2nd T20 Aus v Eng

Australia 2 for 131 (Bailey 60*, White 58*) beat England 9 for 130 (Buttler 22, Hazlewood 4-30) by 8 wickets


As Twenty20 wins go, this was comprehensive. So comprehensive that Brad Hodge did not even get to bat in his first international for nearly six years. The Melbourne fans were disappointed at that, but pleased their other Victorian favourite, Cameron White, played a key part in Australia's pulverisation of England. White and George Bailey feasted on England's lacklustre bowling, cruising to the target of 131 in the 15th over with eight wickets in hand.

It meant a third series defeat for England on this tour. It also meant that that for the first time in a long while, Australia were ahead of England on the ICC rankings in all three formats; the teams swapped places after this result, with Australia moving up from eighth to sixth, and England falling from sixth to eighth. They will swap back again if England finish with a win in Sydney on Sunday, but the way they played in Melbourne that seems a distant dream.

Everything Australia did went right in this match, from sharp catches, run-outs and saves in the field to clean striking with the bat. By the time Bailey swept the winning boundary off James Tredwell to finish unbeaten on 60 from a remarkable 28 balls, with White at the other end on 57 from 45, the England players probably just wanted to go home. It was another especially miserable game for Jade Dernbach, whose three overs leaked 42 runs to take his series economy rate to 13.

Tim Bresnan was the only England bowler who looked like restricting Australia, his 1 for 11 from three overs including the lbw of Aaron Finch for 10. The only other wicket for the innings came when Glenn Maxwell, on 2, slogged a catch to deep square leg off Tredwell. But then White, who was fearsomely striking fours right from the start of the innings, was joined by Bailey for a 78-run stand that completed the job and kept Hodge in the rooms.

At least Hodge had featured strongly during the England innings, opening the bowling and being responsible for two dismissals through his excellent work in the field. To a man the Australians were inspired in the field and that sharpness, combined with four wickets to Man of the Match Josh Hazlewood, a highly encouraging return from injury for Mitchell Starc, and the maturity of legspinner James Muirhead restricted England to 9 for 130.

For a while it seemed England would not even reach that high a score; a 34-run partnership between Stuart Broad (18 not out) and Bresnan rescued them from 7 for 96 in the 16th over. Hazlewood finished with 4 for 30 after he took wickets with the last two balls of the innings, Bresnan bowled for 18 walking across his stumps and Tredwell bowled for a golden duck next delivery.

Six batsmen reached double figures but the highest score was Jos Buttler's 22 as none managed to capitalise on their starts, and not a six was hit during the innings. In many cases it was Australia's sharp fielding that caused England their problems and perhaps most surprisingly it was the 39-year-old Hodge who sparked things.

The most remarkable dismissal was that of Eoin Morgan, who was run out by a direct hit from Hodge despite the bat having been grounded in the crease before the stumps were broken. Joe Root's push to cover off the bowling of Maxwell was collected by Hodge and although his throw lacked some of the power he once had, it lost nothing in accuracy.

Morgan, who was on 6 at the time, dived full stretch in an attempt to make his ground at the wicketkeeper's end and his bat seemed to slide over the line before bouncing up and most of the bat was behind the crease but not grounded when the bails came off. The third umpire rightly ruled Morgan out; a reprieve after a batsman makes his ground then lifts off the ground only applies to the feet, not the bat.

Two overs later, another run out hurt England just as much when Root, who was established at the crease on 18, was caught short trying for a second run when Maxwell's speed allowed him to rocket the ball to the bowler White, who whipped off the bails. At 5 for 63, England were in trouble, but more was to follow when Ravi Bopara slogged the impressive young legspinner Muirhead to Maxwell at deep midwicket for 6.

None of England's batsmen managed to really find their rhythm and even Buttler, who struck two fours, was unable to bat on when he was lbw to an offcutter from Nathan Coulter-Nile in the 16th over. The batsman who looked most dangerous was the opener Michael Lumb, who picked up four boundaries during the first two overs of the match - the first over remarkably delivered by Hodge.

But on 18, Lumb skied a very high chance when he tried to clear long-on off Hazlewood and was caught by Coulter-Nile at mid-on. England's shaky start continued in the next over when Hodge's first piece of sharp fielding had its effect: Luke Wright was out for a second-ball duck when his searing drive off Starc was snapped up by Hodge at short cover.

The wickets just kept falling for England, when Alex Hales also made a start - 16 off 13 balls - and then top-edged a high, swirling catch to third man and was well taken by Starc. By that stage, Australia's fielding looked good. It only got better.

5th ODI New Zealand v India

New Zealand 303 for 5 (Taylor 102, Williamson 88) beat India 216 (Kohli 82, Dhoni 47, Henry 4-38) by 87 runs


Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor refused to take their collective foot off India bowlers' throats, as they took their partnership tally for the series to 463 - which is the highest for a total of four partnerships, and fourth-highest overall - setting India yet another 300-total, which India were always going to find difficult to chase with only two top specialist batsmen in any sort of form. In the process, Williamson set the New Zealand record for most runs in a bilateral series, his 361 being 18 more than Taylor's, who became only the second New Zealander to have scored 10 ODI centuries. If it was the old firm with the bat, with the ball Matt Henry came out of nowhere to register the third-best debut figures for a New Zealander and consign India to a 4-0 defeat, who are yet to win a match since they began touring in December.

It was almost like a contest for the Man-of-the-Series award between Taylor and Williamson, who came together at 41 for 2 in the 13th over. They had added 311 in the three chances they had got to bat together in the series, but this time New Zealand were most desperate for runs from them. And they delivered, forging a 152-run partnership to not only shore them up, but give them the momentum as well.

 

On the other hand, this pitch had something for the bowlers. The outfield was the slowest of the series, and the lush square made piercing gaps difficult. India conceded no boundary in the first over, and the four boundaries that were scored in the first 14 overs involved a certain degree of risk that required the batsmen to go over the infield.

 

Taylor began the delightful turnaround with two scorching drives, all along the ground, with one to the left of cover, and the second to the right, in the 15th over. The second of those brought up 250 runs for Taylor in the series. At that point, he was the only one in the New Zealand top seven to have not hit a six in the series.

The whole flow of the match turned in that over. Scoring suddenly began to look easy. R Ashwin had to be brought on, and there was nothing for him in the pitch. Williamson frustrated him by using his feet and reaching the pitch of the ball almost every time. On the odd occasion that he was beaten in the flight - like in the 16th over - he recovered well. Runs now came easily with Varun Aaron missing the accuracy of the opening bowlers. When Aaron conceded the second boundary of the 21st over, the first time that Taylor had gone aerial, the two had brought up another fifty-run stand.

Soon Williamson displayed what should be the image of this New Zealand summer: down the wicket, making room, and chipping one over extra cover. This happened for the first time in the 24th over, which took Williamson to within 16 of becoming only the second man to have scored fifties in all the matches of a five-ODI series. The fifty came duly, by which time he had overtaken Taylor, who followed suit and also brought up the hundred of the stand, their third of the series.

The 31st over had begun by then, and Williamson now began to break away from Taylor. He swept Ravindra Jadeja either side of fine leg for successive fours before painting another picture with an inside-out chip. When the Powerplay began, Taylor finally played his first slog of the series, sending Bhuvneshwar Kumar over midwicket for four. In the same over, Williamson ramped over the keeper's head. Taylor had pulled out an axe, Williamson was going at it with a blade, and India were bleeding profusely.

 

By the time Williamson, with seven wickets in hand over the remaining 12.3 overs, New Zealand were expected to add plenty to their 193 runs. Taylor finally hit his first six of the series, with his beloved slog-sweep that he had put away throughout the series. Shami's yorkers towards the end restricted the damage, with only 110 in the last 12.3 overs, but you suspected it was more than enough on this pitch and outfield.

Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan and Henry went on to prove that suspicion right. There were no loose balls on offer, and with the asking rate rising, desperate shots soon began to appear. The third of those, from Ajinkya Rahane, made it 30 for 3 in the 14th over, and although Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni are superb chasers it was really getting too much. Kohli and Dhoni tried to take it deep before going bang, but once Kohli fell for 82 off 78, it was all over with not even half the runs scored in 36.1 overs.

For the first time since 2007, New Zealand had blanked a team ranked higher than them, and India were now one short of their longest winless streak in ODIs.

1st Test Days 3 & 4 Bangladesh v Sri Lanka

Day 4: Sri Lanka 730 for 6 dec (Silva 139, Jayawardene 203*, Mathews 86, Vithanage 103*) beat Bangladesh 232 (Rahim 61, Shakib 55, Eranga 4-49) and 250 (Mominul 50, Perera 5-109) by an innings and 248 runs


Sri Lanka recorded their second biggest ever Test win by an innings, wrapping up the first Test an hour after lunch on the fourth day with Bangladesh still 248 runs short of making the visitors bat again. An innings deficit of 498 was demoralising enough for Bangladesh to capitulate without a fight, and there was no stoic resistance from them to take the game to the fifth day, let alone save the game. Sri Lanka's seamers began the slide before the middle order succumbed to the offspin of Dilruwan Perera, who took a five-wicket haul in only his second Test.
 

Sri Lanka had batted themselves into position from which they would certainly not have to pad up again. The same pitch that produced 730 runs in a single innings was made to look like a seamer's paradise when Sri Lanka took the ball, causing the Bangladesh batsmen to hop and weave even on a fourth-day surface. In the end, Sri Lanka narrowly missed recording their biggest innings win, that of 254 runs against Zimbabwe 10 years ago.

 

The wickets in the morning were attributed more to good bowling from the visitors, and the aggressive approach from the hosts always gave the bowlers a sniff. The only cheer for Bangladesh was a brisk fifty by Mominul Haque, but it did little to wrest the initiative from Sri Lanka.

The overcast conditions were ripe for seam bowling and Sri Lanka prised out two wickets with the short ball. Shaminda Eranga's snorter off the second ball of the morning was too good for Shamsur Rehman who failed to pick the ball from the gloom and gloved it to the wicketkeeper. Marshall Ayub was impressive with his defense before he too was found wanting with his technique against the bouncer. Suranga Lakmal bowled round the wicket with a leg gully and short leg waiting and Ayub failed to fend it off, lobbing the ball to Kaushal Silva at short leg.

Bangladesh were firmly pegged on the back foot but the situation didn't deter Shakib Al Hasan and Mominul from going for their strokes. The seamers persisted with the short stuff and both left-handers were compulsive with the pull, though not all shots were in control. Mominul wasn't afraid to slash over the slips and point and Shakib too didn't restrain himself.

The introduction of spin, via Perera, sunk the hosts further. Shortly after Shakib brought up the fifty stand with a cover-driven boundary, he played back to Perera and was trapped lbw to one that went through with the arm. Mominul brought up his half-century, off just 52 balls before he too fell lbw to Perera, playing back. There was a semblance of doubt with the verdict, however, as replays indicated that the ball may have been sliding down the leg side.

Mushfiqur's wicket was probably the biggest blow, for he has shown on many occasions that he can occupy the crease, a quality many of his teammates have failed to show consistently. In the last over before lunch, he was beaten by flight going for the drive and bowled through the gate.

 

Nasir Hossain was the only specialist batsman remaining but he too succumbed to a poor stroke, skying the ball to mid-off, giving Perera his fourth wicket. The two Hossains - Rubel and Al-Amin - gave the crowd something to cheer with a blazing last-wicket stand of 53 in just 6.2 overs, but it wasn't enough to hide the embarrassment of their fourth-biggest innings defeat, that too at home.

Bangladesh have an extra day to ponder over the loss and rethink their combination for the Chittagong Test which begins on February 4.

They picked three seamers on a pitch in Mirpur that had more bounce than a typical Bangladesh surface, but as Sri Lanka proved, in order to exploit it to the fullest you needed bowlers with extra yards of pace like Eranga and Lakmal. With the series at stake, Bangladesh could revert to a more spin-heavy attack and prove that their progress in 2013 was no fluke.

Day 3: Bangladesh 232 and 35 for 1 trail Sri Lanka 730 for 6 dec (Jayawardene 203*, Mathews 86, Vithanage 103*) by 463 runs


Individual milestones dominated the most one-sided of the three days so far as Sri Lanka eventually declared after piling on a whopping 730 for 6, after Mahela Jayawardene reached his seventh double-century and Kithuruwan Vithanage scored his maiden century in only his third Test. By tea, Sri Lanka were already ahead by a healthy 370, but the captain Angelo Mathews held back the declaration till Jayawardene reached his milestone, giving Sri Lanka a seemingly unassailable lead of 498. Sri Lanka picked up a late wicket to cap another dominant day.

Bangladesh had been on the field since the final session on the first day and the physical and mental fatigue was apparent with the way they carried themselves on the third day, as if waiting to be told when to head indoors and pad up. Their specialist seamers weren't effective enough and their spinners too were at the mercy of Sri Lanka's in-form batting line-up.

There was little the part-timers could do. It's normal for captains to give their bowlers at least an hour before stumps to nip out a few wickets, but Mathews adopted a more conservative approach and instead was happy to give the hosts nine overs. In that period, Bangladesh lost Tamim to a reckless shot.

 

Mathews had a chance to add to the centuries tally, before falling for 86. Jayawardene continued to milk the bowling in placid conditions and he brought out his signature late cut and paddle sweep against the spinners. Having begun his innings overnight, he brought up his fifty with an effortless cover drive off Al-Amin Hossain.

He moved to the 90s with an impeccable reverse sweep off Sohag Gazi that went for a boundary. He sped towards his century with a late cut off the part-time legspinner Marshall Ayub and followed it up with another boundary in the same region, off Robiul Islam. The seamer dished out a long hop down the leg side which Jayawardene pulled to fine leg to bring up his century.

He barely gave the bowlers a chance, until he survived a close shout for lbw off Gazi on 119. Jayawardene attempted another reverse sweep and was struck adjacent to the stumps with the ball pitching in line with the stumps despite the round the wicket angle. Gazi was exasperated when it was turned down but it summed up Bangladesh's day.

 

Mathews too survived, when on 68 he edged Ayub and was dropped by the wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim. Mathews capitalised on Robiul's poor length, pulling a short one down the leg side and driving the next one down the ground for consecutive boundaries. He had a century for the taking but chipped Gazi towards midwicket where Ayub took a sharp catch.

Vithanage made merry given the carefree situation and along with Jayawardene, helped take the score past 600. Vithanage made a fifty on debut, against the same team last year in a similar pressure-free scenario. His inclusion in this Test was due to Prasanna Jayawardene's departure due to his father's death. And Vithanage made good use of this unexpected opportunity.

The left-hander was busy at the crease, rocking back to cut the spinners through the off side when they dropped it short. He came down the track to the spinners and tonked two sixes down the ground.

The new ball didn't give Bangladesh any respite as a couple of short balls were dispatched for fours behind square leg by Vithanage, who brought up his fifty with one of those. Luck was on his side as two outside edges by Vithanage found the third man boundary, one of which bisected the keeper and first slip, both of whom were unmoved.

Vithanage brought up his ton with a square cut for four off Nasir and at that stage, Jayawardene was still 17 short of a double-century. Jayawardene batted with greater urgency after tea, shuffling across his stumps to sweep the spinners and he raced to his double-ton in style, with two sixes over deep midwicket off Nasir. Jayawardene, in the process, overtook the Australian Allan Border's tally of 11,174 runs and is now the sixth-highest run-getter in Tests.

Neither pace nor spin worked for Bangladesh, and their frustration in not being able to pick up wickets was summed up in one small passage of play in the morning when Robiul Islam exchanged words with Jayawardene, making the umpires and Rahim intervene to appease the situation.

 

They now face the task of batting out two days. Tamim's dismissal, caught off a leading edge to point, was perhaps the last thing they needed. The best they can do is take a leaf out of Sri Lanka's book and use the conditions to play themselves in and grind out the opposition.

1st Test Day 2 Bangladesh v Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka 375 for 5 (Silva 139, Sangakkara 75, Karunaratne 53) lead Bangladesh 232 by 143 runs


Sri Lanka strengthened their grip on the Test through steady accumulation, aided by a series of let-offs that allowed Kaushal Silva score his maiden Test century. Bangladesh needed to grasp all opportunities given their first-innings score of 232 that appeared inadequate after the opening day, but their performance in the field failed to complement the efforts of their seamers, particularly Al-Amin Hossain, who toiled with little luck. Sri Lanka stretched their lead to 143 and focused on grinding out the opposition to a position which would give them the luxury of batting just once.

Silva displayed one of his biggest strengths - patience, and his ability to occupy the crease would have been deflating enough for Bangladesh, if the three let-offs weren't bad enough. Silva's stint could have ended on 39 - he went on to add exactly 100 more, by which time he had already shared two century stands, with Dimuth Karunaratne and Kumar Sangakkara.

 

Bangladesh picked up only one wicket over the first two sessions, that of Karunaratne, but they ought to have seen the back of the other opener as well. To Bangladesh's credit though, they created opportunities in an overcast morning session that assisted their seamers.

 

The unluckiest bowler of the morning was Al-Amin, who was let down by a combination of poor catching - his captain one of the culprits - and the misfortune of his back foot hitting the stump on his delivery stride. Silva had his first life on 39 when he was squared up by Al-Amin's probing line outside off and edged to the keeper Mushfiqur Rahim who grassed a straightforward take. Silva added one more to his score when he edged Al-Amin again to Rahim, who took it cleanly.

The batsman, who had started walking, was asked to wait by the umpires who referred the verdict to the third umpire. Al-Amin's front foot was behind the popping crease but unfortunately, his back foot knocked the bail down before delivery and as per the recent amendment to the laws, it was declared a no-ball.

Silva escaped again, on 42, when he drove Al-Amin away from the body and edged low to Shamsur Rehman, who failed to catch it to his right at gully. Aside from those let-offs, Silva played some attractive shots, like when he lofted the offspinner Sohag Gazi down the ground and brought up his fifty with a boundary off a paddle sweep in the same over.

Sri Lanka consolidated their position in the morning session with periods of watchful play, but after lunch, they added 98 without any further loss of wickets. There were more overs of spin post lunch, but Gazi and Shakib were, at times, guilty of dropping the ball too short. Shakib got away with one when Karunaratne punched a short one straight to cover, against the run of play, but Sangakkara ensured he found the gaps at cover.

Sangakkara brought up the fifty stand with Silva with a glorious cover drive off Rubel but perhaps his most effortless shot of the day was a defensive push off Robiul Islam that sneaked past the stumps at the other end and beat two fielders chasing.

Silva's knock post lunch was relatively chanceless, though he had a close call on 98 when a ripper from Shakib turned, bounced and beat the edge and the stumps. He pulled a couple of freebies from Shakib down the leg side to head into the 90s and he reached the landmark with a similar pull off Shakib to the fine leg boundary. Silva punched the air as soon as he found the gap and the relief was palpable, considering he failed to achieve three-figures after making 95 and 81 recently against Pakistan.

 

The new ball, taken after tea, was Bangladesh's best hope of picking up wickets. Rahim brought back his best bowler, Al-Amin, and the ploy worked in getting rid of Sangakkara. A set Sangakkara, who batted with ease against the spinners, was all at sea against Al-Amin's nagging line across the left-hander, and was squared up twice in an over. The exasperated seamer smiled at his own predicament, but his luck finally changed when Sangakkara played a loose cut and edged to first slip where Nasir Hossain juggled it twice and held the catch one-handed on the third attempt, with the second slip fielder waiting to pluck the rebound. The catch was a relief following the earlier sloppiness.

 

Al-Amin bowled a shorter length to Silva with two men in the deep for the pull, but he didn't get drawn into the trap. Silva was let off once more, on 129, when he edged Shakib to Rahim who failed to get his glove on the ball. Silva aggravated the pain with a six and a four off the following balls, making Shakib kick the air in frustration. Fortunately for Bangladesh, they saw the back of Silva in the same over when he was trapped lbw.

Mahela Jayawardene and Dinesh Chandimal batted aggressively to stretch the lead. Jayawardene used his feet to the spinners and played his signature glides and nudges behind the wicket while Chandimal charged the spinners with sixes down the ground. Bangladesh picked up two late wickets but they still have a deep batting line-up to contend with, and a set Jayawardene. A better fielding effort on the third day will help limit the damage.

1st Test Day 1 Bangladesh v Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka 60 for 0 trail Bangladesh 232 (Rahim 61, Eranga 4-49, Lakmal 3-66) by 172 runs


If Sri Lanka arrived in Bangladesh having freshly learned about the perils of negative cricket in Sharjah, their hosts illustrated there is also danger in aggression. Having been asked to bat, Bangladesh lost their top four to intense seam-bowling before lunch, and though they mustered a better middle session through a rapid Shakib Al Hasan riposte and a more measured Mushfiqur Rahim resistance, callousness marked the tail-end of their surrender for 232 as well.

Five of Bangladesh's top eight had perished trying to take the bowlers on, when perhaps some circumspection was warranted on a Mirpur pitch that rewarded fast bowling more than usual. When Shakib and Mushfiqur had asked for a sporting surface before the game, they perhaps did not envision the frailty of their team's batting in such conditions would be so markedly exposed. By stumps, the Sri Lanka openers had trod a more secure path to 60.

Shaminda Eranga provided more proof of his ample potential as he led the Sri Lanka attack in spirit and method, bruising Bangladesh with a brace of sharp, short balls. His returns of 4 for 49 were the best in the innings and indeed, a statistical best for himself. Suranga Lakmal found success in imitating Eranga's preferred length in the innings, taking 3 for 66, while the spinners and Angelo Mathews provided able assistance, sharing three wickets between them.

 

Eranga had bowled balls moving both ways off the seam in the morning, but after his first bouncer leapt up to shoulder-height, he rarely let an over pass without aiming several at the body and the head. He should have had Tamim Iqbal for 6 in his fourth over, but Kaushal Silva at short-leg fumbled the take. He did not have to wait long, however. Next over Eranga baited Tamim into a hook and, failing to control the ball which had reached him at above head height, Tamim sent it off the top-edge to fine leg.

 

His next victim did not fall to a short ball, but perhaps the shot Shamsur Rahman played, to end a bright but streaky debut innings of 33, was a knock-on effect of the short barrage. Having ducked or weaved around several short ones in the over, Shamsur drove at one that was swinging away from him, and was caught by gully. At the other end, Angelo Mathews had nailed Marshall Ayub with an in-ducker, before Lakmal got Mominul Haque - also with a short ball - to have Bangladesh at 59 for 4.

 

Though they were on the ropes after the first session, Shakib thought his team would punch their way out of it. He dealt with the pace of the pitch and Sri Lanka's short balls better than anyone, murdering three off them to the square-leg fence. His audacity almost cost him his wicket three times but Shakib did not see it as cause to temper his advance, nor did it encourage Sri Lanka to press for his wicket. They put men back on the square fence and waited for his mistake, and it came after he had crossed 50. Rangana Herath - Sri Lanka's most expensive bowler of the day - beat Shakib's ambitious sweep with one that dipped and straightened.

 

Mushfiqur's progress was steadier and more secure. He fended away the short stuff and met moving deliveries with a dead bat, but as the pace in the pitch rewarded stroke-making as well, he was quick to climb into balls he fancied - particularly wide of offstump.

Unsurprisingly, he also made the top score of 61, and was perhaps unlucky to be dismissed. Lakmal got one to move into him appreciably after tea, but the dual noise in the replay and Mushfiqur's surprise upon seeing the umpire's raised finger suggested he might have got an inside edge to the ball that struck him on the thigh.

 

The Sri Lanka spinners also found some assistance, but they were prevented from settling into a rhythm by Bangladesh's enterprising batting. Both Shakib and Sohag Gazi used their feet to Dilruwan Perera, and walloped him towards the sightscreen. Gazi's 42 from 56 effectively epitomised the Bangladesh batting effort: promising and fun to watch, but of no great substance in the end.

 

Eranga was most pumped up when he had Nasir Hossain leaping with an arched back, as the batsman attempted to avoid another bouncer and the ball clipped glove on the way through. Eranga came back to end the innings with a deserved fourth wicket.

 

Kaushal Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne had no major scares during their 19-over unbroken association. Opening bowlers Robiul Islam and Al-Amin Hossain were doughty, but unthreatening, failing to generate anywhere near the pace or lift Eranga had managed.

Bangladesh's spinners looked more likely to make a breakthrough, particularly when Gazi was bowling to Karunaratne, but Sri Lanka were happy to head off five overs early when the light depleted, only 172 adrift of their opposition.

Women's Ashes 3rd ODI

Australia kept the Women's Ashes series alive with a four-wicket win in the final one-day international in Hobart.

England now lead 8-4 in the points-based series and need to win one of the three Twenty20s to secure the Ashes.



Heather Knight and Sarah Taylor struck fifties and Natalie Sciver a rapid unbeaten 43 as England made 268-4.



But Ellyse Perry hit an unbeaten 90, adding an unbroken 70 with Erin Osborne (40 not out) to snatch victory with three balls to spare.

Women's Ashes schedule

10-13 Jan: Test, Perth - England win by 61 runs
19 Jan: 1st ODI, Melbourne - England win by seven wickets
23 Jan: 2nd ODI, Melbourne - Australia win by 26 runs
26 Jan: 3rd ODI, Hobart - Australia won by four wickets
29 Jan: 1st T20, Hobart
31 Jan: 2nd T20, Melbourne
2 Feb: 3rd T20, Sydney

Victory - worth two points - was Australia's second in succession, but England will feel they should have retained the trophy on Australia Day given that the home side needed 70 from the final eight overs.


Yet Perry and Osborne recorded boundaries at regular intervals, taking 12 runs off a Kate Cross over to reduce the requirement to 21 off the last 18 balls.



Perry struck Jenny Gunn for six, only six were needed from the final over from Sciver, and an Osborne edge for four took them to their target.



Perry, who also plays football for Australia, said: "It's really hard to count either side out of any game. It was a great effort by us to chase that."


Edwards said: " We didn't do too much wrong. The difference was one of their players went on to a big score. We won't dwell on this too much.



"We're still in a good position. We've just lost two games but it works in our favour that we're playing a different format."



Things had started promisingly for England after they won the toss, Knight sharing 79 with captain Charlotte Edwards.

Analysis

Isa Guha Ex-England seamer on BBC Test Match Special

"England will have been looking at 280 at one stage and then their opening bowlers were a little ill-disciplined at times. Perhaps they will rue playing an extra batter and not a bowler to give extra options."

Taylor helped add 41 at close to a run a ball before Knight was run out for 57, and Taylor's attractive 64 from 57 balls ended when she picked out Jess Cameron.

Although Sciver managed some lusty blows late on to bolster England's total, the Australia reply began well courtesy of skipper Meg Lanning's 40 off 30 balls.



Cameron and Nicole Bolton - a centurion on debut in the second ODI - fell in quick succession, but Alex Blackwell's 18th ODI half-century kept the hosts in touch.



Three wickets fell in six overs to leave Australia 199-6 in the 42nd over, before Osborne joined Perry for the match-winning stand.

Perry struck seven fours and a six, while Osborne's innings spanned only 25 balls.



The first Twenty20 takes place on Wednesday, also in Hobart, before the men's encounter.

5th ODI England v Australia

England suffered a classic middle-order batting collapse to fall to a narrow five-run defeat to Australia this morning and lose the one-day series 4-1.

Alastair Cook's side lost six wickets for 55 runs to surrender a promising position and ended up needing eight off the final over, in which last man James Tredwell edged behind to give Australia a dramatic win.

On a slow and difficult batting pitch, the hosts recorded their lowest total of the series as Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes each took three wickets to restrict them to 217-9 off their 50 overs.

George Bailey top scored with 56 for the Aussies, while Glenn Maxwell [22], Matthew Wade [31] and James Faulkner [27] also contributed useful runs in the lower order after the they fell to 64-4.

Ian Bell [14] and Stokes [0] were both caught in the ring in the first 10 overs of England's chase but Cook came together with Joe Root, recalled in place of Gary Ballance, to put on 61 for the third wicket.

Following the dismissal of Cook [39] off Nathan Coulter-Nile, Root and Eoin Morgan [39] added another useful partnership of 64 before falling in quick succession to spark England's demise.

Root's ill-advised ramp shot which brought an end to his knock of 55 heaped the pressure on England's new pair and when in-form wicketkeeper Jos Buttler went for five Australia had evened things up.

Ravi Bopara and Tim Bresnan did appear to be guiding England to victory though, before the latter was ran out, and Broad missed a straight one from Clint McKay as his side were reduced to 204-8.

Bopara was dismissed controversially, adjudged to be stumped off McKay despite the replays being inconclusive, as the tourists again found it to be Australia's day, on Australia Day, in Adelaide.

England's last pair of Chris Jordan and Tredwell were left with nine to win and managed a few singles before Shane Watson found the edge of the off-spinner's bat to secure the hosts a slender victory.

3rd ODI New Zealand v India

New Zealand 314 tied with India 314/9

Ravindra Jadeja's final-over heroics earned India a tie against New Zealand in the third ODI and kept the series alive.

Jadeja's 66 not out saw India finish on 314-9 after Martin Guptill's 111 had earlier helped New Zealand set a formidable target at Eden Park, Auckland.


Guptill's 129-ball effort was the foundation of New Zealand's 314 all out in exactly 50 overs after they had been sent in.

Superb bowling from Corey Anderson, who claimed his first five-wicket haul, and Hamish Bennett, back from a two-year injury break to take 2-41, put the hosts in control during the run chase.

Revival

India slumped to 146-5 but 50 from Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin's 65 rescued their cause.


Jadeja took control in the latter stages and, with 18 required off the final over, hit two fours and a six - plus two wides from Anderson taking the total in the innings to 14 - left two required from the final delivery.


He could manage only a single to mid-off, meaning New Zealand retain their 2-0 lead in the five-match series heading to Hamilton on Tuesday.


New Zealand had earlier relied on a second-wicket stand of 153 between Guptill and Kane Williamson (65).


Luke Ronchi (38) and Tim Southee (27) added quick runs lower down the order to see New Zealand above 300, while there were two wickets each for Mohammad Shami (2-84) and Jadeja (2-47).

4th ODI England v Australia

England 316-8 (50 overs) beat Australia 259 (47.4 overs) by 57 runs

England sealed their first victory over Australia on tour, with a 57-run win in the fourth one-day international.

Jos Buttler hit four sixes for his 71 from 43 balls, Ben Stokes struck 70 off 84 and Ian Bell made 55 as England posted 316-8 after being asked to bat.

Aaron Finch blasted an explosive second century of the series with four sixes in his 108 but Australia were all out in the 48th over, Stokes taking 4-39.

It left Australia 3-1 up in the series with one match to play, on Sunday.

Without rested captain Michael Clarke and his trusty lieutenant Brad Haddin behind the stumps, Australia lacked something of the ruthlessness that saw them win nine matches in succession against England.

Alastair Cook, having reiterated his desire to continue as one-day skipper, again looked in assured touch, striking three successive off-side boundaries as England reached 50 in the eighth over. It was his third successive half-century opening stand with Bell.

They compiled an assertive 87 in 12 overs, before Cook (44) fell to a swipe in the second over off the spin of Glenn Maxwell.

Bell continued the positive strokeplay, although he and Stokes were both dropped by solitary slip Shaun Marsh in the same Mitchell Johnson over.

In only his second match of the series, Ashes hero Johnson, minus his Mexican moustache, went wicketless for the first time against England on this trip - conceding 72 from his 10 overs.

Having reached his 29th ODI fifty Bell (55) frustratingly clipped straight to backward square-leg in the 22nd over but Stokes, who made his maiden Test century at this ground, maintained the momentum, completing his first ODI fifty from 58 balls with a magnificent lofted drive down the ground for six off Maxwell.

He was one of two wickets to fall in the dreaded batting powerplay. But Buttler revived the innings with some clean, improvised hitting when he came to the crease for the 40th over, even outscoring Eoin Morgan.

A huge straight drive for six brought up the 50 partnership in 39 balls, to which Morgan contributed only 10.

Left-hander Morgan duly engineered some trademark boundaries in a partnership of 71 and when he fell in the 48th over, Buttler scooped, flicked and carved his way to a further four boundaries in eight balls.

England's 316 was the fourth highest total in the 71 ODIs at the Waca and the second time they had exceeded 300 in the series but with Finch in full flow victory was never certain.

Before the completion of the seventh over, Finch had amassed 46 with Shaun Marsh (15), before the latter was brilliantly caught by Bell diving to his left at second slip.

That stemmed the tide somewhat, but the threat of Finch remained. He brought up Australia's 100 in the 20th over with a gargantuan six onto the roof at cow corner, before thumping James Tredwell for another six off the next ball, as he recorded his own hundred in the 31st over.

Finch fell when he sliced Tim Bresnan to the third man boundary in the 36th with 128 still required. The dangerous Maxwell then departed four overs later, but it merely signalled the arrival of James Faulkner, whose 69 helped win the second match for the Aussies.

However, on this occasion, he could only make two when he edged a rising delivery from the combative Stokes, playing only his 14th ODI.

Two late dropped catches in the deep underlined the tension surrounding Cook's team, but Buttler's fifth catch sealed their first international victory since 14 September, and for once there was to be no saviour for Australia.

Women's Ashes 2nd ODI

Australia 7 for 266 (Bolton 124, Blackwell 56; Sciver 2-23) beat England 240 (Taylor 63, Sciver 57; Osborne 3-49) by 26 runs with 22 balls remaining


Nicole Bolton starred for Australia with 124 off 152 balls to become the highest scoring debutant for Australia in women's ODIs as the hosts kept their Ashes hopes alive.

England's chance of sealing the Women's Urn in the second ODI slipped away in a middle-order collapse. They were bowled out for 240, well short of the 267-run target.

 

Bolton's innings saw Australia post a highly competitive total of 266 after Meg Lanning won the toss and chose to bat. Bolton, replacing Elyse Villani as opener, was positive from the very beginning and dominated the strike, as, in stark contrast to their performance in the first ODI on Sunday, Australia raced to 39-0 in the space of 9 overs.

England struck in the 10th over to remove Lanning, bowled by Danni Hazell for just 5, but they struggled to find the right line to the left-handed Bolton, often attempting to bowl round the wicket, with even Jenny Gunn failing to dry up the runs in her usual way. Bolton capitalised on their early indecisiveness, driving and pulling her way to a 65-ball half-century, as she built up a partnership with Jess Cameron, who also looked solid.

 

Bolton could easily have been out on 5 edging to Gunn at third slip, but it was one of a number of chances missed in a shoddy day for England in the field that also saw several run-out chances go begging. Bolton was dropped again, pulling a ball to Natalie Sciver at midwicket when on 28.

Cameron was also dropped, by Anya Shrubsole in the 31st over, hitting the ball straight to her at wide mid-off.

Fortunately for England, Cameron was dismissed in the following over, mistiming a ball of Hazell's over midwicket where it was caught by Greenway and she went for 44. But the partnership was worth 95, taking Australia to 134 for 2 in 32 overs, and England were left ruing their missed opportunities.

Bolton remained at the crease until the 43rd over, when Natalie Sciver, the pick of England's bowlers with 2 for 23, eventually removed her for 124, having her bowled as she attempted a reverse sweep.

But Australia continued to accumulate runs even in the dying overs, as England failed to contain Alex Blackwell, who hit a speedy 56 off 47 balls as the wickets of Perry, out lbw for a first-ball duck to Kathryn Cross, Alyssa Healey, caught of the bowling of Sciver by Wyatt at deep-backward square leg for 4, and Jess Jonassen, stumped for 13, tumbled around her.

 

Blackwell herself was not dismissed until the last over, as she drove straight into the hands of Brindle at cover. By this time the asking run rate for England was over 5 an over, a difficult ask.

England's run-chase began disastrously after Holly Ferling, entrusted with the new ball for the first time in her career, struck immediately, clean bowling Charlotte Edwards for a first ball duck. Ellyse Perry, demoted to first-change, then struck in her first over as Lydia Greenway was given out lbw for 4.

England fought back as opener Heather Knight and Sarah Taylor, batting at No. 4, added 84 in the space of 16 overs. Erin Osborne, brought into the attack in the 14th over, went for 11 runs off her first over, including a glorious six over long-on by Knight, in an over which epitomised the temporary loss of control by Australia's bowlers.

Knight went on to make 55 in 68 balls before being stumped coming out of her crease attempting to drive Julie Hunter. But Taylor and Arran Brindle continued to frustrate the Australian bowlers and Taylor's 13th ODI fifty came in the 29th over with a glorious straight drive. Ahead of the par score for most of the innings, for a time it looked as though England would cruise home.

But Bolton returned to the fore and provided the turning point with a direct hit from midwicket to run out Taylor for 63. A flurry of wickets followed as Australia's spinners came into their own: Jonassen had Brindle lbw for 19 attempting a sweep and Erin Osborne removed Danni Wyatt, caught by Jonassen at mid-off attempting to hit over the top. Osborne's 50th ODI wicket followed in the 39th over, as Jenny Gunn was caught hitting out to Lanning at midwicket.

Sciver gave England some hope as she batted the last 10 overs, reaching a 38-ball half-century in the 46th over. But batting with the tail, as the required rate crept above 8 an over, was always going to be a difficult task. The last three wickets fell after Perry was brought back into the attack in the 44th over, with Sciver herself the last to go in the second ball of the 47th over, miscuing a ball of Osborne's to Ferling at backward-square leg.

England still lead the series by 8-2 on points but this was a disappointing result for them nonetheless. Australia still require victories in all four remaining matches if they are to regain the Ashes; but today, their first win over England in eight successive encounters, could well provide the momentum which they need to turn this series around.

2nd ODI India v New Zealand

New Zealand 271 for 7 (Williamson 77, Taylor 57) in 42 overs beat India 277 for 9 (Kohli 78, Dhoni 56, Southee 4-72) in 41.3 overs by 15 runs (D/L)


New Zealand pushed India off the No. 1 position in ODIs with another clinical performance although India's middle order demanded that their bowlers stay at it till the end. Largely, though, the match followed the first ODI's script. Jesse Ryder went bang bang for too brief a while, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor scored fifties to set up a final assault, Corey Anderson nearly blasted the fastest ODI fifty too, India had a big chase at hand and were kept alive by Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni but New Zealand kept producing timely wickets to pull India back every time they brought some semblance of parity to the chase.

There was supreme synergy in New Zealand's innings, cut down to 42 overs because of rain that arrived in the 34th over. When Martin Guptill took his time at the top, Jesse Ryder smacked 20 off 11, making sure New Zealand were under no pressure when the ball started gripping for spinners on a slow surface. Guptill overcame the slow start, and added 89 with Williamson in 15.3 overs.

Williamson and Taylor then nicely set it up for big hitting, and when the rain arrived New Zealand had lost only two wickets, which meant they would get a big boost when the target would be readjusted. And then Anderson and Taylor went berserk in a 74-run partnership in 4.4 overs. During that period that proved to be the difference in the end, Anderson scored 44 off 17, holing out when he went for the fifty off the 17th, and Taylor took 26 off 11.

That brutal hitting was in direct contrast to the delightful batting of Williamson, who played the most difficult shot to play on a slow pitch, the back-foot drive on the up, with ease. He didn't play shots that left mouths agape, but found all the small gaps on the field. When he was set for a century - he was in the last game too - the rain arrived, and with only 8.4 overs to go on the comeback he perished trying to charge at Ravindra Jadeja in order to go over extra cover.

This wasn't exactly bad news for New Zealand. Williamson had batted superbly without violence, but now was some time for violence. And violence there was when Anderson and Taylor set themselves up to clear the short boundaries. Anderson hit a six over long-on, and two each over long-off and midwicket; Taylor preferred the gaps, hitting only seven fours and no sixes. India pulled New Zealand back with only 23 in the last 3.2 overs, but like in the first ODI it turned out to be too little and too late.

  

Especially with the way the opening exchange went after India had been asked to chase 298 in 42 overs. Kyle Mills, playing in the absence of Adam Milne, and Mitchell McClenaghan were spot on at the top of India's innings. They bowled with skill and accuracy, and with no loose balls available India had crawled to 21 for 0 with two reprieves when Tim Southee showed up in the eighth over.

By now Shikhar Dhawan had become desperate and was bowled to an ugly swipe. In Southee's next, Rohit Sharma finally managed to get out, and the asking rate had already crossed eight.

Kohli, though, seemed to be playing on a different plane from the moment he on-drove Southee past mid-on for four. This was an uncharacteristic innings, though. Usually Kohli manages to keep the risks to the minimum even when going at the kind of high strike rates he does. Here, with his team-mates stuck at the other ends and the asking rate shooting through the roof, he had to play lower-percentage cricket, premeditate a little, but somehow the shots kept coming off. In presence of Ajinkya Rahane, Kohli turned the lost match into a fight, but that man McClenaghan came back again to dismiss Rahane with a sharp bouncer.

Dhoni promoted himself with 170 required in 18.2 overs, but soon saw Kohli get out to his aggression. Suresh Raina and Dhoni kept the chase going, but Brendon McCullum kept attacking, bowling out his main bowlers one by one. It paid dividends when Mills got Raina in his ninth over when most captains would have been worried about the fifth bowler's three overs remaining out of the last six and the asking rate within the batsmen's reach. The final blow, though, came with Anderson's offcutter getting Dhoni to sky a catch with 40 required off 17.

 

Further rain made sure India played only 41.3 overs in the chase, but by that time they had been well and truly beaten.

3rd Test Day 5 Pakistan v Sri Lanka

Pakistan 341 (Shehzad 147, Misbah 63, Herath 5-125, Eranga 4-60) and 302 for 5 (Azhar 103, Misbah 68*) beat Sri Lanka 428 for 9 dec (Perera 95, Mathews 91, Sangakkara 52) and 214 (Rehman 4-56) by five wickets


Pakistan turned a Test that had been an abysmal advertisement for cricket for four days and one session on its head, with an incredible batting performance after lunch on the final day, when they scored 302 runs in 57.3 overs to sucker-punch Sri Lanka and level the series. Their run-rate of 5.25 was the second highest in a successful chase of a 200-plus target, and the protagonists of this heist - Azhar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed and Misbah-ul-Haq - proved that the soporific pace of the previous days was entirely by design, largely Sri Lanka's to protect their 1-0 lead.

For the fifth day to have ended in a result, both teams needed to play extraordinary cricket. Pakistan were extraordinarily purposeful; Sri Lanka were extraordinarily negligent.

The visitors began the day with a lead of 220 and five second-innings wickets in hand but batted so slowly, adding 19 runs in the last 16.4 overs. With a minimum of 59 overs left in two sessions Sri Lanka were still favourites, if not to win then certainly to draw, but they were ultra-defensive from the outset against a desperate Pakistan unit. As Misbah-ul-Haq's side motored towards the target with an unfamiliar efficiency, it became too late for Angelo Mathews to snap himself and his side out of stupor. Sri Lanka sank in the Sharjah twilight, with their captain and fielders feebly complaining about not being able to see the ball.

Pakistan needed 195 in 35 overs at the start of the final session, and they had made a tactical decision to send Sarfraz Ahmed in at No.5, shortly before the tea break. He proved to be the catalyst, and the method he used to attack Rangana Herath's defensive line oozed with resourcefulness.

 

Herath operated from over the wicket and pitched wide outside leg stump for most of his 19 overs, which cost 100 and yielded no wickets, but when he did so after tea Sarfraz took guard near the wide-ball indicators outside leg stump and lofted inside-out through covers to beat a packed on-side field. After several such shots, Mathews moved a fielder from the leg to the off, and Sarfraz promptly slogged Herath over the midwicket boundary to take 15 runs off the 29th over, the most expensive of the match.

While Sarfraz made use of his license to run riot, Azhar accumulated briskly in a more organised manner, driving the seamers and sweeping Herath off his negative line. With the field spread deep, Azhar picked off the gaps to get to his half-century off 79 balls, and his 89-run stand with Sarfraz came at a run-a-ball. Pakistan needed 116 off 22.2 overs when Misbah walked in, after Sarfraz had been caught gloving a Shaminda Eranga short ball down the leg side.

Mathews remained defensive despite having a new batsman at the crease and the 40th over of the chase, from Suranga Lakmal, was a defining one. Azhar jumped outside leg and drove, forcing a full-length dive from the deep-cover fielder, the next three balls went to deep point and deep midwicket, before Misbah pulled to the fine-leg boundary. The over cost 12 runs, and Pakistan's momentum was unaffected by Sarfraz's departure.

Despite Azhar and Misbah sweeping and reverse-sweeping Herath at will, irrespective of whether he bowled over or round the wicket, and the left-arm spinner proving utterly ineffective at controlling the run-rate, Mathews did not use his offspinner Dilruwan Perera at all.

Sri Lanka tried to stall the game in the last hour, with Eranga needing prolonged attention from the physio after his arm came into contact with Misbah's helmet, which prompted umpire Richard Kettleborough to ask the physio to stay off the ground when Lakmal fell while collecting a ball. The equation boiled down to 30 off 30 balls, and after three runs off the first two deliveries of the Lakmal over, Azhar cleared his front foot and swung to the midwicket boundary. A ball later, he celebrated a century off 133 balls. The century stand with Misbah had taken only 111.

Even when Pakistan needed 17 off four overs, the field stayed spread. Sri Lanka had actually lost the Test long before the winning runs were hit.

The base for Pakistan's final-session heroics had been laid after the lunch break, when Ahmed Shehzad and Khurram Manzoor came out swinging. As soon as Shehzad flicked Eranga for two fours in the second over and Manzoor charged and slapped Lakmal to the cover boundary in the third, Mathews dispersed his fielders. The approach was helter-skelter and fraught with risk, though.

Shehzad eventually mis-hit a slower ball and was caught at deep midwicket, while Manzoor was caught nimbly down the leg side by the wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene. Pakistan had got to 48 at more than five an over.

Azhar began his innings by cutting his second ball fiercely through point, but his partnership with Younis Khan was more measured. With plenty of gaps to exploit, they picked up singles and twos comfortably. They added 49 in 12.4 overs when Younis pulled Mathews straight to midwicket to leave Pakistan on 97 for 3.

Pakistan did not go on the defensive despite losing Younis. Instead, they promoted Sarfraz, and he charged and slogged Mathews to the midwicket boundary in the last over before tea, small indication of the damage he would inflict on Sri Lanka after the break.

Sri Lanka would not have suffered such an embarrassing defeat had they played more periods of this Test with a semblance of the urgency Prasanna showed for an hour this morning. After they scored at 1.87 for 71 overs on the fourth day, Prasanna led the gathering of 62 runs in 14 overs on the last morning. A few wickets, however, forced a dramatic slowdown and Sri Lanka went at a little more than a run an over for the rest of their innings. At the end of the Test, Sri Lanka had batted 273.4 overs; Pakistan needed only 166.4 overs to score a run more. There lay the difference.

3rd Test Day 4 Pakistan v Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka 428 for 9 dec (Perera 95, Mathews 91, Sangakkara 52) and 133 for 5 (Mahela 46) lead Pakistan 341 (Shehzad 147, Misbah 63, Herath 5-125, Eranga 4-60) by 220 runs


If any thought lingered that Sri Lanka's designs for the match in Sharjah were aggressive, their batting in the third innings provided unequivocal proof they want nothing more than 1-0 from the series. By stumps, Sri Lanka had crawled to 133 for 5 from 71 overs and the barely-breathing run rate of 1.87 was their lowest for any Test innings since 1994, in which they batted at least 50 overs.

Staggeringly, given the run rate, Sri Lanka seemed the only team capable of victory for large parts of the day but, having dismissed Mahela Jayawardene 15 minutes before stumps, Pakistan laid claim to hope, mild though it is. Sri Lanka are 220 ahead with five wickets in hand, but even if they only manage to set a target of 250, the umpires have already set a precedent of allowing the spinners to bowl wide outside the leg stump, which means Sri Lanka are capable of being as defensive in the field as they have been with the bat.

Abdur Rehman provided the only notable excitement in the day, gleaning more from the surface in the middle session than any bowler had so far. In the afternoon, he delivered 13 overs from the Sharjah Cricket Club end, where spinners have preferred to bowl, but unlike Sri Lanka's left-arm spinner, Rangana Herath, he did not target the footmarks at the other end. Instead, Rehman worked off a tight off-stump line to the right-handers, flighting most, skidding some, top-spinning others, and generally beating the edge with more regularity than has so far been seen in the match.

 

He was rewarded with the scalp of Kumar Sangakkara, who capped a modest series by his standards by playing an injudicious sweep that he failed to control. Sangakkara should, in fact, have been out playing the same shot to the same bowler in the first innings but the umpire did not spot the ball striking glove on that occasion.

 

Rehman created his second dismissal all on his own. Kaushal Silva had been secure and confident on his way to 36, adapting to the variable bounce in the pitch by moving his feet with assurance. But he eventually pushed forward at a ball pitched on middle from Rehman, that ripped off the surface, beat his edge and took the outside of off stump. Rehman resorted to coming around the wicket later in the day, as Sri Lanka shelved any semblance of positive strokeplay. In the evening, though, Saeed Ajmal became the bigger threat, as Sri Lanka's inaction allowed Pakistan to persist with men around the bat. 

 

But in a match that should already be marketed as a cure for insomnia, the third session, when 33 overs yielded 45 runs, was the dullest by a distance. The cricket might have generated more interested had the runs been delivered via an IV drip.

 

Leaving everything in the channel a foot and a half outside the off stump had been a hallmark of Jayawardene's hundred in the second Test and, though he was no longer hampered by a stitched up left-hand, he engaged the ploy once more on Sunday. A short ball or a pitched up delivery on leg stump sometimes drew pull or a sweep, but otherwise, he could not be stirred - not even by the prospect of hitting the half-century he had missed out on in the first innings.

 

He paid the price for his passivity. With Jayawardene on 46 and having failed to score for 15 balls, Ajmal had one take a little more turn from the surface, with an inside edge deflecting to short leg. 

 

The bowling rarely troubled Angelo Mathews and, in turn, he sought not to tax the scorers either.

Almost everything Pakistan delivered was met with a dead bat and soft hands, and even when he drove or punched there was not enough conviction in his strokes to beat the field. Pakistan kept two slips to him, and the bowlers attempted various angles of attack, but ponderous scoring rates had not affected him so far in the series and they failed to irk him now. His first 50 balls brought him eight runs, before he was dropped on 9 - the third time in three innings. He did not offer an aggressive shot after that, going to stumps alongside Prasanna Jayawardene at 14 from 99 balls.

 

In Pakistan's innings, Misbah-ul-Haq had resisted Shaminda Eranga's reverse-swing and Herath's persistence to help carve 50 runs off the deficit, as Herath completed the first five-wicket haul for a spinner in the series.

Eranga generated considerable movement to take two wickets in his first two overs, though his dismissal of Mohammad Talha was a further instance of the umpiring inconsistencies that have put Pakistan at a marked disadvantage in the game. The ball was projected to be clipping leg stump, but at least four such appeals had been turned down in Sri Lanka's first innings.

Misbah's initial annoyance at Herath's leg-stump line solidified to disdain, as he attempted to swat the bowler over the leg-side boundary early in each over. He succeeded once and was foiled another time by Eranga, who leapt over the square-leg boundary line to catch the ball then toss it back before he hit the ground.

 

He farmed the strike so effortlessly off both seamers and slow bowlers that Sri Lanka soon abandoned hope of dismissing him, and placed all nine fielders at the boundary for the first four balls of each over. But even when they came in, Misbah did not miss his chance to steal a single and keep himself on strike. After Talha's dismissal in the 99th over, he faced at least five balls in every over until his own demise in the 108th.

 

Having crossed 50 for the third time in four innings, Misbah eventually mishit Herath to long-on. Junaid Khan fell the same way in Herath's next over to leave the spinner with 5 for 125.

Women's Ashes 1st ODI

England 210-3 (46.5 overs) beat Australia 209-3 (50 overs) by seven wickets

England are within one victory of retaining the Women's Ashes after a seven-wicket win over Australia in the first one-day international.

Alex Blackwell's unbeaten 82 helped the hosts post 209-3 from their 50 overs.

England slipped to 68-3 in response but an unbroken fourth-wicket stand from Lydia Greenway (69 not out) and Arran Brindle (63 not out) led them home.

England are now 8-0 up in the multi-format series having won the only Test in Perth by 61 runs earlier this month.

Women's Ashes schedule

10-13 Jan: Test, Perth - Eng win by 61 runs
19 Jan: 1st ODI, Melbourne - Eng win by seven wickets
23 Jan: 2nd ODI, Melbourne
26 Jan: 3rd ODI, Hobart
29 Jan: 1st T20, Hobart
31 Jan: 2nd T20, Melbourne
2 Feb: 3rd T20, Sydney

The Southern Stars must now win both remaining ODIs and all three Twenty20 internationals to prevent England retaining the trophy.

Captain Charlotte Edwards said her team would not underestimate Australia's powers of recovery and become overconfident despite their 6-0 advantage after that victory at the Waca.

They were given a stiff reminder two days ago after they suffered a two-wicket defeat in their warm-up match against a Cricket Australia Women's Representative XI, but took control at key moments at the MCG.

Meg Lanning, who at 21 became the youngest Australian to lead the country's senior side because of an injury to Jodie Fields, won the toss and elected to bat.

However, Australia's batters struggled to get going in the first half of their innings as England's attack bowled tightly to restrict the hosts to 68-3 after 25 overs.

Anya Shrubsole (1-55) trapped ODI debutant Elyse Villani for eight in the seventh over and Lanning departed four overs later when she sliced a wide one off Jenny Gunn (1-30) to Heather Knight at gully.

A 35-run partnership between Jess Cameron (21) and Blackwell steadied the Australian innings before Cameron chipped spinner Danielle Wyatt to mid-off, where Shrubsole took a catch above her head.

England were unable to take any more wickets as Blackwell and Ellyse Perry (65 not out) fought back to help Australia past the 200-mark on a slow-paced pitch.

Analysis

Isa Guha Ex-England seamer on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

"England dictated the pace of the game throughout. The bowlers kept it tight and the batters always kept themselves in front of the rate when they chasing.

"Australia were undoubtedly weakened by the loss of Jodie Fields and bowler Sarah Coyte and it was a baptism of fire for Australia's Meg Lanning as stand-in skipper.


"But that takes nothing away from Lydia Greenway and Arran Brindle who both batted beautifully. It was a pretty comprehensive victory by the end."

Edwards and Knight (9) put on 49 for the first wicket as England made a solid start to their response before the latter edged an outswinger straight to Cameron in Julie Hunter's second over.

England had a mini wobble when Sarah Taylor (9) chipped Erin Osborne's off spin, to Lanning at midwicket before Holly Ferling captured the vital scalp of Edwards (41) lbw.

However, the Southern Stars were unable to press home their advantage as Greenway survived a couple of early scares to take the game away from Australia.

The left-hander combined well with Brindle as the duo cleverly manoeuvred the ball around the field and used the batting powerplay to stay ahead of the rate.

The pair brought up their half-centuries in successive deliveries in the 43rd over with Brindle hitting the winning run with 19 balls to spare.

Greenway, who was named player of the match, says England will not take anything for granted despite having one hand on the women's Ashes trophy.

"We applied ourselves well and deserved the win. Our bowlers really set the game for us," she said.

"Australia had a good finish with the bat but we applied ourselves in our innings and we spoke about the importance of getting ourselves in on that wicket.

"We're not going to be complacent in the next game because Australia have some world-class players."