Women's Ashes Test match, day one: Australia v England – live!

LIVE – Updated at 01:04

Over-by-over report: The one-off Test begins at Manuka Oval in Canberra with Australia leading the multi-format series 4-2. Join our writers.

Lunch – Australia 78 for 3

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01:04

That would have been categorically England’s session had the last catch been taken. As things stand, it’s more like honours even given how deep Australia’s batting goes. England would be happy with the early wickets from the seamers given their decision to bowl, but had the chance to finish with an exclamation mark. Goodness me. Back with you after the sandwiches.

 

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01:02

28th over: Australia 78-3 (Haynes 41, Lanning 15) Ecclestone, tall and talented, drags down her first ball badly and gets pulled away by Haynes for four. The loosener out of the way. Four catchers around the bat, and Haynes inside edges past short leg for a dicey single. But short again from the spinner to Lanning, who cuts four. Then Ecclestone gets her length right and Lanning is dropped! Dropped at slip, outside edge from the forward push, straightforward just to the left of Heather Knight, who gets hands to it and fumbles it away. Bad, bad miss just before lunch.

 

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01:00

27th over: Australia 69-3 (Haynes 36, Lanning 10) Cross with the ball in hand, a couple of singles as we approach the lunch break. We’ll have one over of spin before then.

 

00:56

26th over: Australia 66-3 (Haynes 34, Lanning 9) A couple of leg byes as Haynes misses a leg glance, then she takes a single to put Lanning back on strike against Shrubsole. Lanning gets through the last three deliveries.

 

00:51

25th over: Australia 63-3 (Haynes 33, Lanning 9) Cross keeps Lanning becalmed for another over, tight line and Australia’s captain isn’t game to do anything but stay around.

 

00:47

24th over: Australia 63-3 (Haynes 33, Lanning 9) They’re bringing the bat-pad catcher across to the off side for Lanning. I would have thought short leg would be more chance of a catch, but perhaps this is more about putting a player in Lanning’s eyeline and putting her off getting on the front foot. Shrubsole immediately gets the ball coming in and hitting the pad, and England burn a review to a ball hitting about three stumps outside the line of off. Big inswing for Shrubsole throughout the over, and she finds the pads twice more, with some bat involved as Lanning tries to push forward. Lanning finishes the over with a single from an overthrow, sloppy bit of work from England.

 

00:41

23rd over: Australia 62-3 (Haynes 33, Lanning 8) Cross has changed around to the shopping centre end, and bowls a peach that whispers past the off stump as Haynes pushes forward and is beaten. Still two slips, gully and point. Inswing to the left-hander for Cross, the extravagant early movement has gone but the ball is still doing a little bit when pitched up. No run from the over.

 

00:38

22nd over: Australia 62-3 (Haynes 33, Lanning 8) Shrubsole to Haynes, too straight to the left-hander as the slips wait redundantly. Haynes drops a single to leg on the third attempt. Lanning inside edges another one into her pad. Decent contest between these two. Then Shrubsole hits the pad but going down leg.

 

00:34

21st over: Australia 61-3 (Haynes 32, Lanning 8) Too wide from Sciver across the left-hander again, she’s given too many freebies to Haynes today. Cracked for four once again. Haynes follows up with a drop and run to point. “Good cricket,” people mutter around the world. Lanning hops and turns a ball just past the short leg catcher. Then cuts but can’t get past backward point. The one thing missing from Lanning’s extensive cricket CV is a major Test innings, things have never worked out for her in this format. Perhaps today is the day.

 

00:31

20th over: Australia 56-3 (Haynes 27, Lanning 8) Shrubsole back into action. Bowls too short, and Lanning is able to step across her stumps and whip a pull shot for four. Shrubsole corrects, getting a tiny bit of swing away from the angle in, beating Lanning’s outside edge, then taking her inside edge into the pads. There is a short leg in place for Shrubsole, so that is a potential mode of dismissal. Inswing beats Lanning again, a thick inside edge as she tries to drive. Hard into the ground instead of racing through the covers. Good comeback.

 

00:26

19th over: Australia 52-3 (Haynes 27, Lanning 4) Sciver concentrates on bowling a tight line to Haynes, right on the off stump, giving no width. Looks like it will be a patience game against the set player. Two slips, gully, point, cover, mid-off, mid-on, midwicket, long leg. Glorious sunshine washing over the ground. Six dot balls.

 

00:22

18th over: Australia 52-3 (Haynes 27, Lanning 4) Cross is settling into her work now, challenging Lanning on off stump. Making her play into the gully. Then a thick outside edge the same way. Tension building. No run from the over.

 

00:19

17th over: Australia 52-3 (Haynes 27, Lanning 4) Haynes on the cut shot again! She’s playing a lone hand here, laying into some width from Sciver. Four runs.

 

00:16

16th over: Australia 48-3 (Haynes 23, Lanning 4) Edged by Lanning for four! Cross pitches up, Lanning drives, and the edge is dying as it goes between first and second slip. Not sure if that carried well enough to be scooped up, but it was very streaky. This after Cross had a good lbw shout against Haynes turned down, maybe a bit of inside edge.

 

00:12

15th over: Australia 43-3 (Haynes 22, Lanning 0) The captain comes to the crease with a job to do. Haynes looking steady at the other end.

WICKET! Perry c Jones b Sciver 18, Australia 42-3

00:11

That is huge! Bharat Sundaresan tells me that Perry was working on her pull shot for 45 minutes in the nets yesterday. She tries it out against a Sciver short ball, gets a high top edge, and Jones does really well to run around towards backward square leg and take a tumbling catch. Perry is dismissed, something that has been almost unachievable in Test cricket for the last five years. England buoyant.

 

00:02

14th over: Australia 42-2 (Haynes 21, Perry 18) Too short from Cross again, and slashed away by Perry for four. So Cross follows up with a beauty! Pitches up, hits the seam, and it jags past the edge of Perry’s bat. I guess we’d call that… a Cross seam delivery?

Drinks break.

 

00:01

7th over: Australia 14-2 (Haynes 10, Perry 1) Perry off the mark with a single pushed to cover. That brings Haynes onto strike to get a thick edge down through deep third for four. Looks like the swing has died away already.

© Provided by The Guardian Ellyse Perry at the crease. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

WICKET! Mooney c Jones b Shrubsole 3, Australia 4-2

00:00

A wicket apiece for the opening bowlers! Shrubsole gets her line right, bit of swing across the left-hander who props forward in an attempted defence. Finds the thick outside edge and Jones pouches it moving across to her left.

© Provided by The Guardian Shrubsole celebrates as Mooney falls. Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPA

 

26 Jan 2022 23:59

13th over: Australia 38-2 (Haynes 21, Perry 14) Brunt gets a break, with Sciver to take over. Bowling her tidy mediums on a straight line. Haynes blocks out the first over.

 

26 Jan 2022 23:55

12th over: Australia 38-2 (Haynes 21, Perry 14) Ominous for England now, as Perry is up and running too. Stands up tall and punches Cross through backward point for four. Crisp timing.

 

26 Jan 2022 23:51

11th over: Australia 34-2 (Haynes 21, Perry 10) A bit of inswing for Brunt to the left-hander now, it bends in but Haynes reads the swing to perfection and drives through cover for four! Lovely shot. She gets beaten by bounce from the next one, aiming a cut shot that goes under the ball, but Haynes gets onto a similar shot a couple of balls later and smokes it for four. Brunt is apparently blaming backward point for that one. Maybe the short wide ball was more the problem?

 

26 Jan 2022 23:46

10th over: Australia 26-2 (Haynes 13, Perry 10) Kate Cross on to bowl, hits a good length early and has Perry pushing away from her body. One sliced shot is well stopped by Winfield-Hill diving in the gully. The next takes a thick edge that flies between gully and Sciver at slip for four.

 

26 Jan 2022 23:42

9th over: Australia 22-2 (Haynes 13, Perry 6) The slip cordon has been reduced for Haynes. Brunt has a deep square leg now, and uses her, dropping in a couple of bouncers. Haynes takes on the second one and pulls it for a run. Perry punches into gaps at cover a couple of times to take singles, Haynes guides away a brace. Runs coming.

 

26 Jan 2022 23:39

8th over: Australia 17-2 (Haynes 10, Perry 4) Perry is starting to work Shrubsole around, off side and then leg side, two here, one there.

 

26 Jan 2022 23:29

5th over: Australia 5-2 (Haynes 2, Perry 0) Brunt fires in the yorker and Haynes ends up flat on her face after digging it out just past short leg. Surprised by that length and just keeps it out of her bootlaces. Pushes a leg-side single to follow.

 

26 Jan 2022 23:29

6th over: Australia 9-2 (Haynes 6, Perry 0) First boundary of the day! Shrubsole gets too straight to the left-hander, who clips her away through midwicket with elan. Nice outfield by the look of that, the ball skates away.

 

26 Jan 2022 23:20

4th over: Australia 4-2 (Haynes 1, Perry 0) Ellyse Perry into her work early then, and Mooney’s brave injury comeback doesn’t last long, after having clipped two more runs from the first ball of the Shrubsole over. The right-handed Perry covers the line of the swing comfortably while stretching forward and sees out the over.

 

26 Jan 2022 23:16

3rd over: Australia 2-1 (Haynes 1, Mooney 1) Beth Mooney to the crease early, with her jaw wired shut from that fracture not even two weeks ago. I wonder if they put her up the order so she can get into her work quickly rather than sitting around all day getting more sore. Brunt bowls on her pads first up, clipped for a single. Two left-handers at the crease.

WICKET! Healy c Jones b Brunt 0, Australia 1-1

26 Jan 2022 23:14

That score is the same, whichever country you write it in. First wicket for England! Lovely piece of bowling by Brunt, the ball angling in and then swinging away sharply. Brunt had already beaten a little swish from Healy outside the off stump the previous ball. That doesn’t stop Healy chasing it again. Poor shot but good bowling, and safely taken by the keeper.

England win the toss and will bowl

26 Jan 2022 23:10

Interesting call! Heather Knight says that the pitch will be good for batting throughout, and so if there is any help for the bowlers it will be early.

© Provided by The Guardian England captain Heather Knight looks on as Australian captain Meg Lanning tosses the coin. Photograph: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

 

26 Jan 2022 23:09

2nd over: Australia 1-0 (Haynes 1, Healy 0) Three slips and a gully for the left-handed Haynes as Shubsole commences from the Manuka Pool end. Angling across the lefty, lots of swing away, but taking the ball too wide to encourage Haynes to play. No run.

 

26 Jan 2022 23:08

1st over: Australia 1-0 (Haynes 1, Healy 0) Katherine Brunt starts us off from the Manuka Shops end of the ground. Good line, a little bit of outswing, challenging the right-hander just outside off stump.

 

26 Jan 2022 23:05

And we’re away…

Teams

26 Jan 2022 22:55

Interesting selection for Australia too – Megan Schutt misses out, a big call on their great swing bowler. They’ve gone for two spinners with JJ and King on debut, with Darcie Brown the only specialist quick, backed up by the all-round seam of Perry, Sutherland and McGrath. Lanning has dropped herself down to five, with Mooney at first drop.

Australia

Alyssa Healy +

Rachael Haynes

Beth Mooney

Ellyse Perry

Meg Lanning *

Tahlia McGrath

Ashleigh Gardner

Annabel Sutherland

Jess Jonassen

Alana King

Darcie Brown

England have not brought in their young quick Lauren Bell, who was included in the squad. They’ve gone for the long-timers in Brunt, Shrubsole and Cross, plus Sciver’s mediums. That relative lack of pace might not help them as the game goes on. Two spinners, with Dean to share the workload with Ecclestone.

EnglandTammy Beaumont

Lauren Winfield-Hill

Heather Knight *

Natalie Sciver

Amy Jones +

Sophia Dunkley

Katherine Brunt

Charlie Dean

Sophie Ecclestone

Anya Shrubsole

Kate Cross

© Provided by The Guardian The England players have a team hug. Photograph: Mark Evans/Getty Images

 

26 Jan 2022 22:30

Just quickly, Ellyse Perry’s Test average since her double ton in 2017 is 474. You read that right. Five innings, four not outs, two centuries. Ridiculously good when she has time on her side. That will be a great point to watch.

 

26 Jan 2022 22:28

Hanging out to see how both these XIs are structured. There are so many ways they could build bowling attacks especially. Wonder if they’ll be bold in that respect.

 

26 Jan 2022 22:14

What do have on Tony Greig’s Weatherwall? Fine, it’s just me looking out a window. It is partially sunny. That’s my good news for the day. A warm morning that should become a warmer day, up towards 30 degrees by the end. Lots of scattered cloud around, of an unthreatening type, with some chance of showers at the end of the day.

On a side note, the BoM radar station that covers Canberra is called Captains Flat. Which they will be if it rains.

Preamble

26 Jan 2022 22:10 Geoff Lemon

Hello from Canberra – the nation’s capital, and a monument to compromise. Let us hope there will be no compromising from the two teams set to take the field today, Australia and England in their centrepiece Ashes Test match. If previous matches in Canberra are any guide, it should be a good batting deck, which means plenty of work for the bowlers if they are to produce incisive spells. But predictions are a fool’s errand, so let’s wait and see.

Neither XI has been named before the match, with both captains reserving the right to surprise their opponents. A win here is worth four points in the multiformat series, which Australia leads 4-2 following one T20 win and a couple of washouts. So we’ll have to hope that both teams want to take the game on rather than play it safe with three 50-over matches to follow.

These matches are such big occasions. The players in women’s cricket have had to push to have Tests scheduled at all, and even so get the opportunity rarely to don the whites, take up the red or pink ball, and play for four days. The need for a fifth day has been well displayed by every recent match in this format, but for now we’ll have to make do.

The teams have had limited preparation, but there are exciting players on both sides and they have plenty to play for. Let’s go.