A golf great and a Socceroo join the Aussies

As Australia continued their undefeated run in the women’s Ashes on Sunday, they had a new source of inspiration to draw on.

Sitting in the dugout at the Sussex County Ground in Hove was golfing great Karrie Webb, who made a special stop en route to the British Open to watch the Australian team at work.

Webb, who befriended Alyssa Healy earlier this year, joined the Australia wicketkeeper, coach Matthew Mott, analyst Sunny Kaliyar and security manager Danny Simmons for a round of golf on Saturday before watching from the best seat in the house as the tourists claimed a seven-wicket win a day later.

"It was an unbelievable effort on her part to fly here and watch us play," Healy told cricket.com.au.

"It’s pretty special to have someone of her calibre around our group and mentoring our group.

"It was nice to chat to her and even get in a round of golf yesterday.

"She’s been a bit of a pioneer in women’s golf and to chat to her and see where she’s come from, it’s eye-opening for us.

"We’re in the same boat with our cricket, a lot of the girls are pushing the way forward and it’s been nice to learn all things sport and learn a bit about golf."

Elyse Villani and Nicola Carey, who were running drinks on Sunday, even hit Webb up for some golf tips during the innings break – despite having no clubs on hand.

"You can’t get a better seat than sitting on the bench and listening to all the conversations and being up that close," Webb told cricket.com.au.

"I’m a sports fan and as cricket tragic too, so I just love seeing other professional athletes and how they go about preparing for their sport.

"I’ve been following them for years on TV but this is the first time I’ve got to watch them play live and I think it’s even more impressive, you can really get a sense of how fast they’re bowling and how hard they’re hitting it. Hopefully it’s the first of many games I get to over the next few years."

Also watching on at Hove was Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan.

Ryan plays for English Premier League side Brighton and the New South Welshman jumped at the chance to watch the world’s top-ranked women’s team in action.

Despite being a long-time cricket fan, it was the first match the 27-year-old had ever seen live.

"I’m just a proud Aussie at the end of the day and I’ve seen how dominant they’ve been and they continued that again today,” Ryan said.

From six matches across three formats in this series Australia have yet to taste defeat.

They swept all three ODIs, drew the Test and have picked up easy victories in both T20Is.

With one T20I to come, they have their sights set on a piece of history: becoming the first team to go through a series unbeaten since the introduction of the multi-format Ashes in 2013.

That opportunity will come in Bristol on Wednesday, when Australia and England meet in the final T20I of the Ashes.

CommBank Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

England T20 squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Georgia Elwiss, Amy Jones, Laura Marsh, Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Mady Villiers, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danni Wyatt

Australia lead England 12-2

First ODI: Australia won by two wickets

Second ODI: Australia won by four wickets

Third ODI:  Australia won by 194 runs

Only Test: Match Drawn

First T20: Australia won by 93 runs

Second T20Australia won by seven wickets

July 31: Third T20, Bristol County Ground, Bristol