Australia 440 (Sutherland 163, Mooney 106, Ecclestone 5-143) beat England 170 (Sciver-Brunt 51, King 4-45) & 148 (Beaumont 47, King 5-53, Gardner 4-39) by an innings and 122 runs
King took her maiden Test five-wicket haul, nine for the match and 23 for the series at a 11.17 to equal Ash Gardner’s record haul of 23 scalps in the 2023 Ashes and finish as Player of the Series.
Gardner took 4 for 39 to cap a wonderful series. The spin duo bowled 47.4 overs together unchanged to claim the last nine wickets of the match and allow England to start their recriminations a day early.
But when King and Gardner were finally locked in tandem, they created carnage just as they had done throughout the ODI series. With England 79 for 1, Knight bunted a catch to short leg where Phoebe Litchfield held her second sharp close catch of the match.
King then bamboozled Nat Sciver-Brunt for the second time in the match and the fourth time in the series. Sciver-Brunt had spoken after her first innings half-century about wanting to play King off the back foot despite twice being bowled playing back, including on day one for 51.
She changed tack in the second, instead pushing forward at every opportunity and sweeping anything pitching outside leg. King forced a leading edge that landed just wide of silly mid-off and then fizzed another past the outside edge, but Sciver-Brunt did well to hold the line.
With that set-up, she played for turn on the front foot trying to defend and King got one to skid into her front pad and trap her lbw. Sciver-Brunt took a review with her to underscore how deceived she was.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge avoided falling to King for a fourth time as Sciver-Brunt, instead meekly sweeping Gardner straight to short fine.
King’s third and fourth scalps were from arguably her two worst balls. Beaumont dragged on from a non-committal jab at a shorter legbreak wide of off for 47.
Ryana MacDonald-Gay had been strangely upbeat in the press conference on the second night, but her mood would surely have shifted after hitting a rank full toss from King straight to deep midwicket.
In the midst of those two dismissals, Mooney took an excellent catch off Gardner via a thick deflection from Amy Jones’ outside edge.
Sophie Ecclestone’s bizarre Test match concluded when she top-edged a long-hop from Gardner to midwicket.
With both spinners on four wickets each, the race to join Peggy Antonio on Australia’s bowling honours board at the MCG was comical as skied balls and edges somehow evaded fielders hands. Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer faced the most balls ever for a 10th wicket pair in women’s Tests before Filer finally chipped one to catching mid-on.
More to follow
Alex Malcolm is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo
