Key events
8th over: Australia 71-1 (Mooney 25, Litchfield 17) Sarah Glenn, such a great T20 spinner. Glenn’s ponytail bright blond against the red shirts England are wearing today. Litchfield drives, like an arrow, through the covers for four. Then a casual switch-hit for SIX! That’s unbelievable actually. She tries again, misses. Then another fielding mishap as Mooney spoons the ball up but the two fielders, NSB and Dean, hovering at cover, are frozen in hesitation. Glenn isn’t hugely impressed.
7th over: Australia 57-1 (Mooney 22, Litchfield 7) Time for some Nat Sciver-Brunt, and oh dear, another chance slips through England’s fingers as Mooney edges behind and Jones can’t hold on with the gloves. I think there was a missed stumping chance there too. Good old NSB, like one of those plucky girls from the Chalet School stories, just smiles away. An athletic bit of diving on the rope by Ecclestone prevents a boundary but Mooney pulls a lacklustre bouncer for four. Ten from the over.
6th over: Australia 47-1 (Mooney 16, Litchfield 3) Just three from Bell’s neat over, England tightening the rope.
5th over: Australia 43-1 (Mooney 15, Litchfield 0) Mooney survives – sent on her way lbw to Dean after missing her sweep, but reviews. The replay shows the ball ballooning over the stumps. A misfield from Dean off her own bowling delivers a single from the last ball.
4th over: Australia 40-1 (Mooney 12, Litchfield 0) England dearly needed that wicket, you could see on the faces of Bell, of Dunkley, of Dean, that the last week’s events have hit hard. Ah, what’s this? England appeal what seems a fairly innocuous missed ramp shot by Phoebe Litchfield. I don’t think she hit it.. she didn’t. To finish the over, Litchfield advances down the pitch but is beaten.
WICKET! Voll lbw Bell 21 (Australia 40-1)
A grim faced Bell suddenly has a smile on her face! She traps Voll on the back leg. It looks very out – it is very out! Relief for England.
3rd over: Australia 38-0 (Mooney 11, Voll 21) Charlie Dean slips into the bowling rota. Mooney isn’t in the mood to let her settle, dances and lofts her inside out for four. Voll joins in, sweeping with gusto. And then – oh dear – she top edges a sweep and is dropped by Bell who seems to be in the right position but somehow gets in a total tangle and lets the ball fall to the ground. It rolls for four. And one more four to close a fabulous over for Australia, going for 17.
2nd over: Australia 21-0 (Mooney 6, Voll 9) Lauren Bell at the other end. Drifts on the leg side and Mooney flicks her away to the rope, one-legged flamingo style. They run a handful of quick singles and pick up another when Dunkley lets the ball through her legs at cover. And then an overthrow.
1st over: Australia 11-0 (Mooney 1, Voll 6) And Kemp starts with a slightly insipid wide. Exciting young starlet, 21-year-old Georgia Voll, is playing in her first international T20 after making her debut against India in three ODI games earlier this winter. She’s beaten once, but also hooplas Kemp up and over Nat Sciver Brunt at mid-on for four.
Here they come! Sophia Dunkley looking happy on her first outing this series as she takes up her fielding position. England are opening with Freya Kemp who is also in her first Ashes game of the Australian summer.
This was a thoughtful piece from Raf earlier this week – Jon-ball isn’t working.
England XI
England: Maia Bouchier, Danielle Wyatt-Hodge, Sophia Dunkley, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Heather Knight (c), Amy Jones (wk), Freya Kemp, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Lauren Bell.
Australia XI
Australia: Georgia Voll, Beth Mooney (wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Tahlia McGrath (c), Grace Harris, Georgia Wareham, Alana King, Kim Garth, Megan Schutt
Ash Gardner calf strain
Tahlia McGrath is the stand-in for Healy and very chirpy she is too, despite also losing Ash Gardner with a calf strain. Healy and Gardner are replaced by Georgia Voll and Grace Harris.
England win the toss and will bowl!
Knight looks briskly confident. “A change of format suits us really nicely,” she says, “into a format that we love playing and are really good at.” Then she turns on her heel and marches off. There are three changes for England as Sarah Glenn, Freya Kemp and Sophia Dunkley come in.
Alyssa Healy injury
Healy will not play today, with soreness in the same foot as her plantar fascia injury. She’s currently wearing a boot and will be seen by specialists over the next couple of days.
Hello! Already the ODIs are over, already England are six points down. Over there on the river are the Ashes, sailing away, with a good wind behind them, almost out of reach. We are a week into England’s tour of Australia and they’ve been thoroughly outclassed – tactically, with the bat and in the field. Australia have been….Australia.
But! Hope (just about) survives as we march into the T20 part of the series. England are pretty good at the shortest form and the last time Australia played one, they lost to South Africa in the World Cup semi-final against South Africa.
Can England re-find their mojo? Will new blood make any difference? Will Australia retain the Ashes today? Play starts at 8.15GMT, there is plenty of space here on the sofa.
