- Humiliating innings and 122 runs defeat in Melbourne took the scoreline to 16-0
- ECB’s managing director of ladies’s cricket Clare Connor has selections to make
- Heather Knight mentioned discuss of her place was ‘not for now’, however its a urgent subject
A primary whitewashing of the ladies’s Ashes within the multi-format period has left big query marks over the futures of Heather Knight and Jon Lewis.
A humiliating innings and 122 runs defeat to Australia within the Melbourne Take a look at took the collection scoreline to 16-0, leaving the ECB’s managing director of ladies’s cricket Clare Connor with selections to make on England captain Knight and coach Lewis.
Final week, Knight, who has been within the function since 2016, mentioned that discuss of her place was ‘not for now’, however the capitulation from 79 for one, beginning together with her dismissal, to 148 all out on Saturday made it a urgent subject.
Afterwards, she merely praised the requirements of England’s opponents, saying: ‘Its been a troublesome month, Australia have performed some outstanding cricket. We have competed at occasions, however sadly we weren’t fairly adequate.’
That was an understatement at any time when leg-spinner Alana King was thrown the ball throughout the collection.
King went into this floodlit Take a look at match with 4 wickets in as many appearances at a value of greater than 60 runs apiece, however preyed on English vulnerability in opposition to the turning ball to complete with 5 second-innings victims, 9 within the match and 23 in all. The identical whole bagged by fellow spinner Ash Gardner.
England’s Ashes defeat raises questions over the way forward for captain Heather Knight (proper)
Scrutiny might also enhance on coach Jon Lewis after the humilating 16-0 whitewash
The way of the whitewash may go away the ECB with massive selections to make
Lewis, who unequivocally dismissed ex-England worldwide Alex Hartley’s declare final month that some gamers had been ‘letting the workforce down in relation to health,’ oversaw the drawn 2023 Ashes, however the hole has clearly widened between the 2 rivals since.
England began day three impressively on the MCG, taking 5 for 9 within the opening hour and dismissing Australia for 440 – Sophie Ecclestone completed with a five-wicket haul.
Nevertheless, issues went downhill not lengthy after King was launched for the twenty second over of England’s second innings.
Gardner started the implosion by having Knight caught at quick leg, however the 29-year-old King took the plaudits for a show that included a supply that pitched exterior leg and hit the highest of Sophia Dunkley’s off stump.
The batting flop adopted a horrendous day two within the area when England dropped seven catches, gifting three lives to Beth Mooney alone. She later turned the primary Australian lady to attain centuries in all three worldwide codecs.
‘I do not assume we’ll see something prefer it quickly,’ mentioned Mooney of the 16-0 scoreline that has ramped up the stress on England’s captain-coach mixture of Knight and Lewis.
