AUS W vs ENG W, 3rd T20I Review: England seal T20 leg on the back of Wyatt's magnificent hundred

The series decider at the Manuka Oval in Canberra turned out to be a stupendous contest. England went on to seal the series with a 2-1 victory riding on a marvellous century by opener Danielle Wyatt. Earlier, Australian opener Beth Mooney’s unbeaten hundred went in vain as Australia lost by four wickets.

Earlier in the day, it was skipper Rachael Haynes who won the toss as the Australian women elected to bat first. Youngster Amanda Wellington replaced Sarah Aley in the Australian XI. As for England, they persisted with the winning combination from the last game.

The Australian women were off to a flying start. Not much was required of Alyssa Healy as her opening partner Beth Mooney was in top gear. While Alyssa rotated the strike well, Mooney took over the job of taking the English bowlers to the cleaners.

Both put up a first wicket partnership of 59 runs before Alyssa was caught by skipper Heather Knight. This didn’t effect Beth Mooney as she continued to hit boundaries at will. Elyse Villani, on the other hand, got off the mark with a six over fine leg. Her stay at the crease didn’t last long as she was bowled after scoring 16 (13).

While the others failed to contribute much, Beth Mooney managed to stand out with a stunning century. Facing 70 balls, she hit a fantastic 117 runs with 19 boundaries and a six. Ellyse Perry also stepped in with a crucial cameo of 22 (20)* as the Australian women managed to post a significant total of 178/2 on the board.

The English women didn’t have a great day on the field. Katherine Brunt who was the player of the match in the previous game continued to impress with figures of 1/25. Sophie Ecclestone also managed to get a wicket. The rest of the bowling was taken apart by Beth Mooney’s atrocities.

On the other hand, the English women were off to a really poor start. Opener Tammy Beaumont got out on the very first over. Sarah Taylor and Natalie Sciver were also dismissed cheaply as England were reduced to 30/3 inside the powerplay overs itself.

That’s when skipper Knight alongside Danielle Wyatt combined for a brilliant 139 runs partnership for the fourth wicket. While Knight hit a valiant half century, the star of the day was Danielle Wyatt. She went on to register a terrific hundred from just 56 balls. In what was a match-winning inning, she hit 13 boundaries and a couple of sixes.

While they both got out in quick succession, it didn’t create much panic for the English women as they were on the verge of victory. Fran Wilson hit a boundary as she secured the winning runs for her team. England went on to win the game by four wickets and also sealed the series 2-1.

Jess Jonassen was the only Australian bowler who managed to make a mark with figures of 2/24. The other bowlers were left at the mercy of Wyatt’s splendid knock. Delissa Kimmince also got a couple of wickets but was expensive. Danielle Wyatt was deservingly rewarded the player of the match while England skipper Heather Knight grabbed the player of the series honours.

Brief Scores:

Australia- 178/2 in 20 overs (B Mooney 117; K Brunt 1/25)

England- 181/6 in 19 overs (D Wyatt 100, H Knight 51; J Jonassen 2/25)

England won by 4 wickets.