Australia retain Women’s Ashes with victory over England in opening T20 match

Australia’s women have retained the Ashes after beating England by six wickets in the first Twenty20 game at the North Sydney Oval.

Chasing 133 for victory, a fine harvest of 86 runs from Beth Mooney and Megan Schutt’s earlier four-wicket haul sped Australia on to take an unassailable lead in the multi-format series.

By the halfway point of Australia’s response to England’s total of 132 for nine, excellent batting from Mooney had put the Ashes holders within 50 runs of retaining the urn.

Danielle Hazell did briefly stem the constant flow of boundaries by removing the usually prolific Ellyse Perry for just a single, but Mooney survived to the end while captain Rachael Haynes made a late cameo, adding a confidence-boosting six in the 15th over.

England’s innings saw Danielle Wyatt score a half-century, in the process helping the tourists recover from a dire position of 16 for four, before she was run out.

Schutt did most of the damage with the ball for Australia, the fast bowler seeing off Sarah Taylor, Jenny Gunn, Hazell and teenager Sophie Ecclestone to claim four for 22.