All-round Perry returns to form as Australia seal Ashes win

Ellyse Perry returned the best figures in the match and top-scored in Australia's five-wicket win © Getty
For someone as dominant in the game as Ellyse Perry has been, a seven-game drought without an ODI wicket is more than a mild surprise. Weird as it may sound, her last scalp in the format was Sri Lanka's Yasoda Mendis in October 2019. Cobwebs, if there were any, were dusted off in style at Junction Oval in Melbourne on Sunday (February 6) as Perry led Australia's dominant bowling performance with figures of 3 for 12. England, who were still harbouring hopes of levelling the Ashes series on points, ala 2017, were bowled out for a miserly 129 - a target Australia chased down inside 36 overs, with Perry top-scoring with 40.

Meg Lanning's decision to bowl first was vindicated spectacularly when Perry had Tammy Beaumont caught expertly by Alyssa Healy early on. It was a precursor to an excellent fielding display from the hosts, with captain Lanning herself plucking a stunner at slip later on to dismiss Danny Wyatt.

Despite the early loss of their opener, England progressed steadily to reach 40 at the end of the PowerPlay before Laura Winfield-Hill was out LBW to Alana King. The legspinner combined brilliantly with Jess Jonassen and the pair combined to choke England through the middle overs, conceding a total of 48 runs from 19 combined overs for three wickets between them. Nat Sciver and Heather Knight fell to the left-arm spinner in this period, sinking England further into the mire.

Perry was brought back into the attack in the 24th over and immediately added the wickets of Sophia Dunkley and Charlotte Dean while Tahlia McGrath took three of her own in just 3.2 overs. That England even got to 129 was down to contributions from Amy Jones (28) and Sophie Ecclestone, the latter remaining unbeaten on 32.

Australia didn't canter to victory in the chase and had a top-order wobble of their own to contend with. Rachael Haynes and Lanning fell within six balls of each other, the latter for a duck, to leave at Australia 18 for 2. That soon became 49 for 3 when Healy fell to Sciver. Perry (40) stitched a small stand with McGrath to ease the nerves. The veteran all-rounder was run-out for 40 but not before taking her team to within 30 runs of England's score. Ashleigh Gardner saw the team over the line and to an unassailable 10-4 series lead.

Brief scores: England 129 in 45.3 overs (Sophie Ecclestone32*; Tahlia McGrath 3-4, Ellyse Perry 3-12) lost to Australia 131/5 in 35.2 overs (Ellyse Perry 40, Ashleigh Gardner 35*; Kate Cross 2-46) by five wickets.