Women’s World Cup 2025: Gardner, Sutherland power Aus to six-wicket win over Eng

Ashleigh Gardner struck a sublime 104 not out while Annabel Sutherland slammed 98 not out as Australia cruised to a sixwicket win over England and climbed to the top of the points table of the 2025 Womenrsquos ODI World Cup at the Holkar Stadium here on WednesdayThe unbeaten 180run partnership between Ashleigh who hit 16 boundaries and Annabel who slammed nine fours and six lifted Australia from a precarious 684 to completing the chase with 57 balls to spareEngland had seized early control after taking four wickets quickly but the AshleighAnnabel duo turned the tide with a counterattacking masterclass combining power and placement in what will go down as one of the tournamentrsquos standout partnershipsAnnabel who had struggled for runs earlier in the competition rose to the occasion outscoring Ashleigh for much of the stand before the latter surged ahead in the closing stages Ashleigh took just 22 balls to leap from fifty to three figures a breathtaking acceleration from a player in sublime touch with the bat in the competitionEarlier the duo had contributed with scalps with the ball while Alana Kingrsquos spell of 120 in 10 overs had stalled Englandrsquos progress in the middle overs as they made 2449 despite 78 from Tammy Beaumont and a vital seventhwicket stand of 61 between Alice Capsey 38 and Charlie Dean 26Despite a bright start Englandrsquos bowlers couldnrsquot maintain pressure once Australiarsquos fifthwicket pair of Annabel and Ashleigh took the reigning champions home With both teams already through to the semifinals the result may not alter their qualification But Australia sent out a strong message that it continues to find match winners under pressure and that they step up to deliver when it matters the mostLauren Bell began Englandrsquos defence in style by producing a peach of a delivery ndash shaping it away from Phoebe Litchfield and crashing into the off stump to dismiss her for just one England struck again when Georgia Voll misjudged a slog sweep off Linsey Smith and bottomedged onto her stumpsLinsey dealt another major blow to Australiarsquos chase when Ellyse Perry gave a leading edge off a skiddy delivery and the leftarm spinner took a simple return catch to dismiss the star allrounder for 13 These triple blows meant Australia ended powerplay at 463 the first time they lost three wickets inside this phase of the tournamentBeth Mooney and Annabel tried stabilising things with a 44run stand for the fourth wicket before the former went hard on a backfoot pull but was caught by midwicket for 20 at the stroke of the drinks breakAnnabel though continued to lead Australiarsquos charge by beautifully driving Charlie Dean for four before nailing a sweep off Linsey for six She brought up her fifty off 66 balls by using her feet well to reach the pitch of the ball to drive Charlie insideout for a boundaryThough England brought back Lauren it was of no effect as Annabel stunningly drove her in the gap between extra cover and midoff for four before flaying her through backward point for another boundary From the other end Ashleigh was proficient in her whip shots before pulling off Nat SciverBrunt for four to get her fifty in 47 ballsThe onslaught didnrsquot end here ndash Ashleigh again pulled Nat for four before lofting her downtown for another boundary Ashleigh again got easy runs when she brought out the drive and a brace of backfoot pulls to take a hattrick of fours off Alice CapseyThe duo continued to hit easy boundaries before Ashleigh brought up her century off a thick edge that raced through deep third man for four Annabel was dropped on 97 by Heather Knight at extra cover and she eventually ended at 98 not out as Ashleigh finished off in style with a boundary coming off a lofted offdrive to ensure Australia maintain their unbeaten record in the tournamentPreviously after a 54run opening stand England lost their way thanks to the squeeze put on by Australia The middleorder failed to capitalise even though Tammy batted well to make 78 off 105 balls ndash laced with ten fours and a sixThe likes of Sophia Dunkley and Emma Lamb struggled out there and that put pressure on the others But thanks to Alice and Charlie England had something to bowl at For Australia Annabel stood out with three scalps though she was taken for boundaries in her last spellElecting to bowl first Australia endured a wayward start from Kim Garth with Tammy capitalising on width to launch England to a flying start But it was broken when Annabel castled Amy Jones for 18 and despite Tammy regaining her fluency Englandrsquos middleorder faltered once againHeather Knight 20 was trapped by an lbw from Sophie Molineux while Alana took out Nat SciverBrunt 7 With Emma and Sophia falling after struggling hugely England slipped dramatically from 901 to 1666 But Alice and Charlie injected late momentum with a 61run partnership off 52 balls thus lifting England from a precarious positionBoth fell in the 49th over but Sophie Ecclestonersquos boundary off the final ball ensured England finished with a competitive total Englandrsquos innings was marked by early aggression a middleorder stall and a late recovery ndash but it wasnrsquot enough to save themselves from a clinical Australian victoryBrief scoresEngland 2449 in 50 overs Tammy Beaumont 78 Alice Capsey 38 Annabel Sutherland 360 Ashleigh Gardner 239 lost to Australia 2484 in 403 overs Ashleigh Gardner 104 not out Annabel Sutherland 98 not out Linsey Smith 243 Lauren Bell 148 by six wicketsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever