CANBERRA: The tightly-contested Women’s Ashes got a fitting finale as England clinched the T20I leg of the series 2-1 to level the scoreline at 8-8 after an impressive four-wicket win in the high-scoring thriller at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Tuesday (November 21). It was a tale of like parallel forces as openers from both parties - Australia’s Beth Mooney and England’s Danielle Wyatt - notched up their maiden T20I centuries to light up the final contest. Having spent the preceding ODI series on the sidelines, both Mooney and Wyatt came to the fore as the two rival sides aimed to end the Ashes on a high. Eventually, though, it was Wyatt’s that made all the difference as England registered the highest successful chase in women’s T20Is by overhauling Australia’s 178 with an over to spare. With the series locked at 1-1, Australia had no hesitation in opting to bat on the flat track after winning the toss. Mooney continued from where she’s left off earlier and single-handedly laid the platform for Australia’s commanding total. She spared none of England’s experienced bowlers in her scintillating 70-ball unbeaten knock that was laced with as many as 19 hits to the fence and one over it. Mooney was the aggressor in her 59-run opening stand with Alyssa Healy (19), before Katherine Brunt got the visitors a much-needed breakthrough. But that, and losing Elyse Villani in quick succession, did little to curb Mooney’s enthusiasm. The opener took 38 balls to her fifty, bringing up the milestone with a boundary off Heather Knight in the 11th over, but switched gears in no time. Knight, Jenny Gunn and Sophie Ecclestone all came under the attack as Mooney raced to her hundred with the penultimate ball of the 19th over, joining her regular skipper Meg Lanning as the only centurions for Australia in the format. The 23-year-old took 65 balls to reach triple figures and then provided finishing touches with a quartet of boundaries of a struggling Anya Shrubsole in the final over to covert Australia’s already strong total to a challenging one. Riding on the momentum, Jess Jonassen ripped open England’s top order with two wickets in her opening burst to derail their chase rather early. With an asking rate of nine to begin with, England openers were under the pump to go after the Australian attack from the word go. But the pressure took its toll early. Tammy Beaumont stepped out in her attempt to clear the mid-off, only to give away an easy catch to Ashleigh Gardner. Sarah Taylor’s ill-timed drive, in Jonassen’s following over, found a diving-forward Rachel Haynes to pluck a stunningly low catch. In a couple of overs from there, a sharp direct hit from Villani from mid-off caught the diving Natalie Sciver well short of her crease while attempting a cheeky single off the final delivery, leaving England reeling at 30 for 3 after five overs of powerplay. Brief scores: Australia 178/2 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 117*, Ellyse Perry 22*; Katherine Brunt 1-25) lost to England 181/6 in 19 overs (Danielle Wyatt 100, Heather Knight 51; Jess Jonassen 2-25) by four wickets.
