Girls’s Ashes: England now favourites after levelling sequence? | ‘Laborious truths’ wanted for Australia | Cricket Information

The Girls’s Ashes is stage at 6-6 with two video games to go after England pulled off a shocking two-wicket win over Australia within the first ODI on Wednesday.

An outstanding 75 not out from captain Heather Knight and a late-innings cameo from Kate Cross, unbeaten on 19, helped the hosts chased down a file goal of 264 with 11 balls to spare.

That made it three wins in a row for England, having gained the final two matches of the IT20 leg of the multi-format sequence, and gave them two priceless factors which stored the sequence alive heading into Sunday’s second ODI in Southampton.

England have to win the 2 remaining one-dayers to reclaim the Girls’s Ashes for the primary time since 2014, and Sky Sports activities Cricket specialists Lydia Greenway and Mel Jones assessed how their respective former groups are shaping up with all the things nonetheless to play for…

Are England now favourites to win the sequence?

Former England worldwide batter Lydia Greenway:

That phrase ‘momentum’ is crucial one. Not solely do Australia should cease that momentum, they should then push it of their route and that takes some going. They’ll should mud themselves down and overview it as greatest as attainable, however not dwell on it.

It is a positive line between dwelling on what has been to trying forward and considering ‘okay, that is how we will go about it now’. It is going to be actually fascinating to see how they’ll go about turning it round.

England aren’t within the driving seat, they have two video games left to play which they should win so we won’t get carried away, however they’ve achieved one of the best they will.

There have been many key moments in that recreation. They misplaced wickets at essential instances, however when it actually counted by way of the end result, Heather Knight and Kate Cross stayed there.

That partnership is one thing the opposite batters will take a look at and say ‘let’s get there’ as a result of they have not been 100 per cent. That’s arguably essentially the most pleasing factor for England, the actual fact they have not been taking part in their greatest and beat the No 1 crew on the planet in all codecs of the sport.

Now it is 6-6, they may very well be ready the place they assume ‘we’re competing with Australia, that is nice, we are able to make errors and nonetheless get away with it and win’. I need to see them go once more even more durable. I might prefer to see them protecting with these enhancements as a result of should you cease bettering as a facet, you get caught off guard.

Australia have to face ‘just a few onerous truths’

Former Australia worldwide batter Mel Jones:

What we have seen from Australia over the previous few video games is an Australia I’ve by no means actually seen earlier than. You see it for moments or in a single recreation, however not over a sequence of video games the place I take a look at the sector and everyone seems to be standing there, there’s not a whole lot of vitality on the market, they are not recognising the moments the place individuals have to raise and step in and step up.

Do I need Australia to win? Sure – however it’s not concerning the loss, it is the way you lose video games and for me, in the intervening time, there are some things they should sit down and have just a few onerous truths come to the fore.

England are a superb facet and what I have been impressed with is that they’ve hung in there. That is a fear for Australia and the opposite fear is the momentum they’ve, and there’s a severely good, tangible really feel round this unit and everybody else round them.

The group and the entire nation are driving with them and that is a extremely onerous factor to attempt to shift while you’re the opposition crew in an away sequence.

They have to attempt to take away themselves from all of the hype and pleasure about that and get again to one thing, which I am nonetheless scratching my head about what it’s.

The scary factor with England is there may be a lot room for enchancment. It has been 137 video games since Australia have misplaced three video games on the trot.

Watch the second ODI of the multi-format Girls’s Ashes between England and Australia on Sunday, reside on Sky Sports activities Cricket from 10.30am, forward of the primary ball at 11am. Stream this summer’s men’s and women’s Ashes series on NOW.