| Venue: Taunton Date: 18 July Time: 13:00 BST |
| Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio 5 Live and the website and app, where there will be live text commentary and in-play video clips (UK only). Highlights on iPlayer and Red Button from 23:00 BST. |
All-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt says England have “exceeded the public’s expectations” in the Women’s Ashes against Australia.
A three-run win on Sunday saw Australia retain the Ashes, and they lead the multi-format series 8-6 going into Tuesday’s final one-day international.
England started the series as underdogs and were trailing 6-0 before levelling.
“It’s been back and forth and two highly competitive teams going at each other,” said Sciver-Brunt.
Australia were overwhelming favourites at the start of the series, having won the past two Ashes series and as the current world champions in both T20 and ODI formats.
That only grew when they won the Test at Trent Bridge and opening T20 at Edgbaston, but England fought back to win the final two T20s and inflict a first series defeat on Australia since 2017.
They scraped over the line in the opening ODI to level the series, but Sunday’s slender defeat means they can only draw the series at best.
“I think we’ve exceeded the public’s expectations,” said Sciver-Brunt, who hit an unbeaten 111 in Sunday’s defeat.
“The way we were feeling as a group we were pretty confident in the way we’d been preparing and played in the last year or so. As a side testing ourselves against the best side in the world, in pressure moments, in sold-out crowds, in the biggest Ashes series we’ve had, is another thing.
“We knew if we stuck to our guns and played the way we wanted to play that we definitely had a chance, but I think this series, and the back and forth of both teams, has really exceeded the expectations of everyone.”
Asked if what England have achieved so far, and could achieve with victory in Tuesday’s ODI at Taunton, was success, the 30-year-old said: “Yeah, I think so.
“We obviously want to win games for England but for us we’ve taken it away from that and it is more about how we go about things and how we want to play, and inspiring and entertaining the nation and people that want to watch is ultimately success for us as well.
“For us success isn’t always wins, it is everything else that goes in there.”
A win at Taunton would see England draw the Ashes – something they have not done since 2017.
Sciver-Brunt said the team have quickly analysed the disappointment of being unable to win the Ashes but are now focused on winning the ODI series and inflicting another defeat on Australia.
“For the series to be drawn on points that would certainly bring some pride to our performances and how we’ve gone about things,” she said.
“We’ve already got that at the moment through the amount of people that have come to watch us and are really excited about our games and wanting us to do well, and are inspired by us.
“We’ve already got a certain amount of that but another series win would certainly have a nice ring to it.”
