Having five days to get result is important: Ashleigh Gardner after match-winning eight-for against England
Jun 26, 2023
Nottingham [UK], June 26 : Player of the Match, Ashleigh Gardner, whose 12 wickets included the outstanding second-innings figures of 8 for 66 to help Australia clinch victory, said having a fifth day to get a result in the Women's Ashes was a vindication of the decision to stretch the contest over a full five days.
Australia won the Women's Ashes Test at Trent Bridge by 89 runs, denying England on the fifth morning in Nottingham.
"It just shows having five days in the Test match to actually get a result is super-important," Gardner said at the post-match presentations.
"We obviously need to celebrate this because it's super-special. This is the first time that I've been involved in a Test match where we've got a result, but then we also turn our attention pretty quickly onto the T20s. We know how good England are at T20 cricket, so we need to be ready for that first match in Birmingham," Gardner added.
On the fifth morning, Gardner was the standout for Australia, taking all five remaining England wickets in a brilliant run of bowling.
Australia's all-rounder ended with 8/66 in the second innings, with her dismissal of Danni Wyatt (54) sealing the victory.
With three T20 internationals and three One Day Internationals remaining, Australia now leads the Ashes Series by four points, with 12 more points up for grabs.
England started the day's play needing 152 more runs to win the Test but having lost all five of their top five players on a disastrous day four.
Wyatt batted brilliantly throughout the fifth morning for the hosts, reaching a well-deserved half-century on her Test debut.
From an English perspective, though, wickets dropped with all-too-frequent regularity around Gardner as she worked her magic.
Kate Cross was the first to fall, edging behind for 13, and the crucial wicket of Amy Jones - the last known batter - put Australia in command.
In a promising pairing with Wyatt, Sophie Ecclestone made Australia fight for the win, reducing the necessary total to two digits.
When Gardner caught Ecclestone lbw, it only took Australia two more overs to wrap things up, with Gardner cleaning up Lauren Filer and Wyatt following quickly after as she sought to hit out.
