England v Australia: Six Of The Best
England and Australia, the two pre-tournament favourites, go head-to-head in a mouth-watering clash at Bristol on Sunday.
England will go into the match full of confidence after recovering from a shock defeat to India in its opening fixture to sweep aside Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa with ease. Meanwhile, Australia hasn’t put a foot wrong, winning all four of its matches so far.
To whet the appetite, we’ve picked out six notable ODIs between the two countries over the years.
THIRD ODI, WORCESTER, 2015 ASHESAustralia 241/7 (Lanning 85, Perry 67) BEAT England 152 (Greenway 45, Beams 3-13) by 89 runs
An outstanding all-round display from Ellyse Perry earned Australia valuable points in the race to win back The Ashes.
First, Perry scored a quick-fire half-century – sharing an 85-run stand for the fourth wicket with her captain Meg Lanning to help Australia reach 241/7 – and then claimed the key wickets of Charlotte Edwards and Sarah Taylor to leave England rocking.
A battling partnership between Lydia Greenway and Katherine Brunt (31) gave the hosts some cause for optimism but a three-wicket haul for leg-spinner Kristen Beams snuffed out any threat and put Australia on course to reclaim the Ashes.****
THIRD ODI, HOBART, 2013/14 ASHESAustralia 269/6 (Perry 90*, Gunn 3-56) BEAT England 268/4 (Taylor 64) by 4 wickets
Australia just managed to sneak over the line with three balls to spare at the Bellerive Oval thanks to some powerful hitting from the lower order.
Economical bowling from England had seen the required run-rate creep steadily higher throughout Australia’s innings but a nerveless display from Ellyse Perry, who hit a career-best 90*, and a blistering 25-ball 40 from Erin Osborne saw the hosts home.
Sarah Taylor and Heather Knight had earlier hit half-centuries as England amassed what looked like a match-winning total. The Australians had other ideas though, achieving the highest chase in Ashes ODI history.
SECOND ODI, HOVE, 2013 ASHESEngland 256/6 (Edwards 53) BEAT Australia 205 (Cameron 81) by 51 runs
Two mini Australian batting collapses orchestrated by a skilful England bowling display gave Charlotte Edwards’ side an impressive win to get them up and running in the 2013 Ashes – a series they would go on to win.
Edwards hit a second successive half-century, having scored 61 in the preceding match at Lord’s, and her stand of 70 with Sarah Taylor set the platform for an imposing total. Lydia Greenway (46) and Arran Brindle (42) offered strong support in taking the hosts beyond 250.
In reply, Australian openers Meg Lanning and Rachael Haynes were both dismissed for ducks, but Jess Cameron got the innings back on track with a well-compiled 81. England countered with three wickets in five overs to take the game away from Australia – Katherine Brunt and Holly Colvin doing much of the damage with two wickets apiece – and Jess Jonassen (34*) eventually ran out of partners.
FIRST ODI, MELBOURNE, 2008England 233/6 (Greenway 48*, Gunn 48) BEAT Australia 177 (Perry 40) by 56 runs
Jenny Gunn was the star with both bat and ball as England went 1-0 up in a five-match series which was eventually drawn 2-2.
England took advantage of some sloppy fielding to post a total which looked about par, largely thanks to an 80-run fifth-wicket stand between Gunn and Lydia Greenway.
Gunn then removed both openers in the space of four deliveries to leave Australia on the ropes. It was a situation from which the hosts were unable to recover, despite useful contributions from captain Karen Rolton (30) and Ellyse Perry (40).
Charlotte Edwards took the final wicket – a caught and bowled to dismiss Emma Sampson – to seal an emphatic victory.
FOURTH ODI, SOUTHAMPTON, 1998Australia 106/2 (Keightley 56) BEAT England 102 by 8 wickets
In what ended up being a series whitewash for the tourists, this was Australia’s most impressive display and typified its dominance of the time.
England’s batsmen struggled to get going from the start, with opener Clare Connor top scoring with 20, and the innings was marked by chaotic running between the wickets, as no fewer than six players were run out.
Australia’s chase was a cakewalk, Lisa Keightley hitting a measured half-century, with captain Belinda Clark and Karen Rolton also chipping in, to reach the target with 25.1 overs to spare.
WORLD CUP GROUP MATCH, GUILDFORD, 1993England 208/5 (Hodges 105*) BEAT Australia 165 (Smith 5-30) by 43 runs
An unbeaten century from Carole Hodges guided England to a comfortable win against its fierce rivals, en route to a World Cup triumph on home soil.
Coming in at number three, Hodges put on a second-wicket stand of 107 with opener Janette Brittin to lay the groundwork for a total of 208/5 in 60 overs.
Karen Smithies’ side then backed up that performance in the field, with the skipper taking 3/13 with her medium-pace and Gill Smith taking her second five-wicket haul in ODIs, to skittle Australia in 53.5 overs.