Women’s Ashes: Australia and Sophie Molineux turn the screw on England

The Taunton Test after three days looks likely to end in the same way that 60% of women’s Tests have since they moved to being four-day affairs in the 1970s: as a draw. After a rain-affected second day any other result relied on a show of aggression from either side: instead Australia delayed their declaration for another 23 overs; while England, forced on to the back foot after being left five down and still 138 runs away from the follow-on target, were compelled to defend for much of the extended evening session.

That England’s efforts ground to such a halt was largely courtesy of the 21-year-old debutante Sophie Molineux, who finished the day with three for 71 from 29 overs, having earlier contributed 21 with the bat as Australia sailed past 400. The left-armer initially struck midway through the afternoon session, trapping a dangerous-looking Heather Knight leg-before attempting the sweep when on 28. However, her decisive intervention came immediately after tea, in a nine-over spell in which she saw off both Amy Jones, who chipped a catch straight to Rachael Haynes at mid-off, and Sarah Taylor, struck on the front pad and adjudged leg-before.

“Today was pretty special,” Molineux said at stumps. “I love wearing whites and playing with the red ball. I played a lot of longer format cricket growing up back home and just to put the whites back on again I felt quite at home.”

Jones, whose cool, confident half-century on Test debut had blown away the cobwebs of her tentative showing in the ODI leg of the series, had looked on course for a ton: her departure put England firmly into defensive mode. While Nat Sciver acquired a steady 62, the pace of Katherine Brunt’s innings was more indicative: the Barnsley Express took 47 balls to move into double figures, eventually chopping on just before the close to give Ash Gardner a maiden Test wicket of her own.

“We’re trying our hardest out there,” Sciver said. “As a team we’ve fought really hard. Unfortunately the wickets at the other end dictated how I played. It’s going to be a fight tomorrow. If we do get to a position where we can put Australia back in, we’ve got some world-class spinners who will hopefully be able to take some wickets.”

England’s first go with the bat had started disastrously, with Tammy Beaumont departing to a jaffa of a delivery from Ellyse Perry that swung in, then seamed away to take out her off stump. Going into lunch on two for one, with five sessions still left in the match, England might well have struggled to stomach their sausages and mash.

Jones, though, steadied the ship, blowing Tayla Vlaeminck away after the 20-year-old began her Test career ignominiously with a no-ball followed by five wides sprayed down the leg side. Her more experienced counterpart Jess Jonassen also suffered at Jones’s hands, her opening over going for 13. At one stage the onslaught was such that there were whispers England might look to accelerate past the follow-on target, declare overnight and set up an enticing fourth day: Molineux’s intervention put paid to that.

Australia’s plan had become obvious as soon as they arrived at the ground and kicked England – hoping for an overnight declaration - out of the nets: plod on laboriously. Signs of intent across the morning were few and far between: the overnight not-out batsmen Beth Mooney and Jonassen added only 16 runs across the first 5.3 overs before Jonassen departed, seen off by a sharp catch from Sciver at backward point. Molineux then took 46 balls to acquire 21, solid all the way until Sophie Ecclestone finally snuck through her defences.

Mooney did eventually come out of her shell, with some beautiful drives down the ground on her way to a maiden Test fifty. But when the signal from Meg Lanning to speed things up finally came, with half an hour remaining of the morning session, Mooney’s response was an immediate miscue, her leading edge pouched by Jones running backwards from short third man. At last Lanning called a halt to proceedings. No side has lost a women’s Test after making more than 302 in their first innings: Australia reached 420 before they were prepared even to give England a sniff.

An Australian win is, of course, still possible: they have already blown this England batting lineup away once this series. Should they run out of time, though, they will probably not mind too much. The Ashes are theirs either way.

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