Crowd catch creates instant cult hero as clinical Aussies roll through Poms — Ashes LIVE

Australia has been set a 205-run target for victory in the women’s Ashes series opener after England was bowled out in front of a sellout crowd at North Sydney Oval.

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After captain Alyssa Healy won the toss and chose to bowl first at the picturesque venue, England was rolled for 204 in 43.1 overs with spinner Ash Gardner taking 3-19. All-rounder Annabel Sutherland and leg-spinner Alana King snared two wickets each to stall England’s middle order while seamer Kim Garth finished with 2-46 after a probing opening spell.

England’s innings got off to a dramatic start when opener Maia Bouchier chopped back onto her stumps in the first over, only to be saved by Megan Schutt’s front-foot no ball. However, Bouchier couldn’t make the most of the reprieve, edging an outswinger from Garth through to wicketkeeper Healy for 9 a few minutes later.

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Captain Heather Knight and opener Tammy Beaumont added 50 for the second wicket before the latter spooned towards Garth at mid-on for 13 to become Sutherland’s first victim of the day.

The introduction of Gardner brought about immediate success for the Australians, with the tweaker removing Knight and all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt in almost identical fashion, top-edging an ill-judged sweep shot to Ellyse Perry at deep mid-wicket.

Batter Danielle Wyatt-Hodge (38 from 52 balls) and wicketkeeper Amy Jones (31 from 30 balls) added some handy runs in the middle overs before Australia ripped through the tail in a clinical performance.

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The Aussies currently hold a ten-year winning streak over England but are hoping to secure an outright win on home soil.

“You want to throw the first punch, you want to get out there and take the first two points,” Healy told the media on Saturday.

“Then you can hopefully settle in from there.”

Australia burst out of the gates to establish a 6-0 lead early in the 2023 edition, before England came home strongly in the latter stages of the series to tie things up at 8-8.

This year’s format consists of three one-day internationals before three T20s and then a solitary day-night test to conclude the series.

“It’s just maintaining our composure under pressure,” Healy added.

“I think we speak a lot about that, and teams wanting to come really hard at us and try to knock us off a perch.

“England are a big emotional team in that regard and if you let them get in front, then they’re really good at staying out in front.

“So for us in particular, we’re hopefully coming in … throwing the first punch and saying, ‘Good luck catching us’.

“But if we can just manage our emotions and manage our bodies in particular, I think we’ll go a long way to winning this.”

Healy is “good to go” and is “feeling really good” and “really confident” after overcoming a knee issue in recent times.

The Australian star has not kept wicket since November but is set to take the gloves in today’s ODI.

“I wouldn’t be doing it if I felt like I was going to let the team down,” she said.

“I think it’s just going to depend on how I pull up after each and every opportunity.

“But we know we’ve got a pretty handy back up that’s ready to do the job, and I know that I can run around in the field confidently as well, so we’ll just play it by ear.”

Meanwhile, English skipper Heather Knight says her side will take plenty of confidence into the series opener after their 2023 efforts.

“They’ll certainly go in as favourites … our job, as it was in that 2023 Ashes series, is to try and disrupt and do things a little bit differently to try and break that success and run that they’ve had.

“We’re really confident with where we’re at … that 2023 Ashes series will give us a lot of confidence.

“We know that the Aussies were probably a bit scarred by that, and they’re going to come out really hard and we’ve got to be prepared for that and have our plans ready to face that and try to counteract that ourselves.”