Australia close on Women’s Ashes after England hold on for draw in Test thriller

Australia and England engineered a grandstand finish to the Ashes Test in Canberra, as England nearly ran down the biggest fourth-innings chase in women’s Test history before a collapse left them scrambling to survive at nine wickets down. The gap between the teams in the end was 11 runs, with the last-gasp draw leaving Australia leading the multi-format series on points 6-4.

Those dramatic final hours came after losing most of the third day to rain, encouraging Australian captain Meg Lanning on the fourth and final day to declare at 216 for seven late in the second session. Lanning set England 257 to win from 48 overs, an equation that should have been relatively straightforward for Australia to protect against tired players on a wearing pitch with no fielding restrictions.

But England launched into that chase like it was a one-day international, Tammy Beaumont making the early running with 36 from 42 balls, before Lauren Winfield-Hill started stepping down the pitch to take on the bowling and make 33. England made 52 for the opening stand and 42 for the second wicket, before captain Heather Knight combined with vice-captain Natalie Sciver for the major partnership of the day.

Knight’s epic 168 not out in the first innings had her team in the match, and she added another 48 in even time in the second innings, driving crisply through the covers despite suffering leg cramps. Sciver climbed into a series of pull shots to keep the score racing alone. At one stage they had reduced the required total to 91 from 90 deliveries, and looked the goods to get them.

Lanning, meanwhile, was vacillating, sometimes with six fielders on the boundary, sometimes with three. Australia looked to have no idea where help might come from. It