Tammy Beaumont breaks England scoring record during incredible Ashes display
ammy Beaumont broke the record for the highest-ever international score by an England women’s cricketer, as she passed Betty Snowball’s record of 189 that had stood since 1935.
Beaumont, who reached tea on day three of the Women’s Ashes Test on 195 not out, has batted throughout England’s 111-over innings and guided them ever closer to Australia’s first-innings total of 473, with the home team now just 45 runs behind.
Beaumont looks set to become just the eighth women’s cricketer in history to score a double hundred in Test cricket, having batted in complete control throughout her marathon, 309-ball innings.
Fresh off an unbeaten double hundred in the warm-up match against Australia ‘A’ last week, Beaumont continued her fine form and has now scored 395 runs against Australian attacks since she was last dismissed.
Speaking after play on Friday, Beaumont described her Ashes hundred as something she’d “dreamed of… pretty much since 2005.” If she scores five more runs, she will become the first England women’s cricketer to score an Ashes double ton and the first ever to score a Test double century full stop.
Beaumont’s achievements headlined what was an otherwise even session where England edged closer to Australia’s first-innings total but lost three wickets in the process.
It was a bizarre session from Australia, who chose not to take the second new ball for 19 overs as Beaumont, along with Danni Wyatt, ticked along at a comfortable four runs an over before Wyatt was dismissed for 44 moments after the new ball was eventually taken.
Australia’s three wickets, however, mean they will have ultimately left the pitch satisfied. The first came through Ashleigh Gardner, clean bowling Sophia Dunkley who had struggled for nine runs off 51 balls, before Wyatt fell to Darcie Brown and Amy Jones got a leading edge off the bowling of Ellyse Perry having looked in good touch for her 13.
With England’s tail exposed and a relatively new ball still in hand, Australia will be hoping that they will be able to wrap up the final four wickets in good time and take a slender first-innings lead into the second half of the match.
Australia’s afternoon fightback was necessary after a morning session where England, and in particular Nat Sciver-Brunt, had dominated.
Sciver-Brunt flailed boundaries, while Beaumont turned the strike over with ease, making the most of the boundary riders Australia had been forced to adopt due to the aggression of Sciver-Brunt.
The only surprise was when it came to an end, when Sciver-Brunt, having been so dominant against spin, edged Gardner behind to depart for an excellent 78. The pair had added 137 together at almost five runs an over and brought England into the contest for the first time.
It could’ve been different, however. Facing her first ball of the morning, Sciver-Brunt was given out LBW only to overturn it on review. Minutes later and she slashed at a wide one that flew between first and second slip. It was 10 minutes of chaos in an innings of otherwise perfect control.
