for two after 10 overs.
England’s demise gathered momentum immediately after the resumption when Edwards chased the first ball of the mid-session from Perry to edge to the keeper. Hanging her head in shame at fencing at a delivery she ought to have left, Edwards trudged off with only a single to her name.
Having occupied the crease for 73-minutes, Lauren Winfield’s vigil for 12 runs ended when, in aiming a whip to leg she missed out to depart lbw to Megan Schutt.
Two runs later, Natalie Sciver (2) pushed outside off at a near yorker-length ball from Schutt to edge to Alyssa Healy behind the timbers and leave England rocking on 29 for five.
Sixth-wicket partners Lydia Greenway and Test debutant Georgia Elwiss stalled England’s Ashes ignominy with a stoic 32-over partnership worth 51 as England reached tea on 76 for five. But the hosts capitulated thereafter, losing their last five wickets for 23 runs in the space of 61 deliveries.
Having faced 137 balls for her plucky 16 runs, Greenway misjudged a Perry bouncer, ducking low only to see the ball brush past her shoulder and peg back leg stump.
Laura Marsh went right back on her stumps to Perry’s next delivery, a leg-cutter that rocked off stump to leave Perry with a pair and England tottering on 90 for seven.
Katherine Brunt, England’s first innings top-scorer, reached six before she was sent packing by umpire Alex Wharf for a catch behind the sumps when hooking. Replays showed the delivery had grazed the helmet, rather than gloves or bat and, to rub salt in Brunt’s wounds, the dismissal gave Perry a five-wicket haul.
Having batted two-and-a-quarter hours, Elwiss was just four short of a maiden Test 50 when she chipped a low full-toss to mid-on to gift Perry her sixth wicket, then Coyte pinned Anya Shrubsole (1) leg before to instigate Australia celebrations as the tourist wrapped up victory with almost 30 overs to spare.
The final day had started with an eager batting display by Australia’s fifth-wicket pairing of Jess Jonassen and Alex Blackwell, who wasted little time in adding a further 66 runs to set England a mammoth run chase.
Inexplicably, England’s new-ball pairing of Shrubsole and Brunt swapped ends with Brunt, England’s fastest bowler who had performed superbly down the Nackington Road slope on day three, bowling up-hill and into the wind.
Meanwhile, Shrubsole, who bagged four for 63 in the tourists' first innings when bowling from the Pavilion End, failed to get her in-swinger going down-wind and from the Nackington Road End.
The switch helped enable Australia’s positive start as Jonassen pulled a Knight full- toss to the ropes at mid-wicket to reach her second half-century of the match from 63 balls, with five fours and a six.
Nine deliveries later the left-hander drove to Greenway at mid-off, but she had become only the eighth Australian to score 50 in each innings of an Ashes Test and had contributed 54 toward a fifth-wicket stand of 92 in 160 balls.
Healy (9) was bowled soon afterwards when attempting to reverse sweep against Knight, sparking the Australia declaration that left Blackwell unbeaten on 47.