Australia has won the Women’s Ashes Test, thrashing England by an innings and 122 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Sealing their victory with a day still to spare, the Australian team claimed their first clean sweep of the multi-format Women’s Ashes series 16-0, winning all three ODIs, all three T20Is and the standalone Test.
Spin pair Alana King and Ashleigh Gardner took a total of nine wickets in the final session, with King picking up a sensational five-wicket (5-53) haul and Gardner ending with 4-39.
“It was painful at times,” King told reporters after their win in Melbourne.
“I had to tell T-Mac (Tahlia McGrath); ‘If I don’t laugh, I might cry here’, because it was getting a bit frustrating.”
The leg-spinner finished the Test match with a figure of 9-99, and the combined seven matches with a total of 23 wickets, a record for a multi-format Ashes series, matching the number set by Gardner in 2023.
For her spectacular achievement, the 29-year old was awarded the Peden-Archdale Medal as the player of the series.
“I’m trying to enjoy it as much as I can, and I try to do it with a big smile on my face,” King said.
“Because leg-spin is not the easiest gig going around. There’s going to be hard times when it’s not coming out as well as it has been … you might feel great one day and feel absolutely rubbish the next day.”
Beth Mooney celebrated her first Test century, adding to the five she has across the limited over formats and becoming the first Australian woman to score a century in all three formats.
Shortly after claiming her century, Mooney passed 405 runs for the multi-format series, breaking Natalie Sciver-Brunt’s Ashes record of 404 from the 2023 edition in the UK.
Soon after, she was bowled by Lauren Filer for 106 off 173. Joining just a few cricketers who have a century in each format at international level, Mooney is only the fourth Australian to achieve the milestone, after Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell and David Warner.
She will have her name etched next to teammate Annabel Sutherland’s at the MCG, who became the first woman added to MCG century board over the weekend after making her Ashes Test century on day two of the Test.
“A very, very special addition to the MCG honour boards,” the MCG social media account announced. “A. J. Sutherland, the first woman to have her name etched in history for a Test Century at the ‘G.”
Last week, Sutherland described the milestone as “pretty special.”
“It’s a pretty special place being a Victorian,” she said. “Growing up there was no better place to be than spend time at the ‘G watching the cricket, watching the footy … few grand finals as a Cats fan but to be out there in the middle, it’s such a cool occasion for the whole group.”
Speaking about their sweeping victory over the weekend, captain Alyssa Healy said she did not expect the Ashes series to end with a 16-0 result and hoped the enormity of her team’s achievement will be appropriately celebrated.
“I think it probably hasn’t sunk in yet,” she said. “I feel like I have been a part of Ashes series that have been really hard-fought series and I never thought any side would win 16-nil at any point. For me to sit back and reflect on that, this is a really special thing for our group and I hope everyone appreciates what’s unfolded because it’s pretty amazing.”