Women’s Ashes 2023: Australia start on front foot against England at Edgbaston
ustralia started the women’s Ashes on the front foot, scoring briskly throughout the morning as England were forced to reflect on a session where they picked up two wickets, but could have had four.
Overall, the Ashes have started with Australia flexing their muscles but England successfully clinging onto their coat tails. Aussie captain Alyssa Healy won the toss and elected to bat, a choice that was of no concern to England skipper Heather Knight who herself wished to bowl.
Knight’s England have promised to attack, and they were true to their word with a series of hyper-aggressive fields set for all five of the bowlers who turned their arm over in the morning session. Kate Cross regularly had five catchers in place, so too the left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone, with two fielders all but permanently placed at silly point and short-leg.
Life, however, is about risk-and-reward, and although England picked up the wickets of both openers Phoebe Litchfield and Beth Mooney, the gaps in the field also allowed Australia to canter along at four-runs-an-over.
Litchfield, 20, made her Test debut for Australia and is a player of extreme promise and current ability. Dismissed for just 23 after being trapped LBW by Cross, there will nevertheless be few scores of 20 made across the summer that looked as ominous as Litchfield did for hers. It was a vital wicket for England, as Cross got one to nip back in and strike Litchfield in front as she left the ball. Hawkeye suggested the ball would miss off-stump, but to the naked eye it looked as out as they come. Litchfield has long been touted as a future Australia great. And despite only making 23, few would disagree with the assessment.
Debutant Lauren Filer was the inside edge of a bat away from the dream start to life in Test cricket, as with her very first ball she had Aussie legend Ellyse Perry given LBW only for it to be overturned on review.
The session threatened to end with England rueing their own missteps. They had dropped Mooney twice, first as Cross put down an exceptionally difficult caught and bowled chance, before Danni Wyatt failed to hold on to a sharp, but definitely catchable chance in the gully.
But Mooney’s luck wouldn’t last forever, and neither would Filer’s misfortune. Captain Knight has described Filer as potentially the quickest bowler in the country, and that added pace did for Mooney as Filer skidded one across the left-hander that took the outside edge and flew into the hands of Cross at gully.
A few tight overs in the immediate time before lunch meant that England dragged the run-rate down to below four-an-over, with Ecclestone in particular settling into her work. As England’s sole spinner, she is likely to have an extreme workload across the match. Australia reached the 100 run mark in the over immediately before lunch. In all, a score draw to start the series, but with the sun out and Perry still at the crease, Australia will feel they are sitting very pretty.
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