Matthew Appleby
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2nd Women's Test: England Women v Australia Women at Leeds, 6-9 Jul 2001 Matthew Appleby |
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England Women 2nd innings:
Australia Women 1st innings: Australia Women 2nd innings: |
In a weekend when Australians crushed the Lions and the England men's cricket team, Clare Connor's players fought for most of the day to save the match against the efficient and talented tourists.
It was enough to make Australia bat again, a minor triumph for an exuberant, but inexperienced England side.
However, once Connor herself went, bowled second ball without offering a shot, England were doomed.
But then, a thrilling fight back, led by centurion Claire Taylor, on England's best day of the series, gave the home country great hope for the future.
Australia equalled the record for Test wins at 5.21pm on the Third Day of this match, joining England with 16 victories. Two other women's Test records were broken in this game. The highest individual score in Tests, a record that had lasted just a week since Australia's Michelle Goszko equalled Kirsty Flavell's 1996 innings of 204, was beaten by left-hander Karen Rolton, who made 209 not out. She helped set a new fourth wicket Test best stand of 253 with Louise Broadfoot.
Appropriately, it was Rolton, who was the CricInfo Player of the Match, who hit the winning boundary.
Australian captain Belinda Clark, Rolton's partner at the finish, told CricInfo, "We're just thrilled with our performance. We came here to win both Tests and we've done that inside three days."
Taylor, a 25-year-old Oxford Mathematics graduate, with a previous Test best of 18, and an average of five, made a marvellous 137 to frustrate the Australian attack for 256 minutes today. Her century came up in 190 balls with a fifteenth four, this one driven sweetly through mid-on off Charmaine Mason.
When she was last out, bowled by Mason, who took 4/66, Australia knocked off the seven required in 19 balls, for the loss of Lisa Keightley, bowled by Clare Taylor for a duck.
Laura Harper, the youngest member of the England team, supported Taylor before she was caught at cover for 30, off 127 balls, after promising innings of 19, 20 and 31 in her first three Test knocks. From shortly after lunch until the third over after tea the pair were immovable, adding 81 for the sixth wicket.
However, when Harper holed out to Julie Hayes at cover, Cathryn Fitzpatrick put an extra bit in for the next delivery and had Nicky Shaw caught behind by wicketkeeper Julia Price.
With the score at 161/7, and a minimum of 22 overs remaining, the end was near for a valiant England team. But Dawn Holden (five) helped the now rampant Taylor put on 51 for the eighth wicket before lobbing to cover-point Hayes off Mason.
While the Australian bowling star was again Fitzpatrick, who took 4/81 to end the series with 17 wickets, England wicketkeeper 'Tails' Taylor resisted for 232 balls to add a Test ton to her match-winning 137 not out, achieved at the 2000 CricInfo Women's World Cup against Sri Lanka.
The systems analyst and former England age-group hockey player had Test scores of 11, nought, 18, six and 0 before going in today at 37/2.
The Oxford cricket and hockey blue told CricInfo, "We valued our wickets much more today. It just goes to show what we can do in the future."
But it will be Australia who will be celebrating tonight, before completing their highly successful tour with a visit to Ireland later this week.
England batsmen Claire Taylor and Laura Harper made the home side's first 50 partnership of the series, to take England to 158/5 off 86 overs at tea.
Taylor, a 25-year-old Oxford Mathematics graduate, made England's first 50 of the series, reaching the milestone her ninth four off her 127th ball, to halt the Australian march to victory. Just two balls earlier the stylish right-hander was dropped by Lisa Keightley at slip off the Australian spinner Avril Fahey.
The tourists took just one wicket in the post-lunch session, that of Kirsty Lowe for eight, lbw to Cathryn Fitzpatrick. This brought 17-year-old schoolgirl Harper to the wicket. The Somerset all-rounder belied her years to give England hope of surviving into the final day, something their male counterparts miserably failed to do in their Ashes match.
Taylor had progressed to a Test best 71 not out by the interval. Harper, 29 not out, in her first international series, had also made her top Test score for England.
From a lunch score of 56/4, England, thanks to the sixth wicket pair, had their first really good session of the series.
Of the six bowlers Australia tried, Fitzpatrick, with 2/48 off 25 overs, has been the most successful in an attritional afternoon's cricket.
However, the promise of a day off before a word-spreading tour of Ireland beginning later this week, may be enough to inspire the Australians into making a further breakthrough with the new ball, which was taken ten minutes before tea.
Having made 385/4 declared yesterday, Australia had set England 241 to make them bat again. They were 57/4 off 46 overs at lunch on day three.
Resuming at 10/0, it was that woman again, the new record-holder for the highest Test innings, Karen Rolton, who snatched a blinder at short leg to remove England opener Arran Thompson for seven.
The bowler was Cathryn Fitzpatrick, who had an opening spell of 10/6/7/1, to give her 14 wickets at 7.50 so far in the two match series.
Rolton, speaking exclusively to CricInfo after yesterday's stunning 209 not out, emphasised, "winning for the team is all that matters." This attitude showed, as she fielded under the helmet all morning as one of seven close fielders.
England's batsmen defended doggedly, typified by 20-year-old Caroline Atkins 93-ball eight and Sarah Collyer's 74-ball 23. Atkins was lbw to a Charmaine Mason pitched up delivery, while Collyer's impressive three-boundary effort ended with a leading edge that was easily caught and bowled by seamer Therese McGregor.
England captain Clare Connor was not so gritty, shouldering arms to her second ball, to give McGregor two wickets in three balls.
With 64 overs left today, and the ball keeping low, Australia look certain to have a day off tomorrow before concluding their all-conquering tour in Ireland later this week.
The Second and Final CricInfo Ashes Test was dominated on Day Two by the Australians, and in particular Rolton and Louise Broadfoot, who batted most of the day to add another Test record of 253 for the fourth wicket.
Australia were on 383/4 when they declared, 239 ahead. England replied with 10/0 off the remaining eight overs of the day.
Rolton, the Australian vice-captain, hit 29 fours and a six in her 313 ball, 378 minute display. Reminiscent in style to another Australian great, Allan Border, the 26-year-old passed her previous Test best of 176 not out in the final session, and closed in on the record, jointly held by New Zealand's Kirsty Flavell and Australia's Michelle Goszko, who scored nought this morning. That 176 not out, made against England at Worcester on Australia's last visit in 1998, was the eighth-best score in Tests until today.
Ironically, whilst Goszko missed out, and lost her record, against an England attack that persevered without luck, Rolton filled her boots with a robust display of hitting. The South Australian gave just two chances, one when she skyed England's best bowler, Clare Taylor, to Caroline Atkins at square leg, when on 157, the other a square drive that went for four through point's fingers, when on 191.
An almighty smash over midwicket brought her the title of the Brian Lara of women's cricket. Australia declared shortly afterwards.
She told CricInfo, "To beat the record was the highlight of my career so far. When Julia Price came out to bat she said everyone in the dressing room would kill me if I didn't break it." She continued, "You have those days when everything hits the gaps, but it was just good to get the runs on the board for the team and see if we can win tomorrow."
Broadfoot was less confident, and was dropped three times between 31 and 40. However, the pair batted England out of the game with a partnership that broke the 222 put on by Denise Annetts and Lyn Larsen for Australia against England at Sydney in 1991/2.
The stand ended when Broadfoot, a 23-year-old Victorian right-hander, lobbed Sarah Collyer's medium pace to England captain Clare Connor at mid on for a Test best 71.
Rolton was CricInfo Australian Player of the Match in two of the One-Day Internationals, and seems certain to win the reward again in this game. The powerful batsman hit the fourth best one day score, 154, against Sri Lanka in the 2000/1 World Cup, and will be celebrating after the game with the first bottle of champagne she has won in cricket, presented by Yorkshire CC, between innings.
She scored a duck in the First Test, which was held last week at Shenley, but still averages 120.20 in her eight Test innings career. Strangely, Goszko, who commented to CricInfo, "The record didn't last very long-not with 'Rolly' around," also now has a double hundred and a zero in the series.
Rolton's hundred came in 191 balls, with the fourth ever Test double century taking 305 balls, achieved with a rare false shot, a Chinese cut for two.
England took just three wickets, at a cost of 315 runs in the day, and must now survive two full days for a draw.
They were 269-3, 125 ahead of England when rain sent them off 25 minutes early at a gloomy Headingley.
Australian vice-captain Karen Rolton reached a chanceless second Test century in her seventh Test match with a leg glance off Lucy Pearson.
The South Australian left-hander faced 191 balls in 199 minutes, accelerating from her 1111 ball fifty. She has hit 20 fours and a six in her unbeaten 141 not out.
Some huge clouts, including a back-foot smash that forced short leg Kate Lowe from the field, and a pulled six into the Bowling Green Stand off Sarah Collyer typified her growing aggression.
From 105-3, when Clare Taylor bowled Michelle Goszko before lunch, England had no further success this afternoon, despite using seven bowlers.
In a fourth-wicket partnership of 164 with Louise Broadfoot(48), Rolton put the game out of sight to give Australia a chance to equal the world record for Test victories previously held by England.
Broadfoot has been dropped three times, including twice off Clare Connor the England captain, who has kept the runs down as well as turning the ball past the bat.
The century partnership came up in 208 balls, but Rolton could not get enough of the strike to put Australia in a position to declare before the light rain began.
On a day of Australian dominance at Edgbaston in the men's Test, and at Melbourne with the Lions, it will be up to the English batsmen, and Tim Henman at Wimbledon, to show some fortitude in the face of the ubiquitous Antipodeans.
Vice-captain Karen Rolton cruised to 88 (13x4 1x6) to guide the tourists to 175-3 at lunch. This put them 31 ahead, having bowled out England for 144 yesterday.
England's fielding has been the one area they've been able to match Australia. And after resuming at 68-1 Australian opener Lisa Keightley was superbly run out for 40 for England's Kate Lowe with a direct hit from mid-wicket.
First Test double centurion Michelle Goszko was then dropped without scoring, but soon afterwards was bowled by local hero Clare Taylor.
Taylor, at 36, looked the liveliest of the England attack during her morning spell of 11-4-24-1.
Louise Broadfoot is with Rolton on 14 not out and the pair have added 70 for the fourth wicket.
Australia again look set to give themselves plenty of time to dismiss England after a declaration, as in the First Test.
© CricInfo
Date-stamped : 08 Jul2001 - 18:27