Women’s Ashes: England pay for sloppiness as Australia retain trophy | Cricket News happymamay

Before we launch any sort of Ashes attack on England, it’s worth accepting just how good Australia are.

After sweeping their opponents in the Ashes women’s ODIs, the Southern Stars cruised to victory in their opening T20 – and with it, an Ashes berth – without captain Alyssa Healy and star all-rounder Ash Gardner, due to foot and leg injuries respectively.

Those notable absences have not unjustifiably affected Australia with Healy replaced at the top of the order, debutant Georgia Foale, and Gardner in the middle, Grace Harris, both coming in to bat in the 57-run win for the dominant hosts in Sydney.

Australia’s batting line-up is deeper than the pockets of skin and has more skilled spinners than any political party. Quite simply, they are better than England.

While the gap appeared to have narrowed when England came back from a 6-0 deficit to draw 8-8 at home in 2023, the gap between the two teams is now significant.

The tourists are 8-0 down after four matches and although an 8-8 draw is still within their reach – if they win their last two T20 matches and the only Test match – it is a painful defeat, much like the 12-4 setbacks in 2019 and 2022. Possible, perhaps probable.

Confusion costs England as Australia retain the Ashes

What will frustrate England is how strong Australia are – this is a side that has not lost the Ashes since 2014 and has won six out of nine T20 World Cups and seven of 12 ODIs – the perilous position they find themselves in is in part their fault. Down to its own stagnation. Their bad decisions.

Take Monday’s T20 opener as the latest example. Two performances from Freya Kemp in the first over helped Australia to 11. Then Lauren Bell was wayward in the second as Sophia Dunkley let the ball through her legs and allowed the hosts to steal one.

Bell continued to drop Foale at short fine leg in the third over, while wicket-keeper Amy Jones beat Beth Mooney – who had made 75 – for 16 in the seventh over. Nat Sciver-Brunt and Charlie Dean left a catch to each other in the eighth with Mooney on 23.

All that, coupled with Australia’s brilliance – where Phoebe Litchfield’s six-goal substitution for Sarah Glynn was a thing of dazzling beauty – meant the home side raced to 90-1 at the halfway stage.

It was a dominant position that Australia would not waste, although Dunkley’s loaded boundary of 59 off 30 balls in chasing England threatened to steal away at one stage. In the end, the margin of victory was handsome. Crushing, in fact.

England needed a win (or some rain) to keep the Ashes team alive, but neither came as Heather Knight’s side fell short in the decider once again, which has become a worrying trend.

England found themselves vulnerable in big matches again

Already in this multi-format series, they squandered the chance to win the second ODI by playing too many dot balls, ill-advised shot selection, and a poorly judged off-solo shot from Jones that exposed Bale’s No. 11 in front of the deadly minute Megan. Shoot.

This came after an abundance of soft dismissals and fielding blemishes in the opening ODI, which England lost by four wickets.

Australia showed rare signs of weakness in both matches but the tourists were unable to pounce and were then beaten in the third match as Ash Gardner followed up a century with a brilliant catch in a stunning fielding display from the home team.

Australia know how to win when it matters, England don’t.

We’ve seen it in the last two T20 World Cups with Knight’s side withdrawing in the 2023 semi-final against South Africa and then wilting against the West Indies in 2024 while Knight was sidelined with a calf strain as they were eliminated from the group stage.

Pressure on Knight and Lewis?

Another chance to win the Ashes has now slipped away and will certainly raise questions about the futures of Knight and coach John Lewis.

England have not won a major tournament title since the 50-over World Cup in 2017, and Lewis Johnbull’s approach – an emphasis on the aggression he learned from working with Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes in Baseball’s early batting – has brought entertaining cricket but no silverware. Which is what he was assigned to deliver.

Knight has been captain since 2016, so she may feel the time is right to hand over the reins and focus on batting, but with no clear successor – her crumbling charges against the West Indies showed a lack of leadership from elsewhere – and the carrot of a T20 World Cup on home soil in In 2026, you may be tempted to continue.

She has the support of her players – Dunkley says, if somewhat predictably, that the team is “100 per cent” behind Knight – but something may have to change for England to emerge from this major rock bottom in the game, whether that is captain Or coach or play individuals.

Australia may be very strong, but England needs to be stronger.

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