Alice Capsey warned Australia that England are yet to play their best cricket despite levelling the Women’s Ashes by winning the opening ODI at Bristol.
England secured a nerve-shredding two-wicket win to wipe out the 6-0 deficit suffered after losing the series’ solitary Test and the opening T20 clash.
Australia need to win only one of the two remaining ODIs at Southampton and Taunton to retain the Ashes but they have now lost three consecutive games for the first time since 2017.
“We were 6-0 down but we took a lot of confidence from the Test match because we saw how close we were to winning that,” said number three batter Capsey, 18, who struck 40 from 34 balls in England’s victorious reply of 267 for eight.
“We had another narrow loss in the opening T20 at Edgbaston, but we were pretty confident that once we got that first win we would go on a streak.
“The whole series we haven’t been at our best. In the T20s we were playing at 80 per cent and we weren’t at our best again here.
“But to get over the line in pressure moments when previously we would have crumbled a little bit is great. We were so calm out there, which is something we have focused on.
“It’s really exciting we haven’t played our best cricket and it’s six-all.”
The power hitting of Capsey and Tammy Beaumont was in danger of going to waste after England had reached 103 for one in the 12th over, chasing 264 to win.
Wickets fell at regular intervals and it was left to skipper Heather Knight and Kate Cross, coming in at 10, to get England over the line.
Cross joined Knight in the 44th over, with their partnership of 32 proving pivotal as England triumphed with 11 balls to spare.
Knight made 75 from 86 balls while Cross’ cameo of 19 from 20 deliveries included an audacious ramp shot over the head of Australia’s wicketkeeping captain Alyssa Healey.
Capsey said: “Crossy batted brilliantly – she can bat at three! She came in and played to her strengths.
“We saw her bravery whether it was the ramp or hitting Jonno (Jess Jonassen) down the ground. It was unbelievable to watch.
“She loves the ramp and probably plays it the best out of the whole group. If you don’t see a Kate Cross ramp you might be asking her: ‘Are you OK?'”
Looking ahead to the Ashes’ climax, Capsey added: “We’ve shown a lot of fight in this series that previously we might not have.
“Australia are the most successful cricket team and we knew it was going to be a real challenge.
“We were the underdogs coming into the series but we have put the pressure on the Aussies. They are still a quality side and we go again at the Ageas (in Southampton).”
Australia benefited from the hosts spilling four catches while wicketkeeper Amy Jones missed out on a stumping from a legside wide.
“It would have been really nice to snatch that one at the end when they were under the pump and eight down,” said Australia batter Beth Mooney, who top scored for the tourists with an unbeaten 81.
“We certainly haven’t put out best foot forward at this point and we know we’ve got to give a lot more when it comes to executing our skills.
“I don’t think we’re that far off. Unfortunately we didn’t capitalise on the opportunities to put pressure on England.
“We’ve let ourselves down in the last couple of games, but there’s no complacency.”
ECB chief insists no decision made on Mott future
England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould has denied reports a decision has already been made on Matthew Mott's future as white-ball coach.
Mott's future has been called into question in the aftermath of England's failure to defend their T20 World Cup crown in the United States and West Indies, losing to India in the semi-finals.
Mott also oversaw England's calamitous 50-over World Cup campaign last year, as they lost six of their nine matches in India and crashed out in the group stage.
Reports earlier this week suggested the decision had already been made to dispense with Mott's services, with Eoin Morgan a contender to succeed him, though the former limited-overs captain has since said he has no interest in the role.
Asked by BBC Test Match Special if Mott's future had already been decided, Gould said: "That's not true. That's certainly not true.
"Matthew Mott is a really good guy and coach. He's got a great track record and it is the same with [captain] Jos [Buttler].
"We are always assessing options - that is what happens in high-performance sport, you are always assessing your options.
"You never want to be drawn into being given the dreaded vote of confidence or anything like that. Competitive sport always brings scrutiny and decisions.
"We'll constantly want to assess our options but we'll always want to do the right thing by the sport, the team and individuals."
West Indies grab three late wickets on day one as third Test against England in the balance
England lost three wickets in a dramatic end to day one of the third Test against West Indies, leaving them in a precarious position after restricting the tourists for 282.
Gus Atkinson finished with figures of 4-67, while Chris Woakes took 3-69 for England, as only a fine sixth-wicket stand from Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva saved West Indies from being bowled out for a much lower total.
But England, chasing a 3-0 series whitewash, let their dominant position slip when taking up the bat for the final 35 minutes, Zak Crawley (18), Ben Duckett (3) and Mark Wood (0) being dispatched as bowler Jayden Seales dropped them to 38-3.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat, leading his side to a solid start before a spell of three wickets in five overs before lunch put England on top.
Atkinson accounted for Mikyle Louis (26) and Alick Athanaze (2) on either side of Wood sending stumps flying with a full delivery to dismiss Kirk McKenize for 12.
Brathwaite's knock of 61 was brought to a halt shortly after the action resumed, the captain gloving Wood's leg-side ball to Jamie Smith as the tourists slid from 76-0 to 115-5 in 45 balls.
Holder (59) and Da Silva (49) then shared 108 to drag the Windies towards a respectable total, but things looked bleak for them when the latter feathered Woakes' ball through to Smith.
Having gone 30 overs without a wicket, England needed just 14 more to polish off the tail, the highlight being a terrific diving catch from Joe Root to send Gudakesh Motie (8) packing.
England were given just over half an hour with the bat to cap Friday's action, but any hopes of a serene finish were soon dashed.
Holder made two terrific catches off Seales' bowling, the first from Crawley's thick outside edge and the second to dismiss Wood for a duck, either side of Alzarri Joseph's cracking delivery accounting for Duckett.
That spell ensured what had been a good day for the hosts ended on a sour note, with the Windies sure to target quick wickets when the action resumes on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Atkinson and Seales dominate
This series began with all the focus on James Anderson as England's greatest-ever bowler bowed out at Lord's, but Atkinson has taken centre-stage since making his Test debut in the opening match and now has 20 wickets through five innings.
That is eight more than West Indies' Jayden Seales, the next-most prolific bowler in this series, has managed.
Seales was determined to have an impact on day one, though, and his two wickets at the death have set the stage for a far more competitive match than those England won at Lord's and Trent Bridge.
Bairstow set sights on swift England Test return
Jonny Bairstow bit back when asked if he was targeting an England return, insisting it is "all I want to do."
Bairstow was dropped from England's Test team for the ongoing series against West Indies.
The 34-year-old was part of England's T20 World Cup squad, and played in all five Tests of the tour of India earlier this year.
Bairstow has made 100 Test appearances, and when asked what his immediate target was, the wicketkeeper-batsman told former England captain and now-BBC Sport pundit Michael Vaughan: "All I want to do is play for England. That's end of.
"You don't need to ask me that do you? I think you know me well enough and I think you've known me for long enough to know that."
Bairstow did, however, enjoy a break away from the game, having had four weeks off before he joined the Welsh Fire for the Hundred.
He said: "At the same time it's been a great period of time.
"I had the best part of seven months away from home. Since January, I had five nights at home in my own bed since, until three weeks ago.
"That's the thing you have to sacrifice, time at home but at the same time, when you are away for that period of time, it takes its toll."
England are 2-0 up against the Windies in their three-match series, with the final Test starting at Edgbaston on Friday.
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