Australia v England First ODI Report Card
Featuring mankading the tail, following the leader, dehyphenation and mostly relaxed cruises
Mankading The Tail
Grade: C
The women’s Ashes began at North Sydney Oval, with some slightly off-pace national anthems, the singers being hurried along by a tricky pitch. (Or, to be more musicologically accurate, a tricky tempo.)
Also slightly behind the pace and being hurried along? Maia Bouchier, who was bowled off an inside edge from the first ball she faced. Fortunately for her, however, Megan Schutt had overstepped. (But only by a millimetre or so. In ‘barely over’ terms, this was like, I guess, mankading a number eleven before you even bowl the first ball.)
Nevertheless, generous hosting from Australia to give England a freebie.
Following The Leader
Grade: D
Bouchier didn’t make the most of her reprieve, caught behind off the bowling of Kim Garth for just nine. This brought captain Heather Knight to the crease, who was eventually joined by Nat Sciver-Brunt once a slow-scoring Tammy Beaumont was prised out for a satisfyingly palindromic 13 (31).
The partnership of Knight and Sciver-Brunt, England’s two best batters, was the danger pairing from an Australian perspective, with the latter immediately launching Alana King over the ropes for six. (Not King herself, obviously. A ball she bowled.)
The pair raced to 2/92 in the twentieth over, before Knight skied a slog sweep off the first ball of Ash Gardner’s third over into the deep where Ellyse Perry ran around to take a smart catch.
Sciver-Brunt, ever the loyal team member, then shrugged and followed her captain’s lead, skying a slog sweep off the first ball of Ash Gardner’s fourth over into the deep where Ellyse Perry ran around to take a smart catch.
Not a proper Ashes until you get Ash involved, of course, and her mirrored breakthroughs had England 4/95.
Dehyphenation
Grade: B+
Opportunities to enjoy the hyphenated pairing of Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Sciver-Brunt had been curtailed by the latter’s dismissal.
The shattering of the Wyatt-Hodge-Sciver-Brunt partnership led Wyatt-Hodge to reexamine England’s tactics. Had they got this all wrong? Should they not be hitting Gardner deliveries straight to Perry?
It was worth a try. The next catching opportunity was therefore a not-Gardner delivery hit to Perry. The one after that? A Gardner delivery edged to not-Perry. Both resulted in dropped chances. (Difficult dropped chances, but dropped chances nevertheless.)
Yes, thought England. This is the key. This is the way forward. And yet, despite this strategic development, they sputtered along, losing regular wickets, eventually coming to a halt in the 44th over, with the score on 204.
Not great, England. This is North Sydney Oval. You should be targeting 300, not 200.
Mostly Relaxed Cruises
Grade: B+
And so it proved. Yes, England got an early wicket (Phoebe Litchfield caught behind off Lauren Filer), a wicket they shamefully didn’t undo with a reciprocatory no ball. Disappointingly unsporting stuff from Team England.
There are two teams out there… etcetera
But all that wicket did was summon Perry to the crease at North Sydney Oval. Always a big mistake.
An even bigger mistake? Dropping her at fine leg when she was on seven. Fortunately for England, the fair-minded Perry showed mercy, out LBW shortly after.
Not that it mattered. With Alyssa Healy smacking a chanceless 70 (78), Australia cruised to victory, with 67 balls remaining.
As cruises go, it wasn’t totally relaxed, Australia also losing six wickets in the process. But this is a side sufficiently self-indulgent to have Tahlia McGrath coming in at seven, so there was never really any sense that they were in trouble. Because, y’know, they weren’t. Just the odd setback here and there on an otherwise untroubled journey.
Let’s call it one of those cruises that have occasional outbreaks of food poisoning or an escaped monkey biting the passengers.