England squander big chance as Australia defend meagre total in Women’s Ashes ODI

So near and yet so far. England did all the hard yards in the second Women’s Ashes ODI at Melbourne on Tuesday, wiping Australia out for 180 after inducing one of their worst ever batting collapses – eight Australian wickets lost for 49 runs.

Then, after wobbling to 125 for eight, England somehow managed to stagger to within 22 runs of their target, courtesy of a patient rearguard 47 not out from Amy Jones and the determination of England’s Nos 10 and 11. Lauren Filer and Lauren Bell survived 29 balls between them as Jones tried her level best to play her role as the senior batter and see her side over the line.

The final few overs were a blur: four dropped catches from the usually flawless Australian fielders, before Annabel Sutherland was forced from the attack after she sent down two above-waist-height no balls in the 48th. Tahlia McGrath stepped up and finished the over. But the 11th-hour drama appeared to confuse Jones, who failed to run a single off the final ball of the over and left Bell to face Megan Schutt in the 49th. Schutt promptly bowled her and Australia were left celebrating.

This was England’s big opportunity to square the Ashes at 2-2, after Australia’s impermeable middle order had finally been penetrated by an unlikely source – Alice Capsey’s off-spin. As Sophie Ecclestone created her usual chaos at the other end, Capsey saw off Sutherland, robbed Ellyse Perry of a century and bamboozled Ash Gardner with a fizzing off-break. Combined with sharp catching and even sharper use of DRS – England required the intervention of third-umpire technology to snag the wickets of Perry and Beth Mooney leg-before – England pulled off the remarkable feat of seeing off the reigning world champions for less than 200. It was the first time since 2009 that they have failed to reach that total when batting first in a home ODI. And still it wasn’t quite enough.

Alana King celebrates after dismissing Sophie Ecclestone. Photograph: James Ross/EPA

It was leg-spinner Alana King who strangled England’s run-chase, finishing with four for 25. Introduced just after the first drinks break, she bowled Danni Wyatt-Hodge for a golden duck, then had Nat Sciver-Brunt caught at cover. And still England decided to take her on: both Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone bizarrely decided that her last over was the time to try to accelerate. Dean was caught at slip trying to scoop, before Ecclestone made to cut and edged behind. The hat-trick ball missed Filer’s bat by inches, but nevertheless that should have been England’s innings dead and buried, as should Filer’s run-out in the 43rd, as she came haring down the pitch only to be sent back by Jones, who was doing her level best to farm the strike.

If only Capsey the batter could have matched the feats of Capsey the bowler, England would have won. The sum total of her contribution in the opening match of the Women’s Ashes was scoring four runs and shelling a sitter of a catch on the boundary. In less than 48 hours she dusted herself off, jumped on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne, and apparently also found the time to convince captain Heather Knight that she should bowl some overs. The result? Three wickets for 22 runs in seven overs, including two wicket-maidens.

From there, Filer managed to stay upright long enough (after slipping over five times in her follow-through on a pitch still damp from Sunday’s storm) to nip one back into McGrath’s stumps, while Ecclestone struck twice more to wrap up the tail. England had pulled off a remarkable feat, helped by sharp catching and even sharper use of DRS. It was just a shame they couldn’t make it count.

Four-nil to Australia, then, as both teams fly to Hobart for the final ODI on Friday. England’s question to themselves will surely be: if we couldn’t even beat Australia on a day when their middle-order turned to rubble, then when can we?