Ash Gardner strikes to spark England collapse leaving Australia in charge | Women’s Ashes

England’s possibilities of a primary Test win since January 2014, and a primary win in opposition to Australia in any format since July 2019, dangle in the stability after they sank to 116 for 5 in pursuit of a fourth-innings goal of 268 on the fourth day at Trent Bridge on Sunday.

England had been strolling to victory at 55 with out loss after 10 overs of their chase, however a collapse of 4 wickets for 18 runs in 5 overs halfway by the night session tipped momentum in favour of Australia. In desperation, each Emma Lamb and Heather Knight – trapped lbw by Tahlia McGrath and Ash Gardner respectively – despatched their choices upstairs, however DRS confirmed each as being umpire’s name on influence.

Knight turned Gardner’s third sufferer after the off-spinner had earlier tempted the first-innings double-centurion Tammy Beaumont into slicing a half-volley to slip. In between instances, Nat Sciver-Brunt was the agent of her personal demise, miscuing a pull to be caught by Kim Garth operating spherical from brief leg. Minutes earlier than the shut, Garth chipped in with a wicket of her personal, her outswinger to Sophia Dunkley taking the sting and touchdown in the gloves of Alyssa Healy behind the stumps.

Danni Wyatt (20) and the nightwatcher Kate Cross (5) noticed England safely by till stumps, however with 152 runs left to safe victory and Australia’s spinners licking their lips on the prospect of a fifth day on this pitch, the hosts have a mountain to climb.

It was meant to be Sophie Ecclestone’s day after her cumulative match-haul of 10 for 192 throughout 77.1 overs (probably the most bowled by any Englishwoman in a Test since 1987) helped to bowl Australia out for 257. At that time, the gamble of overloading her earlier than the rest of the multiformat sequence appeared to have paid off. Now it seems to be like folly.

It has been a very long time since anybody might label this all-conquering Australian crew as fallible, however their batting actually appeared brittle on Sunday. Wickets fell in clusters, together with 4 for 20 in 34 balls instantly after lunch, and – after a 59-run partnership between Healy and Alana King for the eighth wicket – the lack of Australia’s remaining three batters in the area of seven balls after tea.

Ecclestone had switched to the Radcliffe Road End firstly of the day in what appeared to be an try to take advantage of some scuffed-up footholes on the Pavilion End (from which her earlier 50 overs had been delivered). That did the job to see off Beth Mooney, who was lastly dismissed midway by the afternoon session 15 runs wanting a maiden Test century by a ball which spun out of the footmarks onto her stumps.

Around her there have been some uncharacteristically tentative photographs from the normally brash Australians: first-innings centurion Annabel Sutherland pulled Ecclestone straight to sq. leg, whereas Gardner edged Cross to slip as Australia sank from 157 for 3 at lunch to 198 for seven at drinks.

Most surprisingly of all of the Australia captain, Healy, carded at No 6, didn’t emerge from the dressing room till six wickets had already gone down. That meant an extended wait nursing three quarters of a double-pair, after three successive scores of nought in Test cricket.

She nearly achieved that doubtful honour when she was put down by Amy Jones behind the stumps first ball – one among a sequence of spilled possibilities throughout the day, together with 5 by the wicketkeeper-first slip pairing of Jones and Knight. Had they taken these possibilities, they may but be celebrating a win.

Instead, Healy clung on to carry up a 61-ball half-century in the second over after tea however fell three balls later, limply holing out to Lamb at midwicket, to hand Ecclestone her fourth wicket of the day. Darcie Brown, trapped lbw, accomplished the set; Ecclestone led her crew from the pitch holding the ball aloft for the second time in 4 days.

While Ecclestone did the heavy lifting, the distinction on Sunday was that England bowled as a pack, Cross and Lauren Filer taking two wickets apiece. After a tough final hour the earlier night, England resumed on day 4 with rather more of a spring in their steps, particularly when Cross – in her third over of the morning – bowled a jaffa which pitched a mile exterior off and jagged again in to hit Phoebe Litchfield’s center stump.

England have been additionally buoyed by the return of Sciver-Brunt to the assault after she had been unable to bowl on Saturday due to a knee harm. Her first over generated possibilities for a caught-and-bowled and a stumping in opposition to Mooney, whereas her 9 overs throughout the day went for simply 28 runs earlier than she was quickly compelled off the sector to obtain therapy on her knee.

But it was Filer who made the morning session fizz, lastly dwelling up to her pre-match billing by the coach Jon Lewis as “a key wicket-taking threat”. In back-to-back wicket maidens simply earlier than lunch, in which she clocked speeds of 76mph, she eliminated two of the world’s greatest batters in fast succession – Ellyse Perry bowled making an attempt to fend off a bouncer, earlier than McGrath was overwhelmed for tempo and the ball ricocheted off her pads into the stumps.

Perry, dismissed for the second time in the match by England’s debutant pacer, appeared quite sheepish. As it turned out, Australia had the final snort.