Meg Lanning’s bold declaration and England’s fearless fourth-innings batting produced a thrilling finale in the solitary women’s Ashes Test at Hobart, where all four results were still possible going into the last over the game.

With the four-day match losing time to rain, a game of the highest quality looked set to peter out. However, rather than bat England out of the game, Australia skipper Lanning declared with Australia 256 runs ahead and with 48 overs still left in the game.

It was a bold declaration that gave England a chance to win a game that had seemed completely out of reach. But stunning contributions from Heather Knight, Nat Sciver and Sophia Dunkley gave England the advantage heading into the final stages, with 45 runs required off the last 10 overs and seven wickets still in hand.

With Sciver and Dunkley at the crease, the game looked won. However, two tight overs from Australia increased the pressure and induced a mistake from Sciver as she was caught at square-leg. It was the breakthrough Australia needed as Amy Jones and Dunkley also departed soon after, the latter to a spectacular diving catch by Beth Mooney at long-on.

With 13 runs needed off 15 balls, England still had three wickets in hand, however two wickets in two balls left Australia one wicket away from victory and England’s remaining batters Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone decided to shut up shop and force the most exciting of draws.

Predictably, cricket fans, pundits and players revelled in a nail-biting finale, with calls growing for more women’s Test cricket to be played and for games to be given a fifth day.

Related tags:

International CricketSeries Editorial