Australia Women v England Women in 2024/25

One-Day Internationals (3): Australia 3, England 0
Twenty20 internationals (3): Australia 3, England 0
Test match (1): Australia 1, England 0
Overall Ashes points: Australia 16, England 0

The day the Ashes concluded with an Australian victory in the Test, Clare Connor, the ECB’s managing director of women’s cricket, promised a “thorough and honest” review of England’s performance. A succinct assessment might be that it was one of the worst overseas tours ever undertaken. It was not simply that Australia won 16-0 on points, the first whitewash of the multi-format era. England were abject, with the bat – their highest total was 222, in the third one-day international at Hobart – and in the field, best illustrated by the eight catches they missed on the second day of the Test.

In advance, Australia’s Ash Gardner and England’s Tammy Beaumont had called for future Ashes series to be extended, with multiple Test matches – though even one proved tricky for Cricket Australia. The whole series, taking in five cities, was crammed into three weeks, apparently because of an earlier start for the Women’s Premier League in India. The tourists were unable to regroup after squandering a winning position in the second ODI, when they failed to chase 181, and there was no warm-up game before the pink-ball Test at the MCG.

England missed the experience of seamer Kate Cross, who participated in net sessions, but could not play due to a back injury. By contrast, Australia’s enforced absences – Gardner and Alyssa Healy had to sit out the T20s – revealed their enviable depth. Georgia Voll made successful T20 international and Test debuts, and leg-spinner Alana King’s success in the ODIs earned her a place in the 20-over squad. She ended up as the leading bowler on either side, with 23 wickets at 11. Beth Mooney wore the gloves for the T20s and (for the first time) in the Test. She took it in her stride, and finished as the leading batter, with 409 at 68. England’s top performers were Heather Knight (229 runs at 32) and Sophie Ecclestone (16 wickets at 24).

Cricket Australia selected some of the biggest venues for the series – the MCG hosted only its third women’s Test – and threw themselves into marketing, most memorably by flying a hot-air balloon, resembling a pink cricket ball, over Melbourne before the men’s Boxing Day Test. Almost 40,000 turned up for the limited-overs games, including a sell-out at North Sydney, and 35,365 for the Test, a women’s world record, even though it lasted only three days. In 2023, the ECB had hosted the women’s Ashes alongside the men’s, and secured record crowds of their own; now, the attendances supported CA’s view that a standalone event could be just as successful.

Not for the first time, England’s struggles led to questions over their fitness. The Australians certainly looked more athletic, and pulled off some wonderful catches, of which Gardner’s one-handed boundary grab at Hobart was the most spectacular. The English appeared to be in denial. After the first T20, at the SCG, Ecclestone refused an interview with the BBC’s Alex Hartley – part of England’s winning team at the 2017 World Cup – apparently because Hartley had criticised the team’s fitness after they exited the T20 World Cup three months earlier. Connor called it “an unfortunate incident that won’t happen again”, but it reflected a broader reluctance to face up to shortcomings.

Following defeat in the second T20, at Canberra, head coach Jon Lewis gave a disastrous interview in which he blamed the gulf in fitness on “cultural difference” – and England’s inferior weather. “I walked from Bondi to Coogee last Sunday, and pretty much every Australian in the eastern suburbs was in the water, doing Surf Lifesaver, playing touch rugby.” By contrast, his 11-year-old son had to be “pushed out the door” for football practice when it was “minus five and raining sideways”. His remarks became a standing joke across Australia: one local business even produced T-shirts advertising the “Bondi-Coogee Centre for Cultural Excellence”. Seven weeks after the Ashes ended, Lewis and Knight were sacked on successive days; Lewis was replaced by England’s former World Cup-winning captain Charlotte Edwards, and Knight by her deputy, Nat Sciver-Brunt.

England’s touring party to Australia, 2025

*HC Knight (Somerset; T/50/20), TT Beaumont (The Blaze; T/50), LK Bell (Hampshire; T/50/20), ME Bouchier (Hampshire; T/50/20), AR Capsey (Surrey; 50/20), KL Cross (Lancashire; T/50), CE Dean (Somerset; T/50/20), SIR Dunkley (Surrey; T/50/20), S Ecclestone (Lancashire; T/50/20), LL Filer (Durham; T/50/20), DR Gibson (Somerset; 20), S Glenn (The Blaze; 50/20), BAM Heath (Durham; T/20), AE Jones (The Blaze; T/50/20), FG Kemp (Hampshire; 20), RL MacDonald-Gay (Surrey; T), NR Sciver-Brunt (The Blaze; T/50/20), LCN Smith (Hampshire; 20), DN Wyatt-Hodge (Surrey; T/50/20). Coach: J Lewis.

1st ODI At North Sydney, January 12, 2025. Australia won by four wickets. England 204 (43.1 overs) (HC Knight 39, DN Wyatt-Hodge 38, AE Jones 31; AK Gardner 3-19); Australia 206-6 (38.5 overs) (AJ Healy 70, AK Gardner 42*). Australia 2pts. PoM: AK Gardner. Attendance: 6,236. On a sunny day at the North Sydney Oval, a sell-out crowd saw Australia make a strong start, dismissing England for 204. Megan Schutt, who bowled Maia Bouchier with a no-ball in the first over, and Kim Garth, who had her caught behind in the fourth, produced brilliant new-ball spells. No England batter had the patience to build a big innings, and captain Heather Knight was the top scorer, with 39. The day before the game, Alyssa Healy had been passed fit to keep wicket for the hosts, having recovered from a knee injury sustained in the WBBL. She looked in great shape, following up a bye-free innings with a sparkling 70 – her first international half-century since March 2024. She was bowled coming down the track to Charlie Dean, and the wicket of Tahlia McGrath made it 183-6. But Sophie Ecclestone failed to hold Ash Gardner at mid-off – the ball popped out as her elbows hit the ground – and Alana King helped knock off the runs.

2nd ODI At St Kilda, January 14, 2025. Australia won by 21 runs. Australia 180 (44.3 overs) (EA Perry 60; S Ecclestone 4-35, AR Capsey 3-22); England 159 (48.1 overs) (NR Sciver-Brunt 35, AE Jones 47*; KJ Garth 3-37, AM King 4-25). Australia 2pts. PoM: AM King. Attendance: 2,826. England’s bowlers pulled out all the stops on a turning pitch, with Alice Capsey taking three wickets in an ODI for the first time, during an Australian collapse of eight for 49. It should have put the match in England’s hands – but they squandered the opportunity. Needing 181, they lost both openers to Garth, before King also claimed career-best figures (for three days). Amy Jones, who watchfully accumulated 47* over two hours, was their last hope, but a lapse in concentration proved fatal: at 159-9, Annabel Sutherland was withdrawn from the attack after two high full tosses; McGrath completed the 48th over, but Jones declined a single, not realising it was the last delivery. Schutt cleaned up Lauren Bell next ball.

3rd ODI At Hobart, January 17, 2025. Australia won by 86 runs. Australia 308-8 (50 overs) (BL Mooney 50, AK Gardner 102, TM McGrath 55, GL Wareham 38*); England 222 (42.2 overs) (TT Beaumont 54, NR Sciver-Brunt 61, DN Wyatt-Hodge 35, AE Jones 30; M Schutt 3-57, AM King 5-46). Australia 2pts. PoM: AK Gardner. Attendance: 2,336. Australia recovered from 59-4 thanks to a maiden international century from Gardner. She rotated the strike well during a stand of 95 with Beth Mooney, then added 103 in 14 overs with McGrath; a ferocious 38* off 12 by Georgia Wareham lifted the hosts to 308, their highest home total against England. Even Ecclestone took a hammering, conceding 76. England reached 151-3, with half-centuries from Tammy Beaumont and Nat Sciver-Brunt, but they could not match Australia’s late acceleration. Instead, the last six fell for 22, with some superb catching: a diving Phoebe Litchfield held Danni Wyatt-Hodge over her shoulder at cover, Garth caught Jones low down at short fine leg, and Gardner took a one-handed stunner on the boundary to get rid of Ecclestone. King, finding prodigious turn, claimed her first international five-for.

1st T20I At Sydney, January 20, 2025 (floodlit). Australia won by 57 runs. Australia 198-7 (20 overs) (BL Mooney 75); England 141 (16 overs) (SIR Dunkley 59; GL Wareham 3-25). Australia 2pts. PoM: BL Mooney. Attendance: 9,279. T20I debut: GA Voll (Australia). Australia retained the Ashes inside nine days, despite the absence of the injured Healy and Gardner; McGrath took over the captaincy. Opener Georgia Voll smashed 21 off 11 on her T20 international debut, before Mooney hit 75 off 51. Ecclestone (2-26) bowled well, but Voll was missed on 13, Mooney on 16 and 23. Chasing 199, England lost both openers for ducks, then two big wickets to King, recalled to Australia’s T20 side after a two-year absence. Sciver-Brunt was bowled by a big-turning long hop, and Knight plumb lbw after missing a reverse sweep, beginning a collapse of seven for 45. Sophia Dunkley counter-punched with a 24-ball fifty, but had little support.

2nd T20I At Canberra, January 23, 2025 (floodlit). Australia won by six runs (DLS). Australia 185-5 (20 overs) (BL Mooney 44, TM McGrath 48*, GM Harris 35*); England 168-4 (19.1 overs) (DN Wyatt-Hodge 52, SIR Dunkley 32, HC Knight 43*). Australia 2pts. PoM: TM McGrath. Attendance: 8,628. England came close to winning in the rain: ahead of DLS for much of their chase, they had fallen behind – with 18 needed from five balls – when the drizzle intensified and the umpires called a halt. Knight, on strike and 43* from just 19 deliveries, was furious. But the Australians had fought back hard in both innings: they had been 114-5, before McGrath and Grace Harris smashed 71* off 35 balls, and they were behind on DLS when a shower paused England’s pursuit in the ninth over, only for two wickets from Schutt in the 13th to give them the upper hand. Knight and Sciver-Brunt added 65 off 37 but, when Garth removed Sciver-Brunt from the final ball of the 19th, the par score jumped. Knight hit the next delivery for four – but that was that.

3rd T20I At Adelaide, January 25, 2025 (floodlit). Australia won by 72 runs. Australia 162-5 (20 overs) (BL Mooney 94*); England 90 (17.3 overs) (HC Knight 40; GL Wareham 3-11). Australia 2pts. PoM: BL Mooney. Attendance: 10,291. A disorganised, disconsolate England collapsed after another awesome display of stamina from Mooney, who ran 54 of her 94*, while facing only 63 balls. All six of Australia’s bowlers took at least one wicket, Wareham returning her best international figures, in her 109th game. England’s batters lost their heads: several offered up soft catches, Capsey reacted angrily to being correctly given out caught behind on review, and Linsey Smith (in her only game of the tour) was brilliantly run out by Ellyse Perry. Knight alone played sensibly, but Mooney neatly stumped her for 40 to end the innings. Knight’s team-mates made 45 between them.

Only Test at Melbourne, January 30-February 1, 2025 (day/night)

Australia won by an innings and 122 runs. Australia 4pts. Toss: Australia. Test debut: GA Voll.

Eyebrows were raised when Cricket Australia allocated only four days for the first women’s Test at the MCG since 1948/49. In 2022, former ICC chair Greg Barclay backed England captain Heather Knight’s call for five-day Tests; the following year, Nottingham had hosted one for the Ashes. But England’s morale was so low, and their exhaustion so great, that the argument was academic: they capitulated inside three.

Australia chose to bowl, handing England the challenge of facing the pink ball. Their only previous exposure to it had been at North Sydney in November 2017, and just four from that side – Beaumont, Ecclestone, Knight and Sciver-Brunt – were playing now. Garth swung it both ways from the outset, finding Bouchier’s edge in the first over, then pinning Knight after changing ends. In between, Brown dismissed Beaumont but, from 47-3, Sciver-Brunt and Dunkley dug in, adding 50 in 22 overs.

King bowled the first over of the second session, immediately found turn, and was kept on until the innings ended. Dunkley chipped a return catch, Wyatt-Hodge prodded to silly mid-off, Ecclestone swiped to cover and Sciver-Brunt was too late on a dipping, fizzing leg-break. When King could not hold on to a return catch from Filer, a maiden five-for also slipped from her grasp. A diving catch by Voll, then a simple run-out, capped an England collapse of seven for 73.

Australia faced a tricky 22 overs under lights, but England were a seamer short, after Kate Cross had not recovered from a back injury. Their seam attack was the same as in their previous Test, in South Africa: Bell and Filer shared the new ball, with support from MacDonald-Gay. But only one wicket fell that night, Voll nicking a wide half-volley from Bell. Litchfield and Sutherland drove straight and handsomely, and the score was 56-1 at the close.

Given King’s success, it was obvious Ecclestone would have a substantial workload – England had omitted Charlie Dean, their second spinner, in favour of an extra batter – and she bowled throughout the first session on day two. After the break, she switched ends, and began another mammoth spell, eventually sending down 36 overs in the day – for just two wickets. Australia closed 252 ahead, and only five down. England missed eight catches, four off Ecclestone, herself guilty of putting down two at slip off MacDonald-Gay, who also had a sitter dropped by Bouchier in the gully. Sutherland, reprieved on 29 and 31, brought up her third Test hundred during a fourth-wicket stand of 154 with Mooney, who survived chances on eight, 11 and 18, reaching 98 at stumps.

To their overnight 422-5, the hosts added only 18, but those included the crucial two for Mooney, who became the first Australian woman to score an international century in all three formats. Perry, who had sustained a hip injury while fielding and was not expected to bat, surprisingly emerged at No.10.

England faced a first-innings deficit of 270 – and nearly two days remained. Bouchier again departed early, before Beaumont and Knight ground out a 73-run partnership, benefiting from some rare Australian fielding errors. But once Knight was caught by Litchfield at short leg, the house of cards collapsed against the spin of Gardner and King. When they had four wickets each, and England were nine down, the only question was whose name would make the MCG’s honours board. The last pair clung on for over half an hour, before Filer spooned to mid-on, handing King her 23rd wicket of the series, and completing the whitewash that would cost Knight and Jon Lewis their jobs.

Player of the match: AJ Sutherland. Attendance: 35,365.
Player of the series: AM King.