Two wickets in as many deliveries for Ellyse Perry and a corking Megan Schutt delivery that accounted for home skipper Charlotte Edwards had England on the ropes at tea on day two of the Kia Women’s Ashes Test in Canterbury.
Responding to the Australian total of 274 for nine declared, England went in to the tea interval on 81 for four after 38 overs with Lydia Greenway on 16 and Natalie Sciver with 17. They require a further 44 to avoid the follow-on and still trail the tourists by 193.
The England reply got off to a bad start after lunch when Perry struck twice in her opening over. Lauren Winfield fenced at a lifting away-swinger to edge through to keeper Alyssa Healy via the shoulder of the bat.
Next ball up, Sarah Taylor, pushing half-forward and outside the line of a shooting off-cutter, went without troubling the scorers.
Edwards marched in to see off Perry’s hat-trick ball and, in the 11th over, leant into a crisp cover drive against Schutt to post her 1,000th run in Test cricket against Australia.
During her 67-ball stay Edwards also passed England legend Janette Brittin to become the top all-time run-scorer for England in Ashes matches.
It was Schutt who had the last laugh however, after producing an almost unplayable delivery that dismissed the England skipper for 30. Pushing at one that swung in, only to hold its line off the pitch, Edwards was beaten neck and crop as the ball passed the outside edge and feather off stump so finely that only one bail toppled off.
In the face of some accurate bowling, Greenway and Sciver dug in thereafter to add 20 in the lead up to the tea interval.
At the start of day two, Queensland left-hander Jess Jonassen suffered Ashes heartbreak after being dismissed for 99 on Test debut.
The 22-year-old, who was 95 not out having received her ‘baggy green’ prior to yesterday’s start, added only four to her overnight total before being snared lbw by England seamer Katherine Brunt.
A 90-minute delay to steady drizzle at the start of the day cannot have helped Jonassen’s nerves as she pushed half-forward on the drive to a Brunt in-swinger.
After a delay for consideration, she was sent packing by umpire Alex Wharf to end an otherwise superb 197-ball stay with 10 fours.
Her dismissal sparked Australia’s declaration on 274 for nine leaving England to face one over before the lunch interval.
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