major events
14th Overs: England 74-2 (Knight 31, Sciver-Brunt 8) First over of spin, as soon as Alana King bowls the ball. She whistles through her overs without much incident, until NSB decides to throw the kitchen sink and various pots and pans at the last ball, leading to a slog-sweeping six. And along with this they also take drinks.
13th Overs: England 66-2 (Knight 30, Sciver-Brunt 1) Beaumont seemed a little nervous today, as if she was anxious for boundaries. His wicket brings up Sciver-Brunt, who has been deified in the Australian press in the build-up to this series. As he should, obviously. A four for Knight, off his ankles.
Wicket! Beaumont c Garth b Sutherland 13 (England 61-1)
Beaumont goes up, up and into the hands of Garth at mid-on, who catches the ball as if reaching for the juiciest peach on a branch.
12th Overs: England 60-1 (Beaumont 13, Knight 25) Beaumont looks a little further out to sea here than Garth.
“Hey Tanya, Hello Cressida Evans!”
“Checking in after a sweaty night in Bahia, summer rain all day yesterday and today, so settling in with a beer and watching the match.
“No matter what anyone says, these OGs look a little sharp and a lot of them look scary prefects, ugh!”
Yes. If not quite on the terrifying scale of Belinda Clark.
11th Overs: England 51-1 (Beaumont 12, Knight 23) You heard it here first As Raf predicted, Mitchell Starc has arrived in the Australian commentary box suited and smiling to comment on his wife’s work. There are many weddings where this would not be a wise choice. Dib and dab, and six runs from Sutherland’s over.
10th Overs: England 45-1 (Beaumont 12, Knight 19) A beauty of an over from Garth, who teased and provoked Beaumont all over. Took a four on the last ball but there is a feeling of disappointment about it.
9 Overs: England 41-1 (Beaumont 8 nigh 19) First change in bowling – Annabel Sutherland replaced Shutt. She livens things up with a full toss towards Beaumont’s head. Knight hits another four with a square drive.
8 Overs: England 33-1 (Beaumont 78 nigh 13) Just one single and a wide from Garth’s over, although Knight was lucky not to hit a four on the last ball, Garth fielding his own ball beautifully.
And many thanks to Carmen Lockwood at SUNY Hobart for pointing out that I might have got my fixtures a turn earlier. “Hi Tanya, I think your timing is messed up. For example you say the Tasmanian ODI (in Hobart) is on the 15thth January 11:05 pm GMT. If you look at it, the match is on 17thth It will be January 16th here in Tasmaniath There is no January 15th in the UK. I think some of your other matches may also be on the wrong day.
I haven’t had time to double-check yet but this might be a more reliable source – from the ECB website.
January 11 – 1st ODI – 11.30 pm UK – Sydney
January 13 – 2nd ODI – 11.05 pm – Melbourne
January 16 – 3rd ODI – 11.05 pm – Hobart
January 20 – 1st IT20 – 8.40 am – Sydney
23 January – 2nd IT20 – 8.40 am – Canberra
25 January – 3rd IT20 – 8.10 am – Adelaide
30 January – 3 February – Test Match – 3.30 am – Melbourne
7 Overs: England 31-1 (Beaumont 7, Knight 13) Shutt misses the length here and Beaumont turns his wrists and posts it through cover for four. And second, when Knight takes an over-pitched delivery, but is beaten on the next ball. A beautiful discussion and conversation is taking place with the crowd spread out on their seats on the grass.
6 Overs: England 22-1 (Beaumont 2, Knight 9) Garth runs towards the giant fig tree, arms outstretched behind Healy. She starts wide and finishes a ball which Knight plays in and misses. On middle, Knight picks up four with a thick edge that flies past where third slip might hover.
5th Overs: England 17-1 (Beaumont 2, Knight 5) Knight tracked down a loose delivery from Schutt and, thank you very much, cut to the boundary with accuracy and off the mark. An inside edge to finish the over takes a little less conviction.
4 Overs: England 11-1 (Beaumont 1) Time came for Boucher to hit another brilliant four, before Garth was rewarded for keeping the pressure on.
Wicket! Bouchier c Healy b Garth 9 (England 11-1)
That relief didn’t last long. Boucher’s feet remained on the crease as he gave a simple catch to Healy behind the stumps.
Third over: England 7-0 (Beaumont 1, Boucher 5) A maiden from Schutt too – Beaumont and Boucher both look very keen to get forward, but are unable to put the bat on the ball.
Second over: England 7-0 (Beaumont 1, Bouchier 5): Kim Garth flies, pony tail follows. Boucher plays on and misses his fourth ball, flops indecisively on the fifth ball, is beaten on a late-swinging sixth ball. a singing girl
“A dramatic version of God Save the Queen”? asks Mark Bendall. “I think the Queen died a few years ago.” Argh – sorry Mark, Charles if you’re reading. After 50 years of GSTQ, I’ve got a bit of a mental block on that.
1st over: England 7-0 (Beaumont 1, Boucher 5): Just one wicket on the third ball – overturned due to a no-ball. What a drama! Maia Bouchier gets life after pulling Schutt’s inswinger into the stumps at 0, Schutt boots the culprit (just). Boucher immediately lifted the next ball and sent it into the shade for four runs.
Players line up for the national anthem, England in royal blue tops and navy trousers, Australia in its usual custard. After Welcome to the Country, a dramatic version of God Save the Queen Which provokes fits of laughter among some of the England players. advance Australia Fair is much straighter than a line.
ebony rainford-brent Says she feels the Australian team has lost its charm. “Australia of the past kept every trophy. She has lost her ruthless edge over Meg Lanning.” Ebony is not often wrong…
Australian team – unchanged
Australian XI: Alyssa Healy (captain & wk), Phoebe Lichfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ash Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Alanna King, Kim Garth, Megan Schutt, Darcy Brown.
England team – no Kate Cross
England XI: Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Heather Knight (c), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danny Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones (wk), Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Lauren Bell.
No Kate Cross, who has not recovered from her back injury. England will miss him in the power play and will have an inexperienced fast bowling attack.
Australia will bowl after winning the toss!
says winning captain Alyssa Healy. “I think there’s always a bit of a rush in it, and although we’re getting off to a bit of a late start domestically, hopefully if we can get the job done early and get a few wickets we can help them achieve the target. Can be limited to something achievable. It’s been a few months since I came back with the gloves and no change from the last game in New Zealand.”
fixtures
11 January: 1st ODI (11:30 PM GMT), North Sydney Oval (2 points)
13 January: 2nd ODI (11:05 pm GMT), CityPower Centre, Melbourne (2 points)
15 January: 3rd ODI (11:05 pm GMT), Ninja Stadium, Hobart (2 points)
20 January: 1st T20 (08:40am GMT), Sydney Cricket Ground (2 points)
23 January: 2nd T20 (08:40am GMT), Manuka Oval, Canberra (2 points)
25 January: 3rd T20 (08:10am GMT), Adelaide Oval (2 points)
30 January-2 February: One-off Test (03:30 am GMT), Melbourne Cricket Ground (4 points)
And we get a glimpse of that First view of the grand North Sydney Oval, home of the rugby league team North Sydney Bears, and famous for its giant Moreton Bay Fig tree, 22 meters high and 45 meters wide. The sky is very blue.
RAF There are reports that a huge choir is preparing on the outfield and news on the street is that tickets have sold very well and they are expecting a near capacity crowd (six thousand).
television coverage Didn’t start for 20 minutes so I’m just going to make a quick coffee. Please send me any thoughts/resolutions/night thoughts. And bring your leftover Double Gloucester with cranberries, we can work on this together.
Lauren Filler, WSpeaking to Raft yesterday, Ho said she has had heartbreak all over the world and even battled cough sufferer Laura Wolvaardt in a recent test.
ruff nicholson
“It is a beautiful sunny morning this morning. The forecast is for the best of the week (no thunderstorms) although there is a chance of rain this afternoon. This will bode well for England, who are likely to play Fylder – she nearly slipped four times while bowling during the Gov Gen XI match here on Thursday.
“It hasn’t been confirmed yet but Kate Cross is unlikely to play for England – having only been involved in a very limited amount of training yesterday.”
our star reporter Rafe Nicholson is on the field, and he has already spotted Mitchell Starc, who he believes will be sitting in the commentary box for the match. He told that the sunshine was also very good.
Preface
hello! The clock has struck. The doors are open. The limbs are stretched and the coin is polished. Welcome, from snowy Manchester, to sunny Sydney, where England and Australia are squaring off in the first match of the Women’s Ashes – an ODI at North Sydney Oval.
England last won the Ashes eleven years ago and despite falling short before the final hurdle to Australia in the T20 World Cup earlier this year, the hosts remain favourites. They greedily defeated both India and New Zealand in series earlier this summer, although England are also coming off a successful tour in South Africa before Christmas.
A strong start will be crucial as the entire Ashes, comprising six white-ball games (three 50-overs, three T20s) and one Test, is being crammed into three weeks. Falling behind early could put the series out of reach – despite it being the last game of a multi-point Test series.
Play on the ground will start at 10.30am, 11.30GMT. Please join us. Snacks are on the sidetable.