Women’s Ashes 2023: Natalie Sciver’s century in vain as Australia beat England in the thrilling 2nd ODI

England and Australia faced each other in a thrilling second Women’s ODI where the Aussies registered a nail-biting victory. With the thrilling triumph, the touring party also retained the Women’s Ashes 2023.

Put in to bat, Australia began their innings with Alyssa Healy making quick start. Ellyse Perry played a vital role, anchoring the innings with a well-constructed knock of 91 runs off 124 deliveries, including 9 fours and 1 six.

Beth Mooney added 33 runs off 42 balls, while Ashleigh Gardner and Annabel Sutherland made valuable contributions of 33 runs and 50 runs respectively. Georgia Wareham provided a late surge, smashing 37 runs off just 14 balls, including 3 fours and 3 sixes. In the end, Australia posted a competitive total of 282 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their allotted 50 overs.

In response, England kept themselves in the fight with vital contributions from star batters. Tammy Beaumont played a crucial innings, scoring 60 runs off 62 balls, including 8 fours. Captain Heather Knight made 12 runs off 19 balls, however, it was Natalie Sciver, who was the standout performer for the hosts as she almost pulled off a stunning win.

Nat Sciver played a brilliant knock of 111 runs off 99 balls, comprising 10 fours. However, the rest of the batting lineup failed to contribute significantly. Amy Jones added 37 runs off 34 balls, but the lower middle-order couldn’t accelerate the scoring rate. In the end, England fell just short of the target, finishing with a total of 279 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their allotted 50 overs.

For Australia, Gardner and Alana King were the impressive bowlers, both claiming 3 wickets each. Gardner bowled impressively, conceding 54 runs in her 10 overs, while King gave away 44 runs in her quota of 10 overs. Georgia Wareham also chipped in with a wicket.

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This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.