Quantcast

Match Report:

Scorecard

Knight’s chanceless century holds off Australia’s push

Just as Australia threatened to blow the tourists away on day two, England captain Heather Knight stood up to keep her side in a gripping Canberra contest

A fighting century from England captain Heather Knight saved her team's blushes amid a strong bowling display from Australia on day two of the sole Ashes Test at Manuka Oval.

Knight's chanceless 127 not out helped her team to 8-235 at stumps in reply to Australia's 9(dec)-337, having avoided the follow-on; something they had looked in danger of falling short of at 6-120.

On a day where three Australians claimed maiden Test wickets, and Ellyse Perry claimed two scalps, Knight played a lone hand, with the next highest score Sophie Ecclestone's unbeaten 27.

Captain Knight leads from the front with assured ton

Heavy rain is forecast for day three, raising the possibility England may declare behind to keep the chances of a result alive; trailing 4-2 in the series, Knight's team need the four points on offer for a Test win more than the hosts.

Any thoughts of an overnight declaration were quickly quashed as Jess Jonassen and Annabel Sutherland padded up, but Australia's decision to bat on lasted just 28 minutes and yielded 10 runs and two wickets.

Katherine Brunt extracted plenty from the overhead conditions and the pitch, claiming both wickets to fall, finishing with 5-60; her third Test five-for coming 16 years and 156 days after her first.

Brunt's perfect seed sends Sutherland packing

The 36-year-old's delivery to dismiss Sutherland was arguably the ball of the game so far, dodging the allrounder's defences and clipping the top of off.

Australia's new-ball pair of Darcie Brown and Perry no doubt took heart from the success of Brunt; they contained the England openers before Brown got the breakthrough, with her out-swinger getting a hefty edge from Lauren Winfield-Hill that was well caught by Beth Mooney in the slips.

It was Brown's first Test scalp after going wicketless against India on debut in September, as she became the youngest player to take a Test wicket for Australia since Holly Ferling did so at age 17 in 2013.

Brown bags maiden Test wicket to give Aussies perfect start

Tammy Beaumont crawled to five from 32 deliveries before being trapped lbw by Perry; the opener went upstairs for a review but receiving nothing but red lights in response.

Knight and Natalie Sciver stuck it out to see England go into the break 2-38, but King sent an ominous sign with her last ball before lunch, producing a big-turning delivery that just missed the edge of the England captain's bat.

On a day of firsts for Australia, Sutherland claimed her maiden Test wicket, jagged one back to catch Sciver's inside edge, removing the No.4 for 15.

Sophie Dunkley, who hit 74 not out in her sole Test innings to date against India last year, looked to be positive, hitting three boundaries, but chopped on Perry for 15.

Knight reached her fifty from 130 balls, continuing a love affair with Manuka that saw her hit scores of 51, 67, 78, 108no and 62 in her previous five innings at the ground (all T20).

Amy Jones joined Knight with the tourists desperately needing a partnership in the vein of Meg Lanning and Rachael Haynes' heroics on day one, but her miscued attempt to pull Sutherland on 13 was brilliantly caught by a diving Darcie Brown at mid-on.

Brown plucks a screamer to nail down Aussie advantage

On the stroke of tea, King – who had threatened throughout the afternoon in a superb display of leg-spin – joined Brown and Sutherland in securing a maiden Test scalp, trapping Brunt lbw for one and leaving the tourists 6-120, still 68 runs adrift of the follow-on mark.

Knight remained positive as she closed in on a second Test century, even as Ashleigh Gardner collected her first when debutant Charlie Dean holed out on nine, and Jonassen coaxed a stubborn Anya Shrubsole into playing a shot that found the safe hands of McGrath at cover.

Needing resistance from the tail to avoid the follow-up and for Knight to reach her hundred, Ecclestone provided that, allowing her skipper to raise the bat for a brilliant second Test century, adding to the one she scored against Australia in Wormsley in 2013.

Shortly after, England ticked past the follow-on mark, Knight remaining rock-solid in an unbeaten 66-run stand with Ecclestone – the tourists' biggest of the innings, and England's highest for the ninth wicket against Australia.

History remains on Australia's side at Manuka Oval, with no team having lost a women's Test after scoring 300 runs in the first innings.

Commonwealth Bank Women's Ashes v England

Australia Ashes squad: Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Stella Campbell, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes (vc), Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Meg Lanning (c), Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland

England Ashes squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Tash Farrant, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver (vc), Anya Shrubsole, Mady Villiers, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Danni Wyatt

Australia lead the multi-format series 4-2

Jan 20: Australia won by nine wickets

Jan 22: No Result

Jan 23: Match Abandoned without a ball bowled

Jan 27-30: Test match, Manuka Oval, 10am AEDT, 

Feb 3: First ODI, Manuka Oval (D/N), 2.10pm AEDT

Feb 6: Second ODI, Junction Oval, 10.05am AEDT

Feb 8: Third ODI, Junction Oval, 10.05am AEDT