Sophie Ecclestone has put in a monumental shift for England over the last two days at Trent Bridge.

That was recognised by her teammates when she took the catch Darcie Brown lobbed back to her after lunch, when they locked her in a mass embrace to celebrate her maiden five-for.

Over the previous four sessions, not only had Ecclestone taken half the wickets they needed, she had bowled 46 overs and two balls. That’s 276 deliveries or half a day’s play. It’s also the third most overs ever bowled for England women in a Test match innings, one ball less than Helene Hegarty in 1958 and 19 less than Gillian McConway in 1987.

However, where Ecclestone’s work differs from Hegarty and McConway’s is in the distribution of labour between the rest of the bowlers. In 1958, Dorothy McFarlane bowled 44 overs in the same innings that Hegarty set what was then an England record. In 1987, Karen Smithies bowled 39 overs in the innings that McConway broke it. But, for Ecclestone, no one else’s workload was anywhere close. Kate Cross bowled the next most overs in Australia’s first innings but didn’t break into the thirties.

When England named their squad ahead of the Test, Ecclestone stood alone as their only reliable option for spin. Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn took five wickets between them in Australia’s warm-up game against England A last week, but neither was given a shot for the main event. For Australia, Alana King and Ash Gardner can be counted on to share the spin duties between them on what is a featherbed of a pitch.

The reliance on Ecclestone is not a new feature of England Test teams, even when other spinners have been selected alongside her. In three of her previous five Test matches, she’s bowled more than 30 overs in an innings. In a five-day Test, it’s no surprise her workload here has been so extreme.

But, at no point did Heather Knight start to get loose to give Ecclestone a rest, despite Nat Sciver-Brunt being absent from England’s bowling attack this morning with a sore knee. And, while the rest of England’s bowlers all leaked runs at times, Ecclestone kept her economy rate firmly under control. It’s thanks to her that England are still in this contest at all.

Yesterday, she took two wickets in three balls just as Australia were about to seize irreversible control of the direction of the match. Today, she took the final two wickets of the innings to ensure Australia were bowled out in a Test for the first time in nine years. That today was the first time she took five wickets demonstrates how thankless her toil has been in each of the previous Tests in which she’s played.

After the end of play yesterday, her impressive spell was recognised by tongue-in-cheek questions over whether she could solve England men’s dearth of spin options for the second Test at Lord’s. Aside from there being many reasons why this couldn’t happen, its insinuation unintentionally denigrates Ecclestone’s calibre as a player and the quality of her performance here. While asserting that she is the best ‘spinner’ in the country is meant as a compliment, it reinforces the stereotype that to truly prove your worth as a sportswoman, you have to be able to hold your own against men.

Ecclestone has trained with Lancashire men and played with boys and men throughout her life, as every other one of her teammates has. Her performance today and yesterday should be recognised as exceptional in its own right, rather than almost good enough to be something else.

Australia found the wicket just as tough to force opportunities on as England did, with England closing on 218-2. If either side is to force a result, it will more than likely not be the skill of their seamers that runs through a side to do it. A second-innings special from the spinners on a deteriorating pitch could-well be the difference between yet another draw in a women’s Test. If it’s to go England’s, Ecclestone will have to out-bowl both spinners from the best side in the world. It’s a mark of the special talent she is that that’s well within her capabilities.

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