Australia are prepared for all-out aggression from England in the three remaining matches of the Women’s Ashes series after the thrilling drawn Test match left the home side just one win away from retaining the Ashes.
England had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the multi-format series on the final day of the Test at Manuka Oval as they attempted to chase down a target of 257 for victory but a stunning collapse, in which they lost 6 wickets for 27 runs, left them in survival mode in the final two overs, with just one wicket remaining.
There has been just one result in the series so far; Australia won the first T20 International but the next two T20s were washed out and, with points also shared for the Test, Australia lead 6-4 in points.
Two points are awarded for each of the upcoming ODIs and England will need to win all three to regain the Ashes while Australia, who hold the trophy, need two victories to win the series outright.
Annabel Sutherland says Australia, which set a record winning streak of 26 ODI victories last year, are unlikely to change their approach in the face of an England side desperate to claw their way back into the series.
“I don't think much changes,” said Sutherland. “To be honest. I think we've had a lot of success in One-Day cricket over the last few years, so we're pretty confident that that our cricket can get the job done.
“We’ll obviously meet in the next day or two about what that's going to look like from our perspective but I think we've got a lot of faith in our One-Day cricket.”
Sutherland, playing in her second Test match, was one of the key protagonists in the dramatic last session.
Sophia Dunkley was leading England’s chase with a stunning innings and had spanked back-to-back sixes in the first over of Sutherland’s final spell, but Meg Lanning kept faith in Sutherland and the legspin of debutant Alana King rather than turning to some of her more experienced bowlers.
The pair engineered England’s collapse and came breathtakingly close to sealing a victory for Australia.
“Yeah, I was a bit surprised to get thrown the ball again after that over,” said Sutherland. “But I was happy just playing my role and we changed our tactics a little bit coming around the wicket and tried to target the leg stump a little bit more which seemed to work.
“So yeah, I was just happy to do my job and I think ‘Kingy’ at the other end was exceptional.
“She, throughout the whole Test match, bowled really, really well. And yeah, it was cool to share that with her.”
During the tense last hour there were lengthy discussions involving senior players Lanning, Rachael Haynes and Ellyse Perry in between each ball that Sutherland bowled.
The decision to stick with Sutherland paid off as she took the wicket of a well-set Nat Sciver and followed up with the quick wickets of Amy Jones and Katherine Brunt, finishing with figures of 3 for 69 off 13 overs.
“We were just talking about the particular length I was bowling each ball and we really just wanted to get it right just when we'd fought so hard to get back in the game,” Sutherland said. “And yeah, it was it was really cool to have ‘Pez’ there next to me and she was really good in keeping me calm and just focusing on what I needed to.
“I was pretty pumped.
“I had a fair bit of adrenaline I reckon.
“But it was so much fun, like there was no place I'd rather be then charging in and trying to do a job to almost get a win.”
Sutherland was left out of Australia’s T20 line-up but the all-rounder's performance under pressure in the Test which, in the final session, had all the hallmarks of a white-ball death-bowling spell strengthened her case to play in the final stage of the series.
“I guess I’ve always wanted to be able to take an opportunity when it's thrown at me and the nature of this Australian team is that it doesn't happen that often because of the depth we've got,” Sutherland said. “So yeah, just being able to take that role and take the ball when Meg threw it at me and do my job, I feel like I've been ready to be able to do that for the last year or so.
“But I certainly take a lot of confidence in the role I was able to play.”
The first ODI will be played at Manuka Oval on Thursday before the two sides fly to Melbourne for the final two matches at Junction Oval on Sunday and Tuesday.
