The 2023 Ashes series has been a captivating display of top-quality cricket from both the Australian Women’s team and the England Women’s team. Despite losing the T20I and ODI series, Australia managed to retain the Ashes trophy, thanks to their victory in the one-off Test, which earned them four crucial points and ultimately proved decisive.

The multi-format series assigned two points to each white-ball game. The visitors got off to a good start by winning the first T20I, but England staged an impressive comeback, securing wins in the last two T20Is. They also triumphed over Australia in the first ODI, taking a 1-0 lead in the series. However, they couldn’t maintain the momentum and suffered a narrow defeat in the second ODI.

In the third ODI at Taunton, Australia won the toss and chose to field, capitalizing on the overcast conditions. Ashleigh Gardner made an early breakthrough by dismissing Sophia Dunkley. England faced challenges at 12/2, but skipper Heather Knight and Nat Sciver Brunt steadied the innings with a remarkable 147-run partnership for the third wicket.

Both players reached their fifties, and Knight, in particular, looked in fine form until being dismissed by Alana King for 67. Danielle Wyatt played a supporting role, contributing a valuable 43 runs off just 25 deliveries alongside Nat Sciver Brunt’s exceptional knock of 129 runs, propelling England to a substantial total of 286 runs.

Regrettably, rain affected the match, leading to the implementation of the DLS method, which revised Australia’s target to 269 runs in 44 overs. Heather Knight, Nat Sciver Brunt, and Danielle Wyatt were the main contributors to England’s runs, while other batters faced difficulties. Australia’s bowling attack, led by Ashleigh Gardner and Jess Jonassen, picked up 3 wickets each.

In response to England’s target, the Australian team began their chase but lost skipper Alyssa Healy early on, continuing her struggle for runs in the series. The openers also fell quickly, putting Australia under pressure to score. Despite the challenging start, Ellyse Perry showed aggression against England’s bowlers, scoring a valuable 53 runs. Kate Cross proved to be the standout bowler for England, taking crucial wickets, including Healy, Perry, and Gardner. Charlotte Dean and Lauren Bell also made significant contributions with two wickets each.

After Ellyse Perry’s dismissal, the Australian batters continued to lose wickets, resulting in their team being bowled out for a mere 199 runs, and England emerged victorious with a convincing 69-run margin.

Despite both Australia and England finishing with equal points (8-8) in the multi-format Ashes series, Australia retained the Ashes trophy based on their overall performance throughout the series.

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