• Elliott hits 95 not out in tourists' 243 for three in Test
• England bowlers find life hard on lifeless pitch
As the only member of Australia's squad for this one-off Test not under contract and not included in the squad for the six one-day internationals which follow, Sarah Elliott clearly felt she had something of a point to prove. It would have been a heck of a long way to come to get out first ball, the more so if, as is now entirely possible, Australia only bat once.
Coming in at 17 for one then, Elliott would not have been human if she was not feeling the pressure. England's opening bowlers Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole were bowling beautifully, albeit on the sort of flat and lifeless wicket which convince the most aggressive pace bowler of the virtues of line and length.
Shrubsole, the Somerset seamer, had been particularly impressive, hurrying both openers before bowling Rachael Haynes with a well pitched-up delivery that beat the left-hander for pace.
Watched by her husband, Rob, and their nine-month-old baby, Sam, the 31-year-old Elliott played herself in with appropriate care. At the other end Meg Lanning had been similarly watchful, with only the brief introduction of some friendly slow-medium offerings from Arran Brindle offering an opportunity to increase a scoring rate which saw the 33 overs before lunch produce only 84 runs.
Had Sarah Taylor, diving to her right behind the stumps, been able to hold a Lanning edge off Shrubsole in the 12th over England would have been happier still, but the breakthrough came quickly after the break. With the outfield as fast as the pitch was slow, Lanning must have thought she had made her half-century when she square-drove through cover point, but the sprinting Brunt first dragged the ball back from the rope, then whistled in a flat throw of such accuracy that Lanning, who had taken a couple of steps out of her crease in search of a third run, could not get back in time.
The busy Jess Cameron had the consolation of reaching her half-century, off 96 balls, before being given out leg-before attempting to turn the off-spinner Laura Marsh off her pads, but that was end of the good news for England. Having gone to her own 50 off 148 deliveries, Elliott was not going to give it away. Eschewing all but the occasional flowing cover drive, she had nudged her way to 95 off 245 balls at the close. "It's so great to make the most of what might be my only opportunity," said Elliott. "Hopefully I'll finish the job, and we'll go on and make the sort of score which will put England under pressure."
It would help, she said, dark rings around her eyes, if Sam decided to sleep through for the first time, though Rob will obviously be on feeding duties.
Shrubsole looked almost as tired. "It's a pretty flat track, and to keep a very good side to under two and a half runs an over is a pretty pleasing effort," she said.
It is as well for England that while this is the only Test this summer, the destiny of the Ashes – and there are some, a bat having been ceremonially burned after a Test match in 1998 – does not depend on the result of this match alone. Instead the winner, if there is one, will receive six points, with a further two points being awarded for a win in each of the three one-day matches and three T20 matches that follow later this month.
The format will be repeated when the teams reconvene in Australia in January, and with England and Australia now effectively the only Test-playing nations, the former England captain Clare Connor, now the ECB's head of women's cricket, believes it represents the way forward. "It's sad Test cricket is dying out, but we have to be realistic and accept that other than in England and Australia there's just not much appetite for it," said Connor.
"The way the women's game is growing is through the one-day format, and particularly through double headers [when women's T20 internationals are played directly before a men's match].
"The fact is there is no domestic multi-day women's cricket being played anywhere in the world." Reported by guardian.co.uk 3 days ago.
• England bowlers find life hard on lifeless pitch
As the only member of Australia's squad for this one-off Test not under contract and not included in the squad for the six one-day internationals which follow, Sarah Elliott clearly felt she had something of a point to prove. It would have been a heck of a long way to come to get out first ball, the more so if, as is now entirely possible, Australia only bat once.
Coming in at 17 for one then, Elliott would not have been human if she was not feeling the pressure. England's opening bowlers Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole were bowling beautifully, albeit on the sort of flat and lifeless wicket which convince the most aggressive pace bowler of the virtues of line and length.
Shrubsole, the Somerset seamer, had been particularly impressive, hurrying both openers before bowling Rachael Haynes with a well pitched-up delivery that beat the left-hander for pace.
Watched by her husband, Rob, and their nine-month-old baby, Sam, the 31-year-old Elliott played herself in with appropriate care. At the other end Meg Lanning had been similarly watchful, with only the brief introduction of some friendly slow-medium offerings from Arran Brindle offering an opportunity to increase a scoring rate which saw the 33 overs before lunch produce only 84 runs.
Had Sarah Taylor, diving to her right behind the stumps, been able to hold a Lanning edge off Shrubsole in the 12th over England would have been happier still, but the breakthrough came quickly after the break. With the outfield as fast as the pitch was slow, Lanning must have thought she had made her half-century when she square-drove through cover point, but the sprinting Brunt first dragged the ball back from the rope, then whistled in a flat throw of such accuracy that Lanning, who had taken a couple of steps out of her crease in search of a third run, could not get back in time.
The busy Jess Cameron had the consolation of reaching her half-century, off 96 balls, before being given out leg-before attempting to turn the off-spinner Laura Marsh off her pads, but that was end of the good news for England. Having gone to her own 50 off 148 deliveries, Elliott was not going to give it away. Eschewing all but the occasional flowing cover drive, she had nudged her way to 95 off 245 balls at the close. "It's so great to make the most of what might be my only opportunity," said Elliott. "Hopefully I'll finish the job, and we'll go on and make the sort of score which will put England under pressure."
It would help, she said, dark rings around her eyes, if Sam decided to sleep through for the first time, though Rob will obviously be on feeding duties.
Shrubsole looked almost as tired. "It's a pretty flat track, and to keep a very good side to under two and a half runs an over is a pretty pleasing effort," she said.
It is as well for England that while this is the only Test this summer, the destiny of the Ashes – and there are some, a bat having been ceremonially burned after a Test match in 1998 – does not depend on the result of this match alone. Instead the winner, if there is one, will receive six points, with a further two points being awarded for a win in each of the three one-day matches and three T20 matches that follow later this month.
The format will be repeated when the teams reconvene in Australia in January, and with England and Australia now effectively the only Test-playing nations, the former England captain Clare Connor, now the ECB's head of women's cricket, believes it represents the way forward. "It's sad Test cricket is dying out, but we have to be realistic and accept that other than in England and Australia there's just not much appetite for it," said Connor.
"The way the women's game is growing is through the one-day format, and particularly through double headers [when women's T20 internationals are played directly before a men's match].
"The fact is there is no domestic multi-day women's cricket being played anywhere in the world." Reported by guardian.co.uk 3 days ago.