'Greatest series ever': Knight hails classic Ashes

England will have to wait until 2025 for another chance at finally reclaiming the Ashes, but captain Heather Knight has already hailed this current contest as "the greatest women's series of all time".

Australia ensured they will retain the trophy when they held on for a nail-biting three-run victory at The Rose Bowl, taking an 8-6 lead with one ODI to play.

It was the fifth thrilling finish in as many white-ball matches, continuing a series that has been on a knife's edge since Australia's 89-run Test victory, and where the smallest of margins could have instead seen England reclaim the Ashes.

It has stood in stark contrast to England's last two Ashes campaigns, which saw them claim a sole T20 victory across 12 completed matches.

Knight on Sunday declared the gap between her team and world No.1 Australia to be diminished in the aftermath of the Southampton game, saying: "This series has showed we're very evenly matched."

"It's just been an unbelievable series," she continued. "Two brilliant teams, two titans going head-to-head and fighting it out.

"It's certainly entertaining, albeit very nerve-wracking to play in these close games.

"But I don't think there's too much between the sides, and obviously, for us, it's to try and prove that and win the ODI series at Taunton and level the series overall."

Posed the same question after the match, Australia leg-spinner Alana King, whose return to the side saw her claim the key wickets of Tammy Beaumont, Knight and Alice Capsey, offered a cheeky rebuttal.

"Yeah, I think there is (a gap) and I think we're still going to try and be ahead of the game," King said.

"Yes, we want to bring other countries along because it's going to improve the game worldwide, but I don't see us slowing down anytime soon ... we still want to be ahead and make sure that gap keeps getting bigger."

Where England and Australia stand on a broader scale is a discussion that will continue long after this Ashes is completed in Taunton on Tuesday.

As far as this six-game series has been concerned, little has separated the two sides – particularly across the white-ball formats.

Australia took out the sole Test at Trent Bridge by 89 runs, but it was a contest that swung wildly across five pulsating days before Ashleigh Gardner's final-day blitz of 8-66 sealed four crucial points for the tourists.

Moving to Edgbaston for the first T20I, Australia wobbled in pursuit of England's 7-153, ultimately getting home with a ball to spare.

At The Oval, England held on defending 9-186 to clinch a three-run win, and in a rain-affected affair at Lord's, chased a reduced target of 119 with four balls to spare.

In the first one-dayer, England pulled off their highest successful run chase, edging home by two wickets in the penultimate over, and the trend continued at The Rose Bowl when Australia held off a rampaging Natalie Sciver-Brunt to win by three runs.

That closeness is also reflected in the overall numbers; across the six matches to date, both teams have taken 56 wickets.

Australia have scored 1767 runs, England 1547, with most of that difference covered by Australia's 89-run Test win, and the 155 runs they scored at Lord's before England's target was revised to 119.

"It's got to be the best series that there's ever been in the history of the women's game," Knight said.

"Two sides going toe-to-toe, fighting it out and every game has been pretty close.

"Obviously (feeling) disappointment but real pride as well over the fact we got so close.

"Overall, we've put in another thriller of a performance, but the Ashes are gone which is disappointing."

CommBank Ashes Tour of the UK 2023

Australia lead multi-format series 8-6, have retained Ashes

Test: Australia won by 89 runs

First T20I: Australia won by four wickets

Second T20I: England won by three runs

Third T20I: England won by five wickets (DLS)

First ODI: England won by two wickets

Second ODI: Australia won by three runs

Third ODI: July 18 at The County Ground, Taunton, 1pm (10pm AEST)

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, HGrace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

England ODI squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver-Brunt (vc), Issy Wong, Danielle Wyatt