Twists and turns in an Ashes classic

In a Test match that had more twists and turns than a Hollywood thriller, the pivotal plot point was suitably obscured.

It didn’t lie in any of Ellyse Perry’s herculean efforts with bat and ball, which saw her bowl 42 overs (nine more than Anya Shrubsole, the next highest), take eight wickets, and score 102 runs.

Nor was it in the first-innings over when Southern Stars captain Jodie Fields, coming to the crease with her side flailing at 5-37, grabbed the momentum and wrested it back Australia’s way by dispatching four consecutive Shrubsole deliveries to the rope in exquisite fashion: a flick to the leg side, a pull shot forward of square, a square cut, and a drive through mid-on.

It could so easily have been the moment the ball slipped from Katherine Brunt’s hand and hurtled dangerously towards the batter for the second time, forcing the umpire to hand England’s strike bowler her cap and suspend her from bowling for the rest of the innings.

In a match where the mercury frequently hovered in the early 40s, being a bowler down would have been the tipping point for many teams, but England managed to absorb the blow and return fire through Shrubsole, who dismissed half the Australian side in the hosts' first innings.

Instead, the decisive butterfly-effect moment came midway through the second afternoon when Ellyse Perry and Erin Osborne were in the middle, batting Australia back into the match after a sudden top-order first-innings collapse, and was innocuous by comparison.

England captain Charlotte Edwards, chasing down a ball heading towards the boundary, slid into the hard WACA outfield and jarred her knee.

While the injury wasn’t serious, it was enough to force Edwards from the field for the remainder of the day and ensured that, should she recover, the England captain and opener could bat no higher than No.7 in the second innings.

Losing a captain and canny tactician for the best part of a session in the field, not to mention the most experienced player against the new ball, would normally be a crucial blow.

In England’s case, it was the unexpected twist that turned the tale towards a happy Test ending.

Australia scraped past the tourists’ first innings total of 201 before being bowled out for 207 and, while Edwards lay on the physio’s bench, Perry and Rene Farrell gleefully accepted the new ball and made short work of England’s top three, leaving the visitors in danger of imploding at 3-10.

When Edwards arrived at the crease, midway through the morning session of the third day, England were 5-73, Perry having added another two scalps to her growing collection.

England have only won five Women’s Ashes Tests in Australia, but Edwards was there the last time they did it – a six-wicket victory in 2008 – and knew what was required.

The veteran faced up to the tiring allrounder, now wielding a worn and more benign ball, and promptly drove her through the covers for four, as much a statement of intent as it was a cricket shot.

Protected from the perilously swinging new ball that had done in her team-mates on the previous afternoon, Edwards was free to calmly compile a steadying innings of 52, which included 10 boundaries, and combined with Arran Brindle for an 85-run partnership.

By the time she departed on the afternoon of the third day, trapped lbw by Perry in the allrouder’s first over back into the attack after the lunch break, England were 6-158 and back on top in the see-sawing contest.

The lower order managed to add another 32 runs, setting Australia a target of 186 for victory.

It was 61 runs more than enough.