As the two captains – Heather Knight and Tahlia McGrath – stepped out into the pouring rain to shake hands, Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer’ rang out over the speakers at Manuka Oval.
I don’t think Heather Knight is a Swiftie (70s rock gods Queen are more her cup of tea) but she might empathise particularly with one line in the bridge of Taylor’s hit tonight:
Said “I’m fine” but it wasn’t true.
England came almost as close as close can be to finally getting some points on the board in this Women’s Ashes. The teams went off the field for rain in the 9th over with England just ahead on DLS, after Sophia Dunkley had swept Alana King for 4. (If they’d gone off one ball prior to that, Australia would have been ahead.)
England v Australia at Manuka
The weather forecast suggested the rain might be locked-in, but it eased and the players returned to the field. With drizzle persisting but not quite turning into downpour, the lead shuffled back and forth until England lost those two crucial wickets in the 13th over. By that stage in the game, wickets don’t do massive damage to the DLS Par Score, but they did enough to put England 10-or-so runs behind which they couldn’t quite make-up.
Australia 185-5 v England 168-4 (T: 175) #Ashes 🏏
Even so, with Australia penalized for their slow over rate by having to bring an extra fielder into the ring in the final over, England clearly felt they could get the 22 runs they needed from the final over, which became 18 off 5 balls when the rain intensified and the players left the field for the final time. In the press conference afterwards, Knight said it was “the right decision” but she clearly was not “fine” about it at the time, making her feelings clear to any TV viewers with the ability to lipread a smattering of Anglo-Saxon.
Australia 185-5 v England #Ashes 🏏
England’s real problem though wasn’t the weather – it was their lack of death bowling, as they let slip a decent position, conceding 53 runs off the last 4 overs as Grace Harris and Tahlia McGrath ran riot. Australia had been heading for around 160; so to actually post 25 more than that was the real death-blow to England – if they had been kept to 160, England would have won the game outright, with an over-and-a-half to spare, before the rain came.
The result of course means that Australia have now won the Ashes outright, as opposed to having merely “retained” them. That was their initial goal going into the series, so they’ll be happy about that. One of the Cricket Australia staff I spoke to expressed disappointment that it “wasn’t how we wanted to win it”; though whether they’d have felt the same if the trophy hadn’t already been secured, I’m not so sure! Their goal now will be a whitewash; England will still be trying to save a little face by getting something from the final two games.
I’d definitely expect a couple of changes now for the final T20 in Adelaide. Lauren Bell, who left the field today after feeling unwell, will surely be rested; and given that the Ashes are a now distant speck in England’s rear-view mirror, flogging Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone in a meaningless T20 ahead of the Test feels a tad pointless, to say the least. What matters now for the game as a whole is that we get an entertaining and… dare I say it… inspiring Test match next week at the MCG.
CRICKETher 
As you noted, the last 3 overs of the Australia innings really did it for England.
Another thing that really did it for England was the 12 wides they sent down. Australia sent down just 1. That’s 11 runs. In a tight game like this, its massive.
It was by far England’s best batting performance of the tour and it was great to see them standing toe-to-toe with the Aussies but (and despite the understandable frustrations at the end) they didn’t lose the match because it rained.
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I agree that it was the bowling and catching that cost England this match, not the rain.
Heather Knight’s clear signs of frustration at the end of the match knowing that the Ashes are lost and there is only professional pride left to play for, additionally she must be very aware that her position as team captain is now in some peril.
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Don’t think England can afford to rest Ecclestone. I think the only change will be Smith for Glenn, and probably no overs from NSB.
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A plea for explanation
A fielding side is ahead on DLS. It knows rain is approaching. It slows down the over rate (because it increases the chances of being ahead on DLS if play is stopped)
The penalty for this slow over rate is that a player has to be brought into the ring for the final over.
It rains at the end of the 19th over. The fielding team win the match without having suffered any penalty for the slow over rate.
I must have missed something here – anyone able to help ?
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The error that you are making there is that you have forgotten that this is cricket, which has a marvellous history of ridiculous laws, rules and regulations.
Have always thought that the penalty for slow over rates should actually be 10 run penalty, rather than fielder restrictions.
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