'Awful place to be for England' - Tourists left reeling after Women's Ashes loss despite Sophia Dunkley half-century

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The dissection of England's Women's Ashes woes began as soon as they conceded defeat in the series at the first time of asking. Australia won the first T20 by 57 runs and retained the trophy in the process, with TNT Sports pundits Ebony Rainford-Brent and Tash Farrant pinpointing the issues for Heather Knight's tourists. One silver lining was Sophia Dunkley's excellent performance.

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England need to take "collective responsibility" for their performances after losing the Women's Ashes at the first opportunity, TNT Sports pundit Ebony Rainford-Brent said.

After three consecutive defeats in the ODI format and a strong performance by Australia at the start of the first T20, England needed 199 to still have a chance at regaining the trophy.

But the tourists collapsed, with fielding mistakes and a succession of cheap wickets leaving England all out for 141.

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A draw with runaway series leaders Australia is now the best they can hope for, but with the hosts 8-0 up and a whitewash looking increasingly likely, England have serious ground to make up.

"I think mindset wise, when you listen to the Australians they are ruthless, they are critical," Rainford-Brent said afterwards. "[For England] everyone's been a bit tentative.

"For England, it is a collective responsibility. Every good team has a leader and, for England, it doesn't feel like anyone is consistently leading on the field."

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Australia retained the Ashes with victory in the first of three T20s in the multi-format series, with eight points still up for grabs. A draw is still possible, although even with the score level, trophy holders Australia would keep their silverware.

"This is an awful place to be for England as a player," Rainford-Brent continued on TNT Sports. "You are staring down the next few games and you're thinking to yourself, we've been completely wiped out - you have to find it from somewhere.

"There have been glimmers for England but they haven't been able to find consistency. On the flip side, Australia have been on it.

"Every single one of those games they have won by a big margin. That isn't a good sign."

Fellow pundit Tash Farrant agreed, adding: "They [Australia] are going for the whitewash. For England, all you're doing now is playing for pride. There's still eight points up for grabs so they can try and draw the series level but it's obviously a really awful time for England."

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Dunkley sparkles for England after difficult spell

Sophia Dunkley was a rare bright spark for England, hitting 59 from 30 balls and leading a brief fightback for the tourists before her dismissal just after the drinks break.

Captain Heather Knight credited Dunkley's batting for keeping England within touching distance, with the number three making her first appearance of the tour.

Knight said: "Soph was outstanding – she played with so much freedom and [was] smart with her options. She hits the ball so cleanly and it’s beautiful to watch."

"I just wanted to give it my best shot and try to put pressure on Australia as that was our best chance of winning," Dunkley added afterwards. "But there’s definitely a lot to reflect on. We can still draw the Ashes, it’s not completely gone I suppose, so that’s what we’re going to focus on.

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"I’ve made a lot of changes in the last 18 months, both mentally and with my grip. It was nice to see the hard work pay off a little bit tonight. I’ve always had the power in my game so I’ve been working on my timing; sometimes I can try to overhit it. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough today but it was good to get back out there.

"If we come away 8-8 it's not too bad. Obviously we came here wanting to win the Ashes but there's still plenty on the line."

Watch and stream every ball of the 2025 Women's Ashes series between Australia v England in the UK on TNT Sports and discovery+

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