Women’s Ashes Test match, day one: Australia v England – live!

More prodigious (what else is there?) from Shrubsole and she traps McGrath LBW! GIVEN! Nipped back, could be high, T sign from Thalia, we’re going upstairs.

87th over: Australia 284-5 (McGrath 28, Gardner 52) Ash Gardner now has her highest score in Test cricket. Brunt beats her with a beauty though, there’s swing there with this new ball – it’s a deep cherry red and is hooping about a bit with a bit of cloud cover in Canberra.

86th over: Australia 284-5 (McGrath 27, Gardner 52) It’s Sciver from the other end. England need to break this partnership. That won’t do it. A half volley is dispatched by McGrath. It felt like England had got themselves back into the Test but these two are grappling it back away from them.

85th over: Australia 284-5 (McGrath 22, Gardner 50) FIFTY FOR ASH GARDNER! That is a fine, counter-punching knock. It is Brunt with the shiny new ball and Gardner greets it with a languid drive through the covers for four. Batted.

84th over: Australia 278-5 (McGrath 20, Gardner 39)

What do I know. Another old ball over. More runs. Surely now?

83rd over: Australia 271-5 (McGrath 20, Gardner 39) Gardner sweeps Ecclestone away for four and there’s a two and a one. That could be it for this old nut, I can see Brunt loosening up.

82nd over: Australia 268-5 (McGrath 19, Gardner 37) Ecclestone continues and still no sign of the new’n. There’s a couple off it. A headscratcher.

81st over: Australia 266-5 (McGrath 18, Gardner 36)

Curiously England have opted not to take the new ball.

Hmm. What’s the plan ‘ere then?

Charlie Dean is hit for two fours by Gardner in the first over back after drinks. Curious indeed.

Max Andrews is on the emails and he’s being a bit cheeky…

Morning,

Re over 72 and the search for the laptop charger, does the phrase “bare with” suggest this was a naked endeavour? Is this taking the sartorial casualness of WFH to a new level?”

I can assure you there is a dressing gown and lots of layers Max.

“On a cricketing note… (THANKFULLY)

Can’t help but see the parallels with the mens tests here: early inroads by the England bowlers but a match-turning fight back by the Aus batters.”

Maybe Max. Maybe. I don’t like to bring the men into it really but I will say that there has already been more moments of promise and energy in this half a day and a bit than I can remember over the past 2 months combined.

80th over: Australia 255-5 (McGrath 16, Gardner 27) Gardner again flashes hard and Ecclestone is smeared away for a boundary. 250 up for Australia.

and that’s DRINKS.

79th over: Australia 249-5 (McGrath 15, Gardner 22) Dean is looping them up nicely, nice flight from the young tyro. The box of balls is about to make an appearance. One more to go.

78th over: Australia 248-5 (McGrath 15, Gardner 21) Spin from both ends which is challenging for the clumsy typist to keep up. It’s gone a bit flat out there again for England, the flurry of quick runs has curbed their enthusiasm somewhat.

76th over: Australia 243-5 (McGrath 11, Gardner 20) Ecclestone is miserly again, just one from it. A breather of sorts but this partnership is still looking quite handy. A point Ali Mitchell makes on the TV just as I was thinking it myself. Promise.

75th over: Australia 240-5 (McGrath 9, Gardner 19) Charlie Dean on debut, a tidy over, just a couple from it. England going with spin from both ends now with just five overs until the new ball is available.

Rachel and Hannah from Clifton Hill have been in touch, they are parked up on those lovely looking deckchairs at the Manuka and have sent a picture to prove it.

“Sorry you are in London, Jim. What a day!”

THANKS GUYS.

74th over: Australia 240-5 (McGrath 9, Gardner 19)

73rd over: Australia 239-5 (McGrath 9, Gardner 18) Kate Cross with a timely, laptop-charger-finding-friendly maiden. Thanks, Kate.

72nd over: Australia 235-5 (McGrath 9, Gardner 18) My laptop has nearly died in and amongst the drama. Bare with whilst I scour for a cable. Keep an eye out everyone.

71st over: Australia 236-5 (McGrath 6, Gardner 18) Gardner slashes Cross away for another boundary down through point!

70th over: Australia 231-5 (McGrath 5, Gardner 14) Bloomin’ eck. Six! for Gardner as she hooks again but boshes this one over the rope at deep mid-wicket. Ooof! She follows up with a sublime straight drive for another boundary off Sciver. Australia are on the counter. It’s compelling viewing. There’s a possible 30 overs left today…

69th over: Australia 215-5 (McGrath 5, Gardner 4) Kate Cross replaces Brunt and McGrath drives her sumpshushly* down the ground for four! This session is carnage compared to the relative sedateness of the afternoon. I’m tapping away, trying to keep up. Tap, tap, tap.

*I know. It was sumpshush I tell ya.

68th over: Australia 215-5 (McGrath 0, Gardner 3) Sciver continues and LORDY LORD Ash Gardner has a wild old swipe! Crikes. Its been a coffee splurting few minutes. Gardner then picks up a couple with a more refined stroke through point.

67th over: Australia 213-5 (McGrath 0, Gardner 1) So England remove both set batters to bring Tahlia McGrath and Ash Gardner to the crease. The old “add two wickets to the score” adage ringin’ true and it does feel like a completely different game situation now.

The ball from Brunt to get Haynes was an absolute snorter by the way. A glove destroyer.

But it’s not to be for Lanning! She falls short by 7 runs, poking at a lovely outswinger from Sciver and a fantastic pouch by captain Knight low down to her right in the slips. England have a breakthrough!

65th over: Australia 205-3 (Haynes 86, Lanning 93) None of that unlucky 87 nonsense for Meg Lanning, she deftly glances Brunt for 4 down to the fine leg boundary to move into the 90s. She’s seven away from that elusive first Test ton. It’s been some knock from the skipper.

64th over: Australia 205-3 (Haynes 85 , Lanning 87) Nat Sciver is keeping things tidy from the other end. A mis-hit pull from Lanning plops down safely behind square leg, she gets one run and finds herself on the Aussie bogey number of 87…

63rd over: Australia 204-3 (Haynes 85 , Lanning 86) A single to each batter as Brunt keeps it tight in the first few overs back after tea. Better from England. And still good from Australia tbf.

62nd over: Australia 202-3 (Haynes 84 , Lanning 85) 200 up for Australia. Gulp.

61st over: Australia 199-3 (Haynes 82 , Lanning 84) A maiden first up from Brunt. Tidy stuff. “Morning Jim.” Isn’t it just Adrian Armstrong. 04:08 to be precise on my clock here in the UK. “Your first post sent me down a Springsteen rabbit hole. This session could be summed up from an England perspective as Drive All Night v. Fade Away. Maybe the Boss canon is where a wicket will have to come from? Sadly he didn’t write anything called Tell-Tale Wristband on DRS, or Just Hold Your Catches – both of which may have to join the corpus of lost Half Man Half Biscuit song titles (note to Biscuiteers: new album, The Voltarol Years, out next month). But we can live in hope that somewhere in New Jersey there’s a scrap of notepaper headed Unexpected Extra Yard, or a tape labelled Calamitous Run-Out.”

You are ON FIRE Ade. Does Heather Knight feel like she has a freight train running through the middle of her head yet I wonder?

Thanks for your emails so far, it’s the dead of night here in London, I’m tapping away while the rest of the postcode sleeps and so it is comforting to know there are some OBO’ers out there in both the UK and Aus.

Drop me a line on email or twittwoo @Jimbo_Cricket

Cameron Byers is on the line:

“This is looking like a pretty imposing partnership now. Has that session alone taking the ashes out of England’s reach?”

Crikey Cameron. But yeh, maybe. The players are on there way back out. It’ll be Brunt to start and England could really do with the stalwart seamer pulling a lapin out of the chapeau.

60th over: Australia 199-3 (Haynes 82 , Lanning 84) Australia have dominated that session, it has been a quietly brutal one for England, the runs started to flow and it all went a little flat out there. Props to Lanning and Haynes who have batted quite beautifully so far, balancing attack and defence, showing judgement outside off and jumping on anything loose. Proper criggit.

Both batters are within sniffing distance of a maiden Test ton. Will one or both get there? Can England prise their way back into this Test?

Join us in a few mins to find out. First, to the kettle!

59th over: Australia 198-3 (Haynes 82 , Lanning 83) Three more off Ecclestone and we’ll have one more before tea.

58th over: Australia 195-3 (Haynes 81 , Lanning 81) Haynes opens up the shoulders and takes Shrubsole (who is back into the attack in place of Kate Cross) for 8 runs, including a meaty pull through mid-wicket. Both batters now firmly eyeing a hundred and England the clattering scoreboard. They would love to snare one before tea, we might have a couple of overs before the break.

57th over: Australia 186-3 (Haynes 73 , Lanning 81) Ecclestone continues and WE HAVE A REVIEW FOR A CATCH – Anya Shrubsole dives forward to scoop one off the turf at leg slip, has she held one here? Umpire soft signal is Not Out but they are taking a look. It stays that way, taken on the half volley. A maiden, and a whiff of a chance for England.

55th over: Australia 184-3 (Haynes 72 , Lanning 80) Four to Haynes now as she smears one through mid on.

Hmmm…

54th over: Australia 178-3 (Haynes 67 , Lanning 79) Cross is back on it and there’s just a solitary single to Haynes, clipped off the legs.

53rd over: Australia 177-3 (Haynes 66 , Lanning 79) Another four through backward point for Lanning. England have started to leak runs and look a little weary in the last few overs (since I came on shift) Any ideas out there on how to find a wicket?

52nd over: Australia 170-3 (Haynes 64 , Lanning 74) Those dropped catches will be weighing heavier the longer these two continue on their merry way.

51st over: Australia 168-3 (Haynes 63 , Lanning 73) Lanning drives imperiously through the covers for four. She’s looking very comfortable now.

50th over: Australia 162-3 (Haynes 62 , Lanning 68) Gah. Just as I’d given her the big props, Cross is a bit rusty in her first over back and Lanning takes her for three boundaries in a row. The last of which is a dominant cut shot. She’s goes past partner Rachael Haynes, and could be on for her first ever Test ton. Ahem.