England have continued their winning streak in the Twenty20 component of the Women's International Series, making it a 4-0 today after a 13-run win over the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars at Manuka Oval in Canberra.
England won the toss and batted first on a flat Manuka Oval pitch, compiling 144 before restricting the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars to 6-131 with some tight bowling through the middle stages.
Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars coach, Richard McInnes, said the Australians needed to turn things around in the final match and go into the Ashes Test on a winning note.
"It's obviously disappointing not to get the win today; we made some changes to the team to try and find that winning formula but again we've come up just short" McInnes said.
"England played really well again today and full credit goes to Charlotte and her team. We need to turn things around tomorrow and finish this series with a win before we head to Sydney for the Ashes Test at Bankstown starting on Saturday."
England got off to flyer led by opener Laura Marsh who smashed 43 off 28 seeing her pick-up her second player of the match award in a row. She was well support by Lydia Greenway's 28 with the pair again the leading scorers for the visitors, continuing their good Twenty20 form.
Spinners Sarah Elliot and Lisa Sthalekar were the leading wicket-takers for the hosts with three each, while there were also three run-outs with Sthalekar involved in two of those as well.
In reply, the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars chase got off to a pacey start but with wickets falling regularly it was hard to keep the momentum going.
Opener Leah Poulton led the way with 32 from 24, while Rachael Haynes and Shelley Nitschke chipped in with 25 and 22 respectively but the England bowlers were able to stem the run-rate with some tight bowling that saw the Stars chase fall just sort.
Full Scorecard Here: http://livescores.cricket.com.au/summary_2579_4.html
The fifth and final Women's Twenty20 International between the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars and England will be tomorrow (18 January) at Manuka Oval and will start at 3:05pm. Entry is free while the match will also be shown live on ABC TV with coverage starting at 3pm AEDT.
Following the Women's International Twenty20 Series, the team will head to Sydney for a one-off Ashes Test at Bankstown Oval (January 22-25).
Commenting on the Ashes Test coming up, Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars captain Alex Blackwell said;
"England currently hold the Ashes and we have one chance to get them back so we will be playing some good attacking cricket to do everything we can to win them back," Blackwell said.
"We've got half the squad from New South Wales so we're all really looking forward to getting back home and putting on a good show. We've played some good one-day and Twenty20 cricket so far but there is no doubt an Ashes win would be the highlight of the summer for us.
"I'd encourage anyone in the Bankstown community to get down to Bankstown Oval from 22 to 25 January, play starts at 10:30am every day, entry is free and we're looking forward to getting one back on England this summer," she said.
Follow the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars' progress this summer on Twitter @_SouthernStars
The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars squad is:
Alex Blackwell (c) NSW
Shelley Nitschke (vc) SA
Jessica Cameron VIC
Sarah Coyte NSW
Sarah Elliott VIC
Rene Farrell WA
Rachael Haynes VIC
Alyssa Healy NSW
Julie Hunter VIC
Meg Lanning VIC
Erin Osborne NSW
Ellyse Perry NSW
Leah Poulton NSW
Lisa Sthalekar NSW
Profiles can be found here: http://cricket.com.au/womens-players
England women's team squad:
Charlotte Edwards - captain
Jenny Gunn
Carolyn Atkins
Katherine Brunt
Holly Colvin
Kathryn Cross
Lydia Greenway
Lauren Griffiths
Isa Guha
Danielle Hazell
Heather Knight
Laura Marsh
Susie Rowe
Fran Wilson
Danielle Wyatt
