Australia win Women’s Ashes Test by 89 runs as Ash Gardner takes eight wickets

England have been left with a mountain to climb to regain the Women’s Ashes after Australia seized the upper hand in the multi-format series by triumphing in the lone Test.

Resuming on 116 for five in pursuit of 268 on a final day where Trent Bridge threw open its gates free of charge, England subsided to 178 all out inside 90 minutes despite a defiant 54 from Danni Wyatt.

Wily off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner’s eight for 66 saw her walk away with a 12-wicket match haul as Australia claimed an 89-run victory to collect four all-important points ahead of the ODIs and T20s.

If England are to retrieve the urn for the first time since 2015 they will have to prevail in five of the six white-ball contests against the ODI and T20 world champions, with two points per win on offer. 

‘I wouldn’t have dreamt of it to be honest but it showed having five days in a Test to actually get a result is super important,’ Gardner told BBC Sports.

Ashleigh Gardner took eight wickets in the second innings as England crumbled to 178 all out

Gardner took 12 wickets in the match, the second-best figures in the history of women’s Tests

‘I guess there was a little bit of luck with the conditions out there but as a whole bowling unit, we bowled really well throughout and tried to bowl in partnerships. I guess I was the lucky one to come away with the wickets.’

Meanwhile, England batter Danni Wyatt admitted the defeat was deflating, but insisted there positives to take from Trent Bridge.

‘There is a sense of missed opportunity, we will have a chat in the changing room about it,’ she said. 

‘There are a lot of positives so we have to try to dust this down and smash them in the white ball stuff. There’s a few tired bodies out there and now we just need to dust ourselves off and get ready for the next challenge.

‘Ultimately, we didn’t get enough runs but that’s just the game. We need to think of the positives.’