On Wednesday, July 12, the England women’s cricket team secured a thrilling two-wicket victory in the first ODI, effectively leveling the Ashes 2023 series. The win also brought an end to Australia’s remarkable winning streak of 15 consecutive ODI matches, dating back to September 2021, and marked England’s biggest run chase in ODI history.

After suffering a defeat in the one-off Test and the first T20I, England made a sensational comeback, now holding a 3-2 lead (equivalent to six points) in the seven-match series on home soil. They had previously claimed victory in the T20Is with a scoreline of 2-1, shattering Australia’s invincible status. With this recent triumph, England has taken a crucial 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Australia set a target of 263/8 while batting first at Bristol’s County Ground. Beth Mooney played a pivotal role, scoring an unbeaten 81 runs off 99 balls, while star all-rounder Ellyse Perry contributed 41 runs off 51 balls. England’s young pacer Lauren Bell and top-ranked all-rounder Natalie Sciver-Brunt each took two wickets for their team.

England faced a challenging start but captain Heather Knight played a captain’s innings, smashing an unbeaten 75 runs off 86 balls. Tammy Beaumont and young talent Alice Capsey also made significant contributions with scores of over 40. In the end, pacer Kate Cross played a crucial role, scoring an unbeaten 19 runs off 20 balls to secure a thrilling win for England with just 11 balls remaining.

Heather Knight was awarded the Player of the Match but attributed England’s victory to Kate Cross’s crucial cameo performance. “It feels very good. It was hard work out there. I thought it was starting to slip away. Kate Cross, what a hero. She was nervous when she came in but we broke it down. To beat a very good side is outstanding – and we can be a lot better. It’s been an awesome series. I wanted to be there at the end. It was pure joy,” said Knight during the post-match presentation.

In the record books, England’s previous highest run chase in ODIs was against New Zealand, scoring 245 at Derby in 2021. This defeat marks Australia’s first loss in an ODI since their defeat to India in September 2021, and their first 50-over defeat against England since 2017. Notably, the Alyssa Healy-led side also suffered three consecutive defeats across formats for the first time since February 2017, after a span of 136 games (2327 days).

In the first day of the women’s Ashes, Ellyse Perry showcased her brilliance with a remarkable innings of 99, propelling Australia to 328-7 at the close of play in the solitary Test of the multi-format series held at Trent Bridge.

The highlight of the day came when Perry successfully challenged an lbw decision off Lauren Filer’s debut ball at the international level. Perry, who had scored just 10 runs at the time, went on to record her fifth fifty-plus score in ten Tests against England.

However, just as Australia seemed to be gaining control of the Test, Sophie Ecclestone struck a crucial blow for England by dismissing Jess Jonassen and Australia’s captain Alyssa Healy, both for a duck, in the same over.

Filer eventually claimed the prized wicket of Perry as she approached her century, while the slow left-arm spin of Ecclestone dismissed Tahlia McGrath, who had contributed a solid 61 runs in a 119-run partnership with Perry.

The five-day Test carries four points in the series and will be followed by three Twenty20 internationals and three one-day internationals.

Following the exhilarating men’s Ashes Test earlier this week, the women’s contest took center stage. England, aiming to reclaim the urn for the first time since 2015, received tremendous support from a crowd of 5,545 spectators—the largest single-day attendance for a women’s Test match in the country’s history.

England captain Heather Knight, who had promised to “entertain and inspire” on the eve of only the second five-day women’s Test ever played, adopted an attacking approach with her field placements after winning the toss and electing to bowl.

Australia, riding high on their T20 World Cup triumph earlier this year, appeared to be in control at 226-3 before losing three wickets for just 12 runs in a span of 24 balls, reinvigorating England’s hopes.

As play resumes on Friday, Annabel Sutherland (39 not out) and Alana King (seven not out) will aim to guide Australia towards a total of 400.