England were toothless with the bat in the second ODI against Australia. Despite being afforded a relatively straightforward run-chase after their bowlers, led by Sophie Ecclestone, curtailed the hosts to just 180, England didn’t even come close.

Amy Jones and Nat Sciver-Brunt were the only saving graces in that batting shift as England fell 21 runs short of the mark. Sciver-Brunt scored 35 while Jones remained unbeaten on a hard-fought 47 as wickets kept falling on the other end.

Heather Knight: We need to be braver with the bat

Besides Maia Bouchier, not a single England batter who faced more than 10 deliveries managed a strike rate of more than 80. It allowed the Australian bowlers to build pressure as the batters often found themselves stuck despite the low target.

“It’s frustrating, I feel like the match was there for the taking. The wickets cost us. We need to be braver with the bat,” said captain Heather Knight. “We’re really close. We just need to do a few things better in a few areas and need to be braver with the bat.”

Despite the defeat, Knight heaped praise on Amy Jones’ gritty knock and said that she kept the team in the fight. Jones hit two fours and a six across 103 balls.

“Amy was great at keeping us in the game. She was trying to face the majority of the balls and picking up boundaries when she could. It’s obviously frustrating. Amy got us close but unfortunately just not close enough,” said Knight.

Australia Women have already won the three-match series after going 2-0 up at the Junction Oval. They had beaten England by four wickets in the first ODI. Having taken a 4-0 lead, they need four more points to retain the Women’s Ashes.

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