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2nd over: Australia 18-0 (Mooney 15, Voll 0) Bell’s first ball is a hooping full toss that Mooney tickles down the leg side for four. The line wasn’t quite right but England will be encouraged by the swing that Kemp and Bell are getting.
Oof, that’s not good. Bell sends down a high full toss that is carted through midwicket for four by Mooney. It’s a no-ball on height, which means a free hit; Mooney slugs it over Bell’s head for four more.
Voll, slow to react to the chance of a quick single, survives a run-out chance when Wyatt-Hodge’s underarm throw just misses the stumps. An eventful and expensive over, 14 from it, ends with Voll almost offering a return catch.
1st over: Australia 4-0 (Mooney 2, Voll 0) A pretty good first over from Kemp includes a gorgeous outswinger that beats Beth Mooney. England have an interesting field for Mooney, with a kind of deep fourth slip just a very fine short third.
“Good morning,” says John Starbuck. “As we sit around awaiting the deluge, it’s good to be reminded of summer, even on the other side of the world. Not that England’s prospects are encouraging. The batting shot selection has been puerile; the bowling inaccurate; and the fielding lamentable. Let’s face it, this series is going to be a whitewash. While there’s no shame in losing to a better team, it needs at least to happen gracefully. Something Must Be Done.”
I know what you mean by ‘puerile’ but that word feels too strong. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to keep a cool head when you are batting under such relentless pressure.
Time for the action. Freya Kemp will open the bowling to Beth Mooney.
Read Andy Bull on England’s struggles
Forget the gap between England and the opposition. The bigger problem is the gap between the way England have been playing since they arrived in Australia and the team they are supposed to be. If Heather Knight, her players, and their head coach, Jon Lewis, are honest with themselves they will know they’ve fallen well short of their own standards, let alone Australia’s. It is one thing to be second best to a better team, but another again if the side you are falling behind is the one you were yourselves this time last year.
The weather forecast isn’t great for the second half of the game, which is another reason for England to bowl first. Tahlia McGrath says she was 50/50 all day about what to do at the toss.
Team news
Both teams are unchanged. Heather Graham has been added to Australia’s T20 squad as cover for the injured Ash Gardner and Alyssa Healy.
Australia Mooney (wk), Voll, Litchfield, Perry, Sutherland, McGrath (c), Harris, Wareham, King, Garth, Schutt.
England Bouchier, Wyatt-Hodge, Dunkley, Sciver-Brunt, Knight (c), Jones (wk), Kemp, Dean, Ecclestone, Glenn, Bell.
England win the toss and bowl
That means they’ll be chasing for the fourth game in a row.
Preamble
Good evening, good morning, good afternoon. When the Women’s Ashes schedule was announced there was understandable criticism that it was far too short, with the whole thing squashed into 24 days between 11 January and 2 February. Now it’s in danger of outstaying its welcome. Australia retained the Ashes after 10 of those 24 days, and the rest of the series – containing the last two T20s and the Test in Melbourne – could be one big anti-climax.
Still, this is the Ashes, and there’s always something to play for. Marsellus Wallace can say what he likes about pride but he clearly wasn’t a cricket fan. A number of the England players, and the coach Jon Lewis, are fighting for their futures. Australia’s future looks almost as bright as their coruscating recent past. The present looks pretty good too. The Class of 25 have the chance to achieve something extraordinary: the first whitewash in Women’s Ashes history.
Tonight’s match starts at 7.15pm AEDT, 8.15am GMT.
