England deny Aussies Ashes victory, take ODI series 2-1

Natalie Sciver-Brunt has hammered her second ODI century in three days to lead England to an emphatic 69-run Duckworth-Lewis-Stern victory in the final one-dayer in Taunton, denying Australia an outright victory in the multi-format Ashes.

Sciver-Brunt's heroics meant the seven-game series ended locked at eight points apiece, while England took out the ODI leg 2-1, inflicting Australia's first loss in a bilateral ODI series since 2013 in the process.

The star allrounder's sublime 129 off 149 balls came as she steered England out of early trouble via a record 147-run partnership with Heather Knight (67) to pave the way for England’s hefty total of 9-285.

In doing so she became the first woman to hit four one-day international tons against Australia.

Remarkably, all four have come in the space of five innings over the last 18 months, with her twin tons on this Ashes tour joining the two hundreds she scored during last year's ODI World Cup.

Of those hundreds, this was the first in a winning cause as Australia's star-studded batting line-up failed to fire in response.

Ellyse Perry top-scored with 53 while Kate Cross (3-48), Lauren Bell (2-53) and Charlie Dean (2-37) did the damage with the ball as Australia were bowled out for 199 in 35.3 overs in front of a third-straight sell-out crowd in Taunton.

The 69-run DLS margin was Australia's fourth-biggest loss of all time in terms of runs, and their worst since 2008.

After Sciver-Brunt's heroics with bat in hand, Australia were immediately on the back foot in response after Bell had Phoebe Litchfield edging to slip on one, and Alyssa Healy was bowled by Cross for seven shortly after.

Perry and Tahlia McGrath looked to rebuild but Australia's most experienced player and the vice-captain could not replicate the heroics of Knight and Sciver-Brunt, with Sophie Ecclestone breaking a 53-run stand when McGrath was stumped on 26.

Rain briefly interrupted proceedings and saw Australia set a revised target of 269 from 44 overs.

Perry hit a booming six to bring up fifty shortly after a resumption but a double strike from Kate Cross had Australia in dire trouble at 5-120.

First a leading edge from Perry (53) found the safe hands of Alice Capsey at backward point, before Mooney (16) bunted a simple catch to Ecclestone at mid-off.

Ashleigh Gardner (41 off 24) went on the attack, clearing the rope twice and hitting a trio of fours, but when she was run out Australia were left needing 156 from 133 balls with four wickets in hand – a scenario too much even for the tourists’ deep batting line-up.

Earlier, Healy put the hosts in – after brief confusion around who had actually won the toss – and as they did on Sunday, Australia opened with spinner Ashleigh Gardner alongside the pace of Megan Schutt.

Gardner removed the out-of-sorts Sophia Dunkley on two with Phoebe Litchfield taking a brilliant running catch, before a hooping in-swinger from Schutt knocked over the in-form Tammy Beaumont for four.

Knight was joined by her deputy Sciver-Brunt with their side 2-12 but their experience and composure came to the fore as they steadied and then rebuilt.

Sciver-Brunt was first to a half-century, getting there from 73 balls, and was shortly after joined by Knight who sped to her fifty off 51 deliveries.

Alana King finally broke their 147-run stand – England's highest for any wicket against Australia – when she bowled Knight for 67 off 72, and Capsey (5) holed out off Jess Jonassen soon after.

But there was simply no stopping Sciver-Brunt, who cashed in after she was dropped by Tahlia McGrath on 54 when the allrounder couldn’t hang on to a sharp return chase.

Again, scoring almost exclusively on the leg-side, she brought up a 126-ball century, becoming the first woman to score four ODI tons against Australia.

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A flashy contribution from Danni Wyatt added impetus to England’s innings as they raced from 200 to 250 in 4.5 overs, but the damage could have been worse had she not been bowled by Gardner on 43 off 25.

Jonassen finally brought about the end of Sciver-Brunt in the 48th over when she was caught by Gardner on the boundary.

Gardner finished with 3-39 off 10 overs and Jonassen 3-30 off her five.

Australia had named an unchanged XI for the final game of the seven-match series, while England were forced to replace Sarah Glenn with Dean after the leg-spinner had surgery to remove her appendix on Monday.

CommBank Ashes Tour of the UK 2023

Multi-format series drawn 8-8, Australia retain the 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: England won by 69 runs (DLS)

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace 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