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).