AUS vs ENG: Former England cricketer Mark Butcher feels that the Heather Knight-led side got their tactics so wrong on day three's play in the one-off Women's Ashes Test that they allowed Australia to get off to a flier and eventually win the game by 89 runs.
During the day three's play, England gave a 10-run lead to Australia and then they allowed the visitors to increase the lead to 92 runs by stumps, without the loss of a wicket. Moreover, effective bowlers like Lauren Filer and Sophie Ecclestone were overlooked for bowling duties in favour of Kate Cross and Lauren Bell with the new ball.
Similar thing happened early on day four till the 25th over of the first session, also including two dropped catches, when Australia's first wicket fell. By then, England were pushed firmly on the backfoot and subsequently lost the match to be 4-0 behind on points in the multi-format series.
"Missed opportunities. Ultimately, at the end of five days, they were numerous. And I'm not just referring to the number of dropped catches. I go back to that third evening. I thought they (England) got that so badly wrong, allowing Australia to get off to a flier."
"England took nine wickets for 108 on the fourth day but, by then, the horse had already bolted. It all amounted to them losing the game by 89 runs, which is about the start they let Australia get on that third night," said Butcher to Sky Sports.
Butcher went on to say that England showed that they can close the gap on Australia and expects them to prove the point during the white-ball matches of Women’s Ashes.
"England can look back at this and though they'll be incredibly disappointed -- nothing hurts worse than losing a Test match -- they can think 'we really gave these guys a run for their money'," he said.
"Player for player and skill-wise, England matched up with them fine and can hold their heads high. If they have to win five out of six white-ball games to win the Ashes, so be it, they'll give it a red-hot go," he added.
Butcher concluded by ruing the absence of the knockout blow from England to Australia despite a double hundred from Tammy Beaumont and twin five-wicket hauls for Sophie Ecclestone.
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"When you go back over the five days, it was just a bit of coolness under fire. Australia had it and England didn't," he said.