Australia v England Ashes: Australia Women win 1st ODI match to retain the Trophy

Australia once more retained the Ashes Trophy after securing a 27 win over England in the first WODI in the three match series.

If England are able to win the final two one-day internationals then they will draw the multi-format series 8-8 and will have provided much less embarrassment than their male counter-parts.

For the second time this winter, Australia have proven to be the stronger squad but whereas England’s men crumbled at the first sign of trouble, England’s women offered much more of a fight and provided one of the most exciting Test matches that has been seen in women’s cricket.

Heather Knight has yet to win an Ashes series after taking over from Charlotte Edwards in 2016 but her squad’s draw in the Test match and 27 run loss in the first ODI has proven that England’s Women are not far away from that all important win against their biggest cricketing rivals.

If England are able to maintain their momentum and turn it into consecutive wins, they will have ended the series with much more worth and grace than their 2019 exploits.

So what happened in the first WODI?

Australia were able to hold their nerve right to the end and bowled England out for 178 runs, ensuring a 27 run win and securing the Ashes for another two years.

Strong bowling from Katherine Brunt - who has excelled throughout the series - and Kate Cross reduced Australia to just 209 and it was only Beth Mooney who was able to provide a solid foundation of runs.

Amongst a mixture of low scores, Mooney came out and hit 73 off 91 balls before being caught by Lauren Winfield-Hill off Brunt.

It looked as if this could be a fine chase for England but Australia’s Darcie Brown was on top form and took four wickets for 34 runs, one of which included a caught and bowled.

Nat Sciver was the only English player to make a significant contribution as she produced a careful 45 off 66.

Once more Brunt stood up to the challenge and was on 32 not out when Cross was caught and bowled by Jess Jonassen, thus ending England’s innings and Ashes hopes.

Can England draw the series?

Unlike the Men’s dismall efforts against the Australians, the women have shown much more grit and determination, being just one step behind their opponents, rather than playing as if on different pitches.

The strength in the Test match was an exhibition of what England are able to achieve and perhaps if they had been able to enjoy a more comprehensive, structured training platform they would have been able to bring it home.

It is most certainly not out of the question that England would be able to draw this series.

Heather Knight will most certainly lean on her squad to end the series with more dignity and pride then was seen in 2019 (or by Joe Root’s men earlier this year).

Knight was herself bowled out for a duck, with Tammy Beaumont - the current Women’s T20 Cricketer of the Year - gone for just three.

If the pair of them are able to dig in deeper than was shown on Thursday 3 February’s match, there will be a strong chance England can level out the series with a 8-8 draw.

Brunt has continued to shine while her teammate Anya Shrubsole, while not taking the wickets, has provided a consistent bowling assistant in order to reduce the run rate of Australia.

In the final two ODI matches, the England women will no doubt bring every fire and passion they can onto the wicket and provide fans with as much entertainment and hope as possible.

How can England win in the future?

Speaking after the match, Heather Knight said: “We’ve gone toe to toe with them. We believe we’re good enough to beat them, we just haven’t quite had the killer instinct to get over the line.”

Speaking on Test Match Special, the former England spinner Alex Hartley said that Knight and her team are “not far behind.

“In 2019 they were overawed but they’ve not been here.”

Cricket is a game where mentality is almost more crucial than skill. If the concentration levels and focus is not in the game, you do not stand a chance of winning.

Knight has admitted that while half of the mentality has been present, there is still something missing which is allowing Australia to get the better hand every time.

The confidence that this series has given the English side will hopefully produce even stronger results in future and that killer instinct to win will return.

Australia is no doubt a nation much further ahead in their commitment to women’s cricket. The financial aspects and the success of the Women’s Big Bash League has delivered a national side with much deeper routes to cricket and a level of strength not seen elsewhere in the game.

It has also meant that Australia have been able to use younger players, most of whom can bat all the way down the order.

England, however, have seven players of 30 in their squad with an obvious divide between those who bat and those who bowl.

The likes of Sophia Dunkley, Charlie Dean and Maia Bouchier have shown the value in having the new talents coming up and playing but without the same financial investment which is seen in Australia, there cannot be the same consistent depth in England’s playing minimising the possibilities of obvious phenomenal potential within the team.

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