ASHES FIRE IN THE BELLY
BOWLERS EYE RETURN TO AUSSIE FOLD
The last time these sides played an Ashes series was in June-July 2019 at venues in England and;
Australia holds the Ashes, retaining it in 2019, winning five of the seven multi-format games (the Test was drawn and the last T20 was won by England). It was a big win – 12 points to 4.
Ellyse Perry was the highestrun scorer for the 2019 Ashes with 378 from eight innings and had the highest number of “notouts” to her name with four.
Perry was also the series’ leading wicket-taker with 15, ahead of England’s Sophie Ecclestone with 13. Perry’s haul included a record-breaking – and incredible – 7-22, in the third ODI, which the Aussies won by a mammoth 194 runs.
Ashleigh Gardner and Beth Mooney tied for the most catches for the series with five.
Alyssa Healy won the wicketkeeping record, with nine dismissals, for seven catches and two stumpings.
Aussie captain Meg Lanning hit the most sixes for the Ashes with eight.
Lanning also hit the most fours, with 47 (Alyssa Healy had 46), largely on the back of an unbeaten 133.
TALK about giving the Poms the old one-two.
Two of the world’s best bowlers are set to resume duties for Australia for the upcoming women’s Ashes series against England.
Jess Jonassen and Megan Schutt – who sat out Australia’s winning series against India in September – have pencilled the one-off Test on January 27 as their respective comebacks.
Schutt, 28, opted out of the multiformat series to stay home in Adelaide to care for daughter, Rylee, who was born prematurely in August, while Jonassen, 29, was sidelined with a shin injury.
And sitting on the wrong side of the boundary line when your country is playing is one tough gig.
“It was my first time ever watching a series on television, and it was very difficult and when you have no control you get more frustrated,” Schutt said. “It made me realise how much I love cricket still.
“There’s been no doubt for me that I do love the game, and I’m always passionate, but when you’re away you truly realise how much you miss it and as well as the friendships you’ve formed and how lucky you are to be playing a sport you love for a living, so I guess not being able to do that was frustrating.”
The silver lining to their absence was that Australia’s cohort of younger quicks – Darcie Brown, Hannah Darlington, Stella Campbell – were given a chance to experience the international level against a quality side.
Jonassen says it proved the depth of Aussie cricket.
“It was really nice to see those girls get that opportunity and we know the exact depth that we have inside our domestic competition ... it doesn’t surprise me that the selectors have some tough decisions to make,” she said.
Schutt agrees they were nothing short of brilliant.
“We’ve shown our domestic competition keeps producing good, young, fast bowlers, which was kind of awesome to watch from my point of view,” Schutt said.
“I’m no spring chicken, so to see the next crop coming through is really fantastic.
“They were under a lot of pressure and playing against quality players, so for them to step up and seem really fearless, I really admired (them), because I know that wasn’t me when I first started for Australia.
“They are 18 with not a care in the world, so then they can bowl with freedom, and that was really special to watch.”
But Jonassen – the world’s No.1 ranked ODI bowler – and Schutt – the world’s No.4 ranked T20 bowler – are now back.
And their importance to Australia’s fortunes in this Ashes cannot be understated: Schutt and Jonassen are second and third when it comes to most wickets for the Aussies in the Ashes since the multi-format series began in 2013, with 43 and 37 respectively.
The women’s Ashes will kick start one of the biggest year’s in the history of the Australian women’s cricket team, with the month-long 50-over World Cup starting in New Zealand on March 4, and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham from July.
For Jonassen, the Ashes is the biggest rivalry in cricket, while its multiformat concept – where the sides play three ODIs, three T20s and one Test with wins accruing points – is the future of the women’s game.
“Playing in the Ashes always means a lot … and we’re fortunate enough to be holding the Ashes at the moment as well, so there’s that added incentive not to give them back,” she said.