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Australia 308 for 8 (Gardner 102, McGrath 55, Mooney 50, Sciver-Brunt 2-51, Dean 2-53) beat England 222 (Sciver-Brunt 61, Beaumont 54, King 5-46, Schutt 3-57) by 86 runs
The Ashes are within touching distance for Australia after Ashleigh Gardner’s maiden international century turned a stuttering innings into a comprehensive 86-run victory in Hobart to leave them 6-0 up and requiring just two points for retention.
Gardner’s run-a-ball century rescued Australia from 59 for 4 in conjunction with Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath, the latter made a 38-ball fifty, then they were launched over 300 by a late onslaught from the recalled Georgia Wareham.
In the chase, Tammy Beaumont and Nat Sciver-Brunt made half-centuries but both fell to Wareham in what became a starring return to the side. Then just as Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Amy Jones were raising hopes of a dramatic push towards the target, Phoebe Litchfield produced a stunning diving catch running back from cover to remove Wyatt-Hodge.
After that, England faded quickly, losing 6 for 22 with Alana King taking a career-best 5 for 46 to make it nine wickets in the last two matches, and once again there was daylight between the sides. To cap her day, Gardner took one of the more remarkable boundary catches when she was able to toss the ball back at deep midwicket as she went over the rope, then dive full-length forward to grab the rebound.
It all meant that England were left needing to win all three T20Is and the Test to reclaim the Ashes for the first time since 2014.
To chase over 300, they needed someone to replicate Gardner’s superbly-paced century that had come up from 100 balls after she had sped through the 90s with consecutive boundaries off Sciver-Brunt. It was only the second ODI century ever to come from No. 6 or below.
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