Alice Capsey's 46 hit was vital as the hosts pursued the win goal. Photo: Getty Images/David Rogers England 121/5, Australia 155/7 — England win by 5 wickets (DLS Method)
This was the night Mission Impossible became Mission Possible for England. On a damp evening, with rain interrupting the game twice, they showed great faith in taking another T20 win over a minor Australian team in a five-wicket triumph. Their Ashes series is still alive — just.
It wasn't always easy to watch — although it certainly was entertaining — and the 21,610 viewers at The Lord would agree. After a second rain break delayed England's innings, they were given a revised 119-of-14 over chase. Doable? Heather Knight's team, who capped Australia at 155 pounds out of seven, certainly thought so.
Of course, this death became too inconvenient for England. Two balls out of six were required, so victory was certain—until Nat Skiver-Brant and Heather Knight were knocked out by Georgia Wareham and Jess Jonassen with two quick balls, respectively.
Enter 22-year-old Dani Gibson, who only reached the fold in her third international appearance. She ducked on her Test debut and England needed two out of five deliveries. Pressure? What pressure? She swung her bat so viciously to produce a fearless backhand after Jonassen's serve, and watched the ball go four. Under the light of London, England felt at home as they inflicted their first two-sided defeat in a row on Australia in six years.
Earlier this week, England proved that this seemingly invincible Australian force could be defeated with a threefold triumph at Oval. They backed it up again with a determined, rain-cut performance on the night they accepted their label of underdog with the harshest performance ever.
They had no lack of self-confidence before this decisive meeting. Feeling the importance of this event — it was the first time in a decade that the women of England played Australia at the Lord's Stadium — Knight decided to go bowling after winning the toss.
England played their best cricket in this episode when they were shocked and they would be very happy to limit Australia to 155 by seven.England's win meant they won the T20 series 2-1 and are now heading into the ODI with a spring in their path Credit: Getty Images/Charlie Crowhurst
They started kicking after a careless opening to piss off the tourists, who are usually so patient with a bat, on a sticky field. Australia were pulled into a short by England, and 36 for one, it was their lowest powerplay game so far when Charlie Dean sacked Alyssa Healy for weight in the third over.
The hosts were at the top but the first short break in the rain with Australia at 106 for four stopped their momentum. Ellis Perry hit a six off the first ball after play resumed and her team's score went up to 137 for four before Bell finally took a well-deserved wicket as Perry went down in weight.
From neutral point Of course, this record-breaking women's Ashes was a resounding success — the remaining three ODIs are already sold out — but there was an amateur feeling when it turned out that the DRS system was not working. It didn't matter to Perry, the decision looked pretty balanced.
England took the wicket in good faith — Lauren Bell was particularly frugal — but when the skies opened up again after Australia finished 157 — and an era later with the hosts' revised running speed still in the pipeline, the home flurry the lost catch threatened to be costly. Skeever-Brunt lost to Healy in 13th, if Dean had moved a millisecond faster she would have caught up with Mooney, and the key batter from Australia was in eighth.
Their last over was an awkward affair. Bell, despite her bowling brilliance, edged out Grace Harris in short third, and then Gibson felt Annabelle Sutherland's drive long. Sophie Ecclestone, who was tasked with completing the process, was furious. When she eventually beat Sutherland, her stone-faced expression seemed to say, «OK, I'll do it myself!»
It was this bold attitude that personified England with the bat, and Alice Capsey their luminary. By the time she kicked the ball behind her with an outrageous shot that took England 26 out of 24, Lord's nervous silence had turned into a raucous chorus of applause to the soundtrack to Abba's Dancing Queen.
“She was great tonight, she practically helped us. She had a great performance and contributed a lot to the win,” Bell said of Capsey. “We are definitely closing that gap and the last two games have definitely shown that. There is a lot of confidence in the group now. Ash's cricket is not easy, but definitely a lot of fun.»
John Lewis' outfit is 6th-4th in the series after losing that valuable first test at Trent Bridge, and the challenge will get even harder when they are meeting tourists in the first of their three ODIs in Bristol this Wednesday. Whether they can actually capitalize on this momentum switch remains to be seen. All things considered, they look in pretty good shape to give them a good run.
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