Captain Heather Knight declared herself “super-proud” after her England team completed a remarkable Women’s Ashes turnaround to draw the series.
England trailed 6-0 after the opening two matches of the multi-format series – the solitary Test and the T20 opener – but rallied to win four of the remaining five white-ball contests to draw 8-8.
After winning the T20 matches 2-1, England’s 69-run victory by DLS method at Taunton on Tuesday gave them a second white-ball series victory over the world’s number one side.
“To win two series against the world champions in both formats is brilliant,” Knight said.
“The Ashes had gone the other day and the disappointment came out then. But the character in the side to turn it around here was unbelievable.
“We wanted to do justice to the way we have played so far, and it was a sell-out in front of a rowdy crowd.
“We wanted to continue to entertain and play how we want to. An ODI series on the line, there’s no bigger (test of) character than that against a team we haven’t beaten in 10 years.
“There’s disappointment we haven’t got the Ashes but it’s a draw, and if you’d told me that at 6-0 down I would have bitten your hand off.”
Nat Sciver-Brunt’s second century in the space of three days – 129 on the back of an unbeaten 111 at Southampton on Sunday – laid the platform for England’s series-levelling success.
England posted a challenging score of 285 for nine from their 50 overs; Australia’s target was reduced to 269 from 44 overs after a 54-minute rain delay.
Kate Cross took three wickets and Lauren Bell and Charlie Dean two each as Australia slid to 199 all out in 35.3 overs.
“Nat is unbelievable,” said Knight. “She’s got four hundreds in five games against the best team in the world.
“We talked about staying positive and believing that we were good enough to beat this side.
“Despite losing those two games it actually grew the belief that we were as good as this Australian team and we could go toe to toe with them.
“We had to do a few little things better because we felt we were so close in that Edgbaston (T20) defeat.
“To play like we have done this summer has been hugely pleasing. The most exciting thing is that we haven’t played our best cricket, this was probably our best performance.
“I think this team has got a huge ceiling to keep improving. I don’t think there is a gap between the two sides now. We’ve won two white-ball series, I’m not sure about the gap.”
Australia captain Alyssa Healy said the tourists could take satisfaction that the Ashes were “still within our grasp”.
Healy said: “We didn’t get over the line in the white-ball stuff but I’m proud the way the series has unfolded.
“It’s been an amazing spectacle for cricket in general and really cool to be part of it.
“It’s no secret we haven’t played our best throughout the entire series.
“England played really well and that’s not diminishing what they’ve achieved, we’ve not. We’ll sit back now and see what’s not quite gone well for us.
“In the long run it might do us good to have those reflections and know that we can be better.”
Cricket West Indies to reveal squad for ICC T20 World Cup Friday, May 3
Cricket West Indies (CWI) is gearing up to unveil its squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup during a highly anticipated live press conference in Barbados on Friday, May 3. The event will feature CWI's Lead Selector, the Most Honourable Dr. Desmond Haynes, and Head Coach Daren Sammy alongside CWI Chief Executive Officer Johnny Grave.
In a statement, Johnny Grave expressed the organization's excitement about the impending announcement and highlighted the decision to host a live press conference as a means to directly engage with fans and media.
"Emphasizing the significance of this moment, we chose to host a live press conference to engage with fans and media directly. We also requested permission from the ICC to align our announcement with this event," said Johnny Grave.
The announcement comes amidst increasing excitement as local box offices across the region open on Thursday, May 2, allowing fans to secure their tickets for the tournament. Additionally, CWI will be releasing the official tournament song on the same day, further adding to the anticipation building around the event.
"Excitement is mounting as local box offices open across the region on Thursday, May 2, and we are equally thrilled to release the official tournament song on the same day. Anticipation is building, and we can't wait to share this journey with cricket enthusiasts worldwide," Grave added.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, set to commence on June 1, will be co-hosted in the Caribbean and the United States, culminating with the finals scheduled to take place in Barbados. With preparations in full swing, CWI's squad announcement promises to be a significant moment in the lead-up to this highly anticipated global cricketing event. Stay tuned for the unveiling of the squad and the exciting journey ahead for Cricket West Indies at the ICC T20 World Cup.
IPL: Punjab Kings spinners frustrate CSK in routine win
Punjab Kings eased to back-to-back wins in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday, their spinners doing the damage as they claimed a seven-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings.
The Kings chased down an IPL-record of 262 with eight balls to spare to beat Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, but they didn't need anywhere near that level of big hitting to clinch their first set of consecutive victories this year.
Spinners Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar made it a far more comfortable outing for Punjab, finishing with two wickets apiece and giving up just 33 runs between them through eight overs.
Ruturaj Gaikwad did his best to keep CSK in it with his 62 off 48 balls, but they always looked unlikely to defend a middling score of 162, particularly when Deepak Chahar pulled up two deliveries into the Punjab innings and walked gingerly from the field.
Richard Gleeson dismissed Prabhsimran Singh for 13 on his IPL debut, but that was as good as it got for Chennai as Jonny Bairstow (46 off 30) and Rilee Rossouw (43 off 25) steadily ate away at their score.
The Super Kings' outing was summed up by Sam Curran's wayward drive spinning away from Shivam Dube at the boundary for a four late on, and Punjab wrapped up their most comfortable win of the season with 13 balls to spare.
Data Debrief: Kings maintain Chennai hoodoo
The Kings' upturn may have come a little too late to give them a genuine shot at the play-offs, but for Chennai, it was a case of more frustration against their bogey team.
Punjab have now won their last five matches against the Super Kings, who have seen their title defence stall with a run of three defeats in four outings.
Marsh named captain in Australia's T20 World Cup squad as Smith and Fraser-McGurk miss out
Mitchell Marsh will captain Australia at next month's T20 World Cup, but Steve Smith and Jake Fraser-McGurk have been left out of the 15-man squad.
Marsh, who has shared the duties on an interim basis since Aaron Finch's retirement, was named the Baggy Greens' permanent T20 skipper on Wednesday.
Test captain Pat Cummins, fast bowler Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell have also been named in the squad, which features 11 of the players that were part of the team that won this tournament in 2021.
However, there is no place for former skipper Smith following a difficult spell of form, while Fraser-McGurk is also absent despite his impressive form in the Indian Premier League.
"This is an experienced squad with extensive World Cup experience that offers a variety of structures and covers the scenarios the panel believes will factor in the West Indies with the unique nature of the venues and our opponents," selection chief George Bailey said.
"Steve Smith, Matt Short, Jason Behrendorff, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett were all part of long conversations, along with several others, including Jake Fraser-McGurk who is yet to play T20 International cricket but continues to impress and is developing rapidly.
"Being constrained to a squad of 15 for World Cups is always a challenge given the different scenarios and options we’d like to cover.
"Ultimately, the balance of the final 15 needs to provide the best chance of being successful in this campaign."
"It's been an immense privilege to play for my country and now an even greater honour to lead the squad to a World Cup," Marsh added.
"We have had some strong success in recent times, and I am hopeful that will continue in what looks like a wide-open tournament."
Australia will begin their tournament against Oman on June 5, while they will also play England, Scotland and Namibia in Group B.
Australia's provisional squad:
Mitchell Marsh (captain), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
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