England women end Ashes on a high after 7-wicket win in final T20I

England ended the Women's Ashes on a high with a convincing seven-wicket win over Australia in their final Twenty20 International at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street on Saturday (August 31).

After a collective effort from the England bowlers restricted Australia to 91 for 7 in 20 overs, England chased down the target comfortably, in 16.2 overs, to end with 12 points in the multi-format series.

It wasn't all smooth sailing for England though. Chasing a low total, their top three batters failed to get the chase going. Sarah Coyte, the quick bowler, had Heather Knight caught behind for a duck in the third ball of the innings and struck in her very next over to send Sarah Taylor, England's wicketkeeper, packing for 2. Holly Ferling, in only her second T20I, bowled Charlotte Edwards, the England captain, for 10 in the following over to leave England at 14 for 3 in less than four overs.

However, Lydia Greenway came to the rescue once again, as she did in the second T20I when her 80 runs helped England reclaim the Ashes. This time, she was aided by Natalie Sciver, who contributed with a 44-ball 37. Greenway, the left-hand bat, made a 34-ball 37 in a 78-run partnership with Sciver to take England past the finish line with 22 balls to spare.

Earlier, put in to bat, Australia had a shaky start losing Elyse Villani in the first over. Alyssa Healy, the opener, and Meg Lanning, the right-handed batter, then struck a second wicket partnership of 32 in 6.3 overs before Healy was run out for 10 in the eighth over.

Things went downhill for Australia as England picked wickets at regular intervals with only one partnership going over 11 runs. Jodie Fields, the Australian captain, and Erin Osborne added 18 runs for the eighth-wicket, which helped them post 91 at the end of their innings. Four out of six England bowlers took a wicket each while Danielle Hazell, the spinner, took 2 for 20 in four overs.

With a drawn Test and a One-Day International win, Australia ended the series with four points.

Brief scores: Australia Women 91/7 in 20 overs (Meg Lanning 32; Danielle Hazell 2-20) lost to England Women 92/3 in 16.2 overs (Lydia Greenway 35, Natalie Sciver 37; Sarah Coyte 2-9) by seven wickets.