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

I’ve tuned into the ABC where they are talking about the process of collating their 20 best women’s Ashes moments – available to look at here, perfect browsing material for a rainy day. One of the commentators reports how difficult it was to find audio, tv or photos from matches even 20 years ago – eg Karen Rolton’s 209 not out at Headingley as recently as 2001. The rise of the women’s game really is one of? THE? cricket stories of the last decade and a bit.

Hello from the black and quiet of Manchester at 2.40am. I’ve packed the teens off to bed so its just me and the dog. My daughter’s goodnight was that she’s done today’s Wordle in four – its pretty even in our head to head.

Anyway, to the cricket where England have fought back valiantly through Heather Knight’s captain’s innings and Katherine Brunt’s continued brilliance. From the barrel of defeat, the fizz of anticipation. But then the pesky rain.

Do get in touch through the dark hours.

“I’m worried here Geoff,” writes Zak Baillie. “This game has the makings of a classic, but the stubbornness of CA and ECB to not schedule five-day tests might see it peter out in a draw.”

Yep. We’ve been unlucky recently too: rain in Taunton in 2019, rain in Bristol in 2021, rain on the Gold Coast in 2021, rain in Canberra here. The last four women’s Test matches all affected. But they can’t keep denying the fifth day for much longer. There is literally no reason why women playing Tests should have different playing conditions to the men.

I think we might be cooked. This is coming slowly from left to right. Which is west to east for the cardinally inclined.

A nice moment here despite the rain: the ground announcer is introducing a number of past Australian players from the 1970s to 1990s. They come onto the ground one at a time with umbrellas against the drizzle. Frances Leonard, Jodie Davis, Raelee Thompson, Tina Macpherson, Karen Price, Marie Cornish, Glenda Hall, Julia Price, Mel Jones, Alex Blackwell and Sarah Elliott. They also mention the former players who are here but working and can’t come out: Lisa Keightley, Shelley Nitschke, Holly Ferling, Erin Osborne and Kristen Beams.

“How is it that Canberra has such an understated, unassuming cricket ground for a capital?” asks Andrew Benton. “On a map, Canberra’s centre’s seems to be shaped like one big cricket ground, wondering if maybe the whole place was inspired by cricket.”

It’s not a very big place, only about 400,000 people. A lot of the population of Canberra is transient, people go there to work for government bodies or the public service and then leave when they leave those jobs. So it doesn’t get big sporting crowds, and doesn’t get big events all that often either. This is only the second Test match here after the men’s game in 2019. But yes, lots of circles from the air: the many roundabouts of the Walter Burley Griffin design.

A few readers in England have been finding this match all the more appealing by contrast to the other recent Ashes.

“It’s so great to finally have an England Test match that is actually a proper contest and worth following. Hats off to Heather Knight,” says Toby Macdonald from London.

“Only two and a bit days so far and already more fight shown by England women than in 20 days of the men’s Ashes,” writes Martin in Bucks. “Real shame that there are no TV highlights on BBC – as usual the impetus of The 100 for the women’s game is wasted. I fall in the category of those who by age and gender should be a firm men’s test follower but i really enjoyed The 100 and enjoy all forms of cricket.”

As David Brooker notes by email, the Knight-Ecclestone partnership was (narrowly) England’s highest 9th-wicket stand in women’s Tests. Exactly 100 runs, going past the 99 put on by Janet Tedstone and Suzanne Kitson in 1992.

It was very nearly the highest all time. Taniya Bhatia and Sneh Rana put on 104 for India last year in the Bristol Test, and Maureen Payne and Beverley Botha put on 107 for South Africa against NZ in Cape Town in 1972.

Ramaswamy emails in. “Trying to read my tea leaves here, but India managed a 100-run stand both at Lord’s and at the Oval. And what odds on Healy copping a pair, in identical dismissals? Knight ended up with 56.565656% of the total, and assuming she doesn’t spend time off the field in the 3rd innings, will have seen action for all but 13 balls of this Test in the first 3 days. Hell of an endurance test…”

Ok, I lied. The rain has settled in. We’re at the edge of a big front. If it does pass it will probably take a couple of hours. So if you’re staying up all night in the UK, it might be bedtime.

A bit of rain starts to fall with four minutes to go until lunch, so the umpires head for shelter before Ellyse Perry has to face a ball. Just as well for Australia, those last minutes could have been hairy. The rain should pass quickly, it doesn’t look too dark out there. Hope we get back on, this has just become very spicy indeed.

Another one before lunch! Brunt gets some movement in, takes the inside edge into thigh pad and spits off it sharply. Beaumont at short leg has little time but gets her left hand to it and hangs on. Brilliant from England!

4th over: Australia 10-1 (Haynes 4, Mooney 6) Shrubsole is making Mooney play with almost every delivery. Last ball of the over Mooney drives fluently, beating the dive of mid off for four.

3rd over: Australia 6-1 (Haynes 4, Mooney 2) Brunt booming another inswinger into the pads of Haynes, but there was bat on that. The bowler almost talks Knight into a review but not quite. Haynes defends well, soft hands into the ground to get through the over.

2nd over: Australia 4-1 (Haynes 2, Mooney 2) Anya Shrubsole sharing the new ball of course, finding swing immediately. Haynes and Mooney pick up a couple of runs with little drives but it looks fraught.

1st over: Australia 1-1 (Haynes 1, Mooney 0) Another belter beats Mooney two balls after she arrives. Will it be the Brunt show again?

What a start! A pair for Alyssa Healy, and it’s Brunt who gets her again. In the first innings Healy chased one. This time the ball is angling in, Healy has to play, then it swings away and leaps off the surface to take the edge through to the keeper. Not much Healy could do about that.

So ends a truly remarkable performance by Heather Knight. Cross runs off the field, leaving Knight to walk off solo and enjoy the spotlight on 168 not out, over 56% of her team’s runs. Sophie Ecclestone with 34 at No10 was the only other player to make over 15. Knight didn’t give a chance, barely made a mistake, and kept her calm through 103 overs of batting, taking the deficit from 333 when she walked in to 40 when she walks off. Well played.

It’s all over! Not sure why Cross feels the need to take on a pull shot from Perry, especially just after clipping a high full toss through the leg side for four. But that’s what Cross does. Top edge to deep backward square. And here’s Darcie Brown again, so good across the ground. Dives forward and takes a belter of a catch.

105th over: England 292-9 (Knight 167, Cross 7) Apparently Cross was dropped in the previous King over. Edged a cut shot that Healy put down. She’s missed a few chances in this match. Knight in this over is looking to attack. Plays the reverse but straight to deep third and turns down the single. Tries to loft but hits it to mid on, and then mis-hits over short cover for a run. Cross says, I’ll show you how it’s done. Clatters a cut shot for four.

104th over: England 287-9 (Knight 166, Cross 3) McGrath to Knight, with Mooney standing at a very short straight mid-off, about halfway down the pitch. Not sure I would want Mooney standing in front of the bat like that with a broken jaw and no helmet. Knight cuts the second ball for a single. The field closes in for Cross, who wafts, then drives solidly for none. Ignores the final wide drag-down. The deficit is 50 runs.

103rd over: England 286-9 (Knight 165, Cross 3) Knight facing King, five in the deep protecting the boundaries. Knight tries to drop it softly enough towards deep midwicket that she can get back for two, but Gardner’s arm is a rocket and the throw lasers back to the keeper. Would have been a run out for sure. Cross on strike survives the last four balls though.

102nd over: England 285-9 (Knight 164, Cross 3) Knight takes on another big drive to the deep, fielded on the cover boundary. Two runs, then a single. McGrath gets four balls to work at Cross, two slips and a gully with a short cover and short midwicket catching. Can’t get her out. The field spreads for the sixth ball to offer her a single, but she misses a ball that goes off the thigh pad to slip. England trail by 52.

101st over: England 282-9 (Knight 161, Cross 3) Alana King comes on to bowl her leg-breaks, and Knight looks like she’s changing modes a bit here. Late cut down to deep third, where Sutherland fumbles over the rope. Steps down and lofts two runs over mid-off, then plays an aggressive sweep but it’s fielded in the deep. Drinks.

100th over: England 273-9 (Knight 152, Cross 3) Lovely start from Cross, clipping her first ball out through midwicket for three runs, just saved by a slide on the rope. Knight happily takes a single next ball. It could well be in England’s interest to get bowled out here. Get bowling in these conditions. The closer they get to Australia’s score, the longer Australia will have to bat before setting a target.

McGrath delivers! Straight ball, cannons into the pad and Ecclestone reviews in faint hope but is wandering off the field before the decision is upheld. Hitting middle stump, three reds.

99th over: England 267-8 (Knight 151, Ecclestone 34) Knight squeezes a single from Jonassen through the leg side, then Ecclestone cuts, off the bottom edge, and the ball should bounce back onto her stumps but the spin she imparts from the edge of the bat makes the ball turn past off. She still looks dicey. Gets a single to raise the hundred partnership though.

98th over: England 267-8 (Knight 150, Ecclestone 33) Tahlia McGrath comes on, having not bowled since early in the day yesterday, and she has Ecclestone dropped at slip. Lanning again. That was a tough chance though, diving full length to her right. Can’t reel it in. No run from the over.

97th over: England 267-8 (Knight 150, Ecclestone 33) There’s the 150 up for Heather Knight, who enjoys it but only briefly acknowledges it. Clobbers Jonassen’s spin over wide long-on with the slog sweep. Two Test tons for Knight, both over 150.

96th over: England 262-8 (Knight 146, Ecclestone 32) Knight and Ecclestone cut the deficit down to 75 now, Knight hooking Perry down through fine leg before a couple of singles.

95th over: England 255-8 (Knight 141, Ecclestone 31) Another first-ball single, this time Knight glancing Sutherland, who follows up with a wide. Another Ecclestone prod outside the stumps evades an edge. Then another. Stop fishing!

94th over: England 254-8 (Knight 140, Ecclestone 31) Knight gets a single away, and Ecclestone plays a few swishes outside off stump. Looking a bit dicey, Knight might want to settle her down.

93rd over: England 253-8 (Knight 139, Ecclestone 31) We’ve seen several well timed cut shots this morning, but they’ve all gone behind point and been nicely stopped in the cordon. Sutherland finishes the over by cutting the ball into Ecclestone, banged on the front pad and the Australians send it upstairs. Looks a chance for sliding down to me, and the review says umpire’s call on leg stump.

92nd over: England 253-8 (Knight 139, Ecclestone 31) Ellyse Perry taking it back to the traditions of Test cricket, bowling an eight-ball over. A wide and a no-ball in there, as well as Ecclestone dropping a ball into the big gap on the leg side to scamper through.

91st over: England 250-8 (Knight 139, Ecclestone 30) Sutherland isn’t finding the outside edge per se, but keeps finding the outside half of Knight’s bat. A couple of shots sliced away behind point. Ecclestone spices things up by using the inside edge for a run.

90th over: England 246-8 (Knight 136, Ecclestone 29) Perry’s in, with that distinctive bound of hers. Three slips, gully, looking to force another mistake. Knight drives a single, Ecclestone survives the straighter ball.

89th over: England 244-8 (Knight 135, Ecclestone 28) Sutherland now, and Knight is beaten again twice on the trot. The second delivery prompts a bit of interest after a noise is heard. Lanning doesn’t review – good decision, there’s a gap between bat and pad. Knight then finds the boundary for the first time today with a wonderful cover drive and this partnership is now worth 75.

88th over: England 240-8 (Knight 131, Ecclestone 28) Here we go then. Lanning leads Australia onto the pitch under overcast skies at Manuka before Perry takes the ball and play resumes. Knight takes guard and there’s immediately two, nicely played off her legs into the gap on the on side. A single through the off side follows before Ecclestone is dropped in the slips by Lanning, who might be distracted by Mooney diving across her. A mistake from the Australians who have been very good to this point. Perry then delivers a beauty to beat Knight all ends up. An action-packed opening over.

And here is the daily podcast with me and Isabelle Westbury if you’d like some more detail for quarter of an hour about how the day panned out. Have to say, we’ve had two outstanding days of Test cricket. Really hope the rain has less influence than projected from here.

Lots of conjecture about day three, starting some days ago. Yes, there BoM forecast still says there is a high chance of thunderstormy rain today. It also says that it should be an afternoon thing. It rained a bit here in Canberra last night, but this morning is rain-free and humid and cloudy, just like yesterday morning when the swing bowlers went so well. There is rain on the radar but it’s in patchy bits here and there, so who knows what will or won’t find Manuka. For now it looks like the day should start on time.