England needed 18 runs from the final five balls, but the decision to halt play due to rain denied them the opportunity to force a dramatic finish.
England were left frustrated after umpires halted play with just five balls remaining in the Women’s Ashes fixture. Australia were declared the winner by six runs by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, clinching the series and taking a commanding 10-0 lead after five matches.
England needed 18 runs from the final five balls, but the decision to halt play due to rain denied them the opportunity to force a dramatic finish.
Rain had a significant impact on the match, with earlier interruptions shifting the momentum. At one point during the chase, England were ahead on the DLS method after 8.4 overs, with Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge at the crease. However, another delay later in the game worked against them.
Controversy also arose earlier when Danni Wyatt-Hodge tried to leave the field during the fifth over after spotting lightning, but she and Maia Bouchier were called back to continue despite rain starting to fall. Lightning struck again, and play continued until the ninth over when the rain became heavy and after that the play was stopped for some time.
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While the final stoppage proved decisive, England’s captain chose not to blame the officials for the outcome. After the decision was taken by the umpires, Heather Knight did not shake hands with the officials, but later in the post match presentation she accepted that it was the right call by the umpires to stop the game. She admitted she was fully focused on trying to win the match and felt frustrated about leaving the field, but her frustration wasn’t directed at the umpires. Knight acknowledged that the conditions were very wet, making it slippery and difficult to run or push for quick twos. She fully agreed with the decision to halt play.
“It was right decision by the umpires,” Knight said. “I was really in the zone to try and win us that game, and obviously frustrated that we were going off, but it wasn’t at the umpires at all. It was pretty wet, even when we were running it felt pretty slippy and it was quite hard to attack those twos. So yeah, it was the right decision, 100%,” Heather Knight said.
Australia batted first and posted a strong target of 185/5, powered by Beth Mooney’s 44 and an unbeaten 71-run stand between Tahlia McGrath (48) and Grace Harris (35). Charlie Dean stood out for England, taking 2/28.
England started well with Danielle Wyatt-Hodge (52) and Sophia Dunkley (32) keeping them ahead on DLS before Megan Schutt’s key breakthroughs. Heather Knight fought hard with an unbeaten 43*, but rain interrupted the final over with England six runs behind the DLS par score, giving Australia a six-run win and a 10-0 Ashes lead.
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