- Australian women's cricket team in England in 2005
The
Australian women's cricket team toured England in August and September 2005. They played five One-day Internationals (ODIs), two Test matches and oneTwenty20 International. They also played oneOne Day International against Ireland, which they won easily. They won two of the three ODIs, and were also looking to win the third, but a good last over fromKatherine Brunt , yielding only four runs, gave England victory. Brunt was also the heroine of the second Test, where she took ninewicket s in the match and made 52 in England's first Test win over the Australians since December1984 . It also gave England their first win in the Women's Ashes since1963 . England also won their next ODI thanks to a century fromClaire Taylor , but Australia took the series 3–2 after winning the last ODI by just four runs. The last match of the series was a Twenty20 International, which was Australia's first, and they won it by seven wickets.ODIs in Ireland
Three ODIs in Ireland were planned, but only one was actually played - the other two were rained off. However, in the match that was played on
31 July , Australia beat theIrish women's cricket team by 240 runs,Karen Rolton and Lisa Sthalekar both making centuries as Australia made 295 for 3, and Cecelia Joyce top-scored for Ireland with a paltry 18 - Shelley Nitschke taking four for 15 as Ireland collapsed to 55 all out in 26 overs. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OTHERS/AUS-WOMEN_IN_IRELAND/SCORECARDS/AUS-WOMEN_IRELAND-WOMEN_WODI2_31JUL2005.html]Matches in England
1st Women's Test: England v Australia (9-12 August)
"Match drawn"
England got an excellent start to the first women's Test at
Hove , where two debutants were to take centre stage; but the match petered out into a draw.In one of the highlights of the first day of play,
Belinda Clark — arguably Australia's best batter — had been bowled byJenny Gunn for a two-ball duck. It was to be Gunn's only wicket of the day, but probably the most vital. All-rounderRosalie Birch and 15-year-old debutante spinnerHolly Colvin then took two wickets each as Australia crumbled to 115 for 7,Karen Rolton being the only batter on top of the bowlers.However, as the day wore on, England lost their stamina, and the lower order batters took over. No. 7
Cathryn Fitzpatrick , No. 9Julie Hayes and Test debutante No. 10Shelley Nitschke all made fifties as Australia eked out 223 more runs before the end of the first day, losing only two more wickets, and Nitschke was 70 not out overnight. She finished on an unbeaten 81, as Australia added a further 27 beforeClea Smith was lbw toKatherine Brunt , to end with 355. England scored slowly after losingLaura Newton for 24, as they used 129 overs to make 273 —Charlotte Edwards top-scoring with 69, whileArran Brindle made her second Test half-century with 54.Nitschke and
Lisa Sthalekar took three wickets each, but England fought back. Gunn took two more wickets, removing both openers for ducks, asBelinda Clark recorded a pair, butKaren Rolton and Sthalekar took the score beyond England's grasp. Rolton was finally run out for 97, but she had led the Australians to a 254-run lead at the end of day three. Australia added a further 51 to that on the fourth morning -slow left arm bowlerClare Connor taking four for 68 in a marathon bowling effort. England quickly determined 306 in 95 overs was too tough after they crumbled to 14 for 3, but Brindle stood firm at the crease, taking four hours for a maiden Test century, and England made it to the end of the scheduled time having only lost seven wickets. Thus, the second Test would now decide the series. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OTHERS/AUS-WOMEN_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS-WOMEN_ENG-WOMEN_WT1_09-12AUG2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]1st Women's ODI: England v Australia (15 August)
"Australia won by 12 runs"
England set themselves up well against Australia, but failed to hit out in the last over thanks to some accurate and fierce bowling from
Cathryn Fitzpatrick , who had earlier hit 38not out with the bat to lift Australia to 222 for 7 after three for 39 fromClare Connor .Arran Brindle continued on her magnificent form from the first Test, when she made a fifty and a hundred, and in partnerships withJenny Gunn andClaire Taylor she lifted the English to 198 for 4 with her score of 81. With only 25 runs left to hit for the last six wickets, it was there for the taking. But Fitzpatrick returned, having taken the wicket ofLaura Newton earlier on, and she took three more wickets as the English lower order were strangled - and collapsed to 210 all out with five balls remaining in the innings. Fitzpatrick ended with figures of four for 19 from 10 overs, andEmma Liddell also took three for 29. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OTHERS/AUS-WOMEN_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS-WOMEN_ENG-WOMEN_WODI1_15AUG2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]2nd Women's ODI: England v Australia (19 August)
"Australia Women won by 65 runs"
Slow left arm bowlerShelley Nitschke bowled Australia to a win and a 2–0 series lead in the second match of the ODI series, after good bowling from the English women had limited Australia to 193 for 8 in 50 overs.Kate Blackwell andLisa Keightley both made fifties for Australia, whileBelinda Clark continued her poor run of form - two ducks in the Tests and 16 in the first ODI was followed up with a 45-ball 10 today. Englandwicket-keeper Claire Taylor made three stumpings, two off medium pace bowlerIsa Guha . England's reply started well, withLaura Newton andClaire Taylor making their way to 80 for 1 afterCharlotte Edwards had been dismissed initially, but the English bowler just couldn't play the spin of Nitschke, who recorded a career-best analysis of 7 for 24, despite six wides. Only Newton and Taylor passed 10, whileArran Brindle 's good form (with 236 runs in three innings so far in the series) came to a halt as she wasbowled by Nitschke for a golden duck. England's final score was 128 all out, with more than 10 overs potentially remaining in the innings. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OTHERS/AUS-WOMEN_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS-WOMEN_ENG-WOMEN_WODI2_19AUG2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]3rd Women's ODI: England v Australia (21 August)
"England won by two runs"
England needed a victory to keep the five-match One-day International series alive, and with Australia needing six runs off the last over, it looked like the Australians would secure the series with two matches to spare. However,
Katherine Brunt had the last say, as she first hadCathryn Fitzpatrick stumped and then helped torun out Julie Hayes for a duck. Suddenly, Australia needed four from the last ball to win, and they could only get one, as England went into scenes of jubilation - having secured their first victory over the Australian women since 1993. Earlier,Claire Taylor had lifted England to 200 for 7 with her 82, taking on Fitzpatrick who conceded 61 runs in her 10 overs. All the six Australian bowlers got one wicket, however, with the seventh being a run out. Australia's openerBelinda Clark recorded another poor score with a six-ball duck, and Australia continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. Yet, at 195 for 5 with an over to spare, the wise money would normally have been on the tourists, but thanks to Brunt, it went England's way instead. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OTHERS/AUS-WOMEN_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS-WOMEN_ENG-WOMEN_WODI3_21AUG2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]2nd Women's Test: England v Australia (24-27 August)
"England won by six wickets and win the Ashes 1–0"
Despite rain washing out parts of the first day at New Road, England took their first Test victory over Australia since December
1984 , and their first Ashes series win since 1963. Having won the toss, England captainClare Connor opted to bowl, and afterBelinda Clark had slashed 18 runs she was trapped lbw by pacerKatherine Brunt . Wickets were shared out among the entire England team, no Australian passed 40, and by the end of the day they had crashed to 126 for 7. It took 33 deliveries for Australia to be all out on the second morning - for 131, as the efforts from the last Test, when the last three wickets outscored the rest of the batting line-up, were not repeated. Brunt took care of that, having Nitschke and Price caught behind to complete her five-wicket-haul. Batting was clearly difficult, butJenny Gunn ,Clare Connor andClaire Taylor all dug in to make scores above 30, before a vital partnership between Taylor and Beth Morgan took England to a relatively comfortable lead, as they moved to 196 for 6 beforeEmma Liddell struck twice andCathryn Fitzpatrick once to leave England at 222 for 9 at close of play of day two. Liddell and Fitzpatrick bowled 59 overs between them on the second day, out of a total of 101, and although they shared sevenwicket s, they failed to remove either of Brunt orIsa Guha , and the last English pair added 18 before the end of day two.On the third day, England powered on, Brunt staking her claim for Player of the Match with a vital, powerful 52 - her first Test fifty - as she eked out 83 runs with Guha for the tenth wicket, Guha making 31
not out . Leading by 158 on first innings, England got a dream start by dismissingLisa Keightley for a duck, and wickets just kept falling. Gunn and Brunt took two wickets each as the Australians faltered to 18 for 4, before the twin sisters Kate and Alex Blackwell fought back. However, Isa Guha removed Alex, another two wickets fell, and by tea Australia were 67 for 7. An attritional partnership for the seventh wicket between Kate Blackwell and Shelley Nitschke, which yielded 112 runs in four hours, carried Australia past 100, but still they were only 21 ahead with three wickets in hand at the close of day three. The last day started just like England wanted, Katherine Brunt dismissing Kate Blackwell and wicket-keeperJulia Price with successive deliveries, and all that was left was to take the last wicket. England toiled, but the Australians defended for nearly two hours and faced 35 overs, until number 11 Emma Liddell finally edged behind toJane Smit and was out for 24. Shelley Nitschke made her second fifty in two Tests and was left stranded on 88not out , whileslow left arm bowler Clare Connor ended with thebowling analysis of 26-20-25-1. Brunt finished with four wickets in the second innings, for a match total of nine for 111.England were thus left to chase 75 for the Ashes, but Emma Liddell didn't want to be beaten, and her pace trapped
Laura Newton andJenny Gunn lbw in the second over as England lost their first two wickets for one run. However, Liddell couldn't get any further breakthroguhs, and even though England lost Connor and Edwards to Fitzpatrick - both lbw -Arran Brindle batted out an hour for 24not out to see England to the target about three hours before the scheduled close. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OTHERS/AUS-WOMEN_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS-WOMEN_ENG-WOMEN_WT2_24-27AUG2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]4th Women's ODI: England v Australia (30 August)
"England won by four wickets"
England, buoyed by having won their first Ashes Test series in 42 years, tied the series at 2–2 with a victory at
The County Ground, Taunton . Australia, however, made a good start withLaura Keightley andKaren Rolton making fifties to propel the team to 142 for 1. Two quickwicket s fromClare Connor slowed them down, however, and they finished with a total on 215 for 5. Chasing that total, England lostCharlotte Edwards for 1 in the second over, butLaura Newton andClaire Taylor put them back with a 65-run partnership. SpinnerLisa Sthalekar then took two quick wickets, and England were set back to 79 for 3 after 19.3 overs. Despite two maiden overs from left-arm bowlerKaren Rolton , Taylor kept hitting boundaries, ending with 116 before finally letting a ball fromCathryn Fitzpatrick onto her stumps -bowled for 116. By that time, though, she had made the first century of the series, and England only needed five more runs to win.Lydia Greenway andJane Smit carried England over the target with nine balls to spare, setting up the fifth and final match, also at Taunton, to be a series decider. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OTHERS/AUS-WOMEN_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS-WOMEN_ENG-WOMEN_WODI4_30AUG2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]5th Women's ODI: England v Australia (1 September)
"Australia won by four runs"
England's run of victories - with three, their longest successive streak of wins over Australia - came to an end at
The County Ground, Taunton as Australia recorded their first win in four matches against the English. It was another close bout, with the match result uncertain till the very last over. Australia batted first, and made 260 for 6, withLisa Keightley ,Karen Rolton andLisa Sthalekar all making fifties, andBelinda Clark recording her highest score of the tour with 36. Leg-spinnerCharlotte Edwards took three for 47 to set Australia back somewhat in the late overs, however.When England batted, Edwards shared an opening partnership of 94 with
Laura Newton , and both made half-centuries as England paced themselves well, keeping the required run rate just around six per over. However, fast bowlerCathryn Fitzpatrick took four wickets to trouble the English middle order, havingArran Brindle bowled for 50 to see England to 240 for 6. England only needed 20 for the last four wickets, and with England's captainClare Connor hitting a couple of fours after being forced down the order, England needed six off the last over to win with one wicket in hand - having suffered tworun out s as well.Isa Guha hit the first ball for a single, bringing Connor on strike with five needed. However,Kirsten Pike held a catch off Connor's top-edge, and England were all out for 256, five short of their first ODI series victory over Australia since 1976. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OTHERS/AUS-WOMEN_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS-WOMEN_ENG-WOMEN_WODI5_01SEP2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]Women's Twenty20 International: England v Australia (2 September)
"Australia won by seven wickets"
Cathryn Fitzpatrick , playing her last international match in England, combined withKaren Rolton to be the main reasons for Australia a comfortable victory in the second women'sTwenty20 international of all time. England batted first, andCharlotte Edwards andLaura Newton added 77 for the first wicket, but when Newton and Edwards departed England began to struggle. Fitzpatrick's economical bowling yielded only 14 runs from four overs, including a maiden over toRosalie Birch (who made one run off seven balls in the last three balls). Some boundaries in the late overs fromClare Connor andKatherine Brunt , however, saw England to a total of 151 for 7.Brunt then took three early wickets for England as Australia faltered to six runs for three wickets, and England's hopes were increasing. No one could support Brunt with the ball, however, and
Karen Rolton slashed 16 fours and one six in an unbeaten 96 to guide Australia home with fourteen deliveries remaining.Kate Blackwell supported her well, making 43, and no one except Brunt could keep the run rate below 8 an over. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OTHERS/AUS-WOMEN_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS-WOMEN_ENG-WOMEN_W-TWENTY-20_02SEP2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]
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