Women's Ashes: Day Four, Test Match, Taunton - Test is drawn as Australia retain Ashes

The Women's Ashes Test match ends in a draw, as Australia take an insurmountable lead in the series.

Photo from BBC

England Women - 275-9 dec / 420-8 dec & 230-7 - Australia Women
The must-win Test for England petered out into a draw, meaning Australia will retain the Ashes.
Declaring on 275-9, England avoided the follow on but could not bowl out Australia who finished on 230-7.
After her century in the first inninngs, Ellyse Perry starred again making an unbeaten 76.
If England win the remaining three Twenty20 matches, they could still draw the series, but Australia would retain the Ashes as Heather Knight's team have failed to win them back.
Making the required 72 to avoid the follow-on was the first target for England, but not before Anya Shrubsole was out for 11 and Nat Sciver for 88.
Laura Marsh and Sophie Ecclestone combined for the ninth wicket to help England over the line.
It was Marsh's boundary that meant Australia had to go out to bat again, and she continued with the ball as she did with the bat, dismissing both openers in the first over after lunch.
Alyssa Healy fell for 13 and Rachael Haynes for one.
Ecclestone testing the batters with her left-arm spin from the other end, but captain Meg Lanning and Perry made a 50 partnership to settle the nerves.
Lanning then chipped Kirstie Gordon to Georgia Elwiss at cover, before Knight brought herself on to bowl and get the wicket of Jess Jonassen for 37.
Perry remained through it all though, picking up 192 runs across both innings, showing why she is a cut above the rest in women's cricket.

SCORECARD
Australia Women won the toss and decided to bat
Match drawn

Australia Women First Innings
Batsman: How Out - Bowler / Runs / Balls / SR (4s, 6s)
Healy: b Gordon / 58 / 81 / 71.60 (12, 0)
Bolton: b Brunt / 6 / 20 / 30.00 (1, 0)
Lanning: b Ecclestone / 57 / 134 / 42.54 (9, 0)
Perry: c Knight - b Marsh / 116 / 281 / 41.28 (16, 0)
Haynes: lbw - b Marsh / 87 / 246 / 35.37 (12, 0)
Mooney: c Jones - b Sciver / 51 / 90 / 56.67 (5, 0)
Jonassen: c Sciver - b Brunt / 8 / 19 / 42.11 (1, 0)
Molineux: b Ecclestone / 21 / 46 / 45.65 (2, 0)
Gardner: not out / 5 / 11 / 45.45 (0, 0)

Extras 0nb 0w 8b 3lb 11

Total (154.4 overs) 420-8 dec

Bowler: Overs / Maidens / Runs / Wickets / Econ
Brunt: 22.0 / 5 / 48 / 2 / 2.18
Shrubsole: 21.0 / 6 / 63 / 0 / 3.00
Ecclestone: 34.2 / 8 / 90 / 2 / 2.62
Sciver: 13.4 / 2 / 44 / 1 / 3.22
Gordon: 26.4 / 7 / 69 / 1 / 2.59
Marsh: 34.0 / 5 / 90 / 2 / 2.65
Elwiss: 3.0 / 2 / 5 / 0 / 1.67

Fall of Wicket - Batsman
25-1 (6.6 ovs) - Bolton
91-2 (25.5 ovs) - Healy
160-3 (53.1 ovs) - Lanning
322-4 (124.4 ovs) - Perry
335-5 (128.6 ovs) - Haynes
356-6 (137.4 ovs) - Jonassen
408-7 (151.3 ovs) - Molineux
420-8 (154.4 ovs) - Mooney

England Women First Innings
Batsman: How Out - Bowler / Runs / Balls / SR (4s, 6s)
Jones: c Haynes - b Molineux / 64 / 140 / 45.71 (12, 0)
Beaumont: b Perry / 0 / 3 / 0.00 (0, 0)
Knight: lbw - b Molineux / 28 / 65 / 43.08 (4, 0)
Elwiss: run out - (Bolton) / 9 / 39 / 23.08 (0, 0)
Sciver: b Jonassen / 88 / 180 / 48.89 (9, 0)
Taylor: lbw - b Molineux / 5 / 12 / 41.67 (1, 0)
Brunt: b Gardner / 15 / 75 / 20.00 (0, 0)
Shrubsole: st Healy - b Molineux / 11 / 55 / 20.00 (1, 0)
Marsh: lbw - b Jonassen / 28 / 60 / 46.67 (5, 0)
Ecclestone: not out / 9 / 19 / 47.37 (2, 0)

Extras 5nb 6w 1b 6lb 18

Total (107.1 overs) 275-9 dec

Bowler: Overs / Maidens / Runs / Wickets / Econ
Perry: 13.0 / 3 / 44 / 1 / 3.38
Schutt: 7.0 / 4 / 6 / 0 / 0.86
Molineux: 37.0 / 6 / 95 / 4 / 2.57
Vlaeminck: 11.0 / 2 / 37 / 0 / 3.36
Jonassen: 21.1 / 5 / 50 / 2 / 2.36
Gardner: 18.0 / 5 / 36 / 1 / 2.00

Fall of Wicket - Batsman
1-1 (2.1 ovs) - Beaumont
80-2 (23.2 ovs) - Knight
111-3 (37.4 ovs) - Elwiss
119-4 (43.6 ovs) - Jones
132-5 (47.3 ovs) - Taylor
189-6 (74.1 ovs) - Brunt
210-7 (87.2 ovs) - Shrubsole
252-8 (101.6 ovs) - Sciver
275-9 (107.1 ovs) - Marsh

Australia Women Second Innings
Batsman: How Out - Bowler / Runs / Balls / SR (4s, 6s)
Haynes: lbw - b Marsh / 1 / 17 / 5.88 (0, 0)
Healy: b Marsh / 13 / 16 / 81.25 (3, 0)
Lanning: c Elwiss - b Gordon / 21 / 58 / 36.21 (2, 0)
Perry: not out / 76 / 144 / 52.78 (9, 0)
Mooney: c Beaumont - b Ecclestone / 25 / 33 / 75.76 (4, 0)
Jonassen: lbw - b Knight / 37 / 56 / 66.07 (7, 0)
Molineux: b Gordon / 41 / 55 / 74.55 (7, 0)
Gardner: c Beaumont - b Knight / 7 / 5 / 140.00 (0, 1)

Extras 0nb 0w 7b 2lb 9

Total (64.0 overs) 230-7

Bowler: Overs / Maidens / Runs / Wickets / Econ
Ecclestone: 16.0 / 6 / 37 / 1 / 2.31
Brunt: 4.0 / 0 / 23 / 0 / 5.75
Marsh: 13.0 / 2 / 42 / 2 / 3.23
Gordon: 10.0 / 1 / 50 / 2 / 5.00
Elwiss: 7.0 / 0 / 27 / 0 / 3.86
Shrubsole: 6.0 / 0 / 17 / 0 / 2.83
Knight: 8.0 / 0 / 25 / 2 / 3.12

Fall of Wicket - Batsman
14-1 (5.2 ovs) - Healy
15-2 (5.6 ovs) - Haynes
67-3 (22.5 ovs) - Lanning
105-4 (32.5 ovs) - Mooney
168-5 (49.3 ovs) - Jonassen
221-6 (62.4 ovs) - Molineux
230-7 (63.6 ovs) - Gardner

Women's Ashes Fixtures and Results
Teams earn four points for a win and two for a draw in the Test, with two points for a win in all limited-overs games.

2 July
First ODI, Leicester
Australia won by two wickets (England 0-2 Australia)

4 July
Second ODI, Leicester 
Australia won by four wickets (England 0-4 Australia)

7 July
Third ODI, Canterbury
Australia won by 194 runs (England 0-6 Australia)

18-21 July 
Only Test, Taunton
Match Drawn (England 2-8 Australia)

26 July
First Twenty20 international, Chelmsford

28 July
Second Twenty20 international, Hove

31 July
Third Twenty20 international, Bristol

Never miss a post - enter your email address in the box on the right!

Follow me on Twitter
Check out my YouTube channel