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Healy and in-form Gardner give Australia opening points of Ashes battle
Ash Gardner shone with bat, ball and in the field as Australia chased down a modest target to seize the first points of their Ashes battle with England.
Alyssa Healey,Australia’s captain, sealed her full comeback from injury with an important 70 runs off 78 balls after Australia had bundled their opponents out for 204 inside 44 overs at North Sydney Oval.
Gardner, whose three wickets were pivotal in the downfall of an England batting line-up which was also culpable amid a rash of soft dismissals, saw Australia home by four wickets with her unbeaten 42, having also taken two catches.
Healy had been battling a knee injury since mid-November which ruled her out of her home series against India and forced her to play as a batter only in New Zealand last month while her return to wicketkeeping duties could only be confirmed on the eve of this match.
On Sunday, she picked the gaps to perfection as she racked up 11 fours while taking her team within 41 runs of victory.
Lauren Bell should have had Garder out for 31 in what would have been an interesting twist with Australia still needing 22 runs but Sophie Ecclestone failed to control her catch as she tumbled at mid-off.
Gardner and fellow spinner Alana King then combined to good effect, as they had done with the ball, to see their side over the line before 6236 fans, a record attendance for a women’s international at North Sydney Oval.
Lauren Filler overcame her slippery introduction to this ground Thursday’s washed-out warm-up against the Governor General’s XI where she repeatedly lost her footing in delivery to claim two wickets.
She set off England’s defence with promise when she removed Phoebe Litchfield with her fifth delivery – the 11th of the innings – an excellent wobble-seam ball that nipped across the left-hander, brushing the outside edge as Amy Jones gathered behind the stumps.
Healy overturned an lbw decision off Bell on height and England torched a review for caught behind off Ellyse Perry with replays showing the Filer’s delivery struck the thigh pad with no bat or glove anywhere near. Filer would have had her second had Alice Capsey not dropped a sitter at fine leg off Perry.
The Australian duo amped things up in a 19-run over from Filer, Perry’s flick evading Capsey to find the rope at fine leg followed by three fours to Healy, an inside edge just missing leg stump before two more convincing shots through point and cover. But England successfully reviewed to remove Perry, plumb lbw to Bell, and Australia were 43 for 2.
Ecclestone entered the attack in the 15th over and she broke a 61-run stand between Healy and Beth Mooney in her next. Having launched Ecclestone for six over deep midwicket, Mooney tried the same next ball but didn’t connect so well as the spinner dragged her length back and found the safe hands of Danni Wyatt Hodge at stationed just inside the boundary.
Wyatt-Hodge executed another calm catch in the deep from Annabel Sutherland’s top-edged pull off Filer but that brought Garder to the crease and she asserted herself with a big six down the ground off Ecclestone.
Gardner and Healy put on 40 runs for the fifth wicket before Healy advanced on a fuller ball from offspinner Charlie Dean and was bowled.
Maia Bouchier took an excellent diving catch at point to remove Tahlia McGrath before Gardner made the most of her reprieve and King hit the wining runs with a four down the ground.
Earlier, Gardner and King shared five wickets between them in the face of a below-par batting performance by England, backed up by two wickets apiece for Sutherland and Kim Garth.
Heather Knight top-scored for England with 39, followed by Wyatt-Hodge with a laboured 38 from 52 balls after their side had made a nervy start.
Bouchier chopped the third ball of the match onto her stumps only to be saved when it was discovered that Megan Schutt had overstepped by the barest of margins while Tammy Beaumont wafted dangerously at one outside off stump in the third over.
Bouchier broke a run of 16 dot balls between the opening pair when she lofted Garth over midwicket for four but Garth responded by pushing one through from back of a length to draw an outside edge which Healy collected behind the stumps.
Knight scored her fourth boundary in 20 balls faced driving Sutherland’s yorker outside off deftly through point and Beaumont broke the shackles of a slow start when she had eight off 22 balls, her lofted drive off Garth finding the boundary. The England pair brought up a 50-run partnership for the second wicket but, two balls later Beaumont chipped Sutherland straight to Garth at mid-on to fall for 13 from 31 balls.
That brought Nat Sciver-Brunt to the crease and she slog-swept King for six off the seventh ball she faced. But Gardner claimed the crucial wickets of Knight and Sciver-Brunt in consecutive overs – both holing out to Perry at deep midwicket.
Perry couldn’t hold on when she had to come rocketing in from the deep square leg boundary and dive forward just to get hands to Amy Jones’s pull with just one run to her name.
Jones launched Sutherland for six over deep midwicket and looked in good touch with back-to-back fours off Garth, who conceded 18 runs all up in the 28th over. But no sooner had Jones raised the fifty stand with Wyatt-Hodge by driving King through mid on and she spooned the very next delivery back to the bowler to fall for a 30-ball 31.
Capsey never got going and while Australia had no recourse when King struck Dean, on nought, convincingly on the pad with the DRS down, the system was back up and running and couldn’t save Dean when King hit her directly in front for 1.
When Wyatt-Hodge picked out Brown at long leg off Sutherland, it fell to the tailenders to salvage a defendable total. Ecclestone made the most of being put down by Healy when she was yet to score, with two boundaries in her 17-ball 16 and Filer opened her tally with consecutive boundaries off Sutherland.
But Ecclestone followed England’s blueprint for easy wickets when she sent a leading edge off Darcie Brown straight to Gardner, who then claimed her 100th ODI wicket when she bowled Bell to end England’s innings.
Brief scores:
Australia Women 206 for 6 in 38.5 overs (Alyssa Healy 70, Ashley Gardner 42*; Lauren Filler 2-58, Siophie Ecclestone 2-38) beat England Women 204 in 43.1 overs (Heather Knight 39, Danni Wyatt-Hodge 38, Amy Jones 31; Ash Gardner 3-19, Kim Garth 2-46, Annabel Sutherland 2-42, Alana King 2-45) by four wickets
[Cricinfo]
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This year’s budget was formulated to augment state revenues within limited fiscal space – SASA
The Sri Lanka Administrative Service Association (SASA) has expressed its appreciation for the 2025 budget, highlighting its development-focused approach and its alignment with efforts to strengthen state revenue within the constraints of a limited fiscal space.
In a letter addressed to President Anura Kumara Disanayake, signed by SASA Secretary Kalindra Jayaweera Fernando, the association conveyed its congratulations on the presentation of the budget. The letter emphasized that the budget has been designed to enhance government revenue streams while maintaining a development-oriented outlook.
Furthermore, SASA affirmed its commitment to providing the government with maximum support in achieving a stable public financial system. The letter also acknowledged the significant efforts made through the budget to ensure fairness for government employees, particularly by substantially increasing the basic salaries of those with low wage levels. This measure was recognized as a commendable step towards addressing salary disparities within the public sector.
The letter emphasizes key fiscal measures, particularly the government’s commitment to curbing tax evasion by implementing digital financial transaction systems. It also highlights efforts to enhance investor confidence and ensure transparency through the introduction of internationally recognized legal frameworks aimed at preventing fraud and corruption.
Additionally, the government’s dedication to improving the efficiency of tax collection institutions is reaffirmed by setting high performance targets. The letter further notes that the budget accurately reflects public concerns regarding tax related entities.
Moreover, the SASA reiterates its commitment to supporting the President and the government in effectively and efficiently implementing policy decisions that contribute to the development of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
Chamari Athapaththu is set to miss the final phase of the WPL for UP Warriorz (UPW) to join Sri Lanka on a white-ball tour of New Zealand starting March 4 in Napier. Athapaththu’s departure will be the second big blow for UPW who are already without their full-time captain Alyssa Healy because of injury.
ESPNcricinfo has learnt that as of now, Athapaththu is going to be available for UPW until February 26, which is four more games for them, before she tends to national duties. After their game on February 26, against Mumbai Indians in Bengaluru, UPW will fly to Lucknow for the final league phase of the tournament where they will play three home matches. They left Athapaththu out of the XI in the clash they lost to Gujarat Giants.
Athapaththu was named captain of Sri Lanka’s 16 member side released by SLC on Monday and the squad is scheduled to leave for New Zealand on February 22 for three ODIs and as many T20Is.
Allrounder Amelia Kerr is the only New Zealand player in the WPL this season and she, unlike Athapaththu, is going to miss the bilateral series next month to play the entire WPL, including the knockouts if MI qualify for those again. If MI make it to the final, scheduled for March 15, Kerr will also miss the first two T20is slotted for March 14 and 16 in Christchurch. Last year too, Kerr had skipped the home bilateral T20Is against England to be available for the entire duration of the WPL.
In 2024, the calendar clash between the final leg of WPL and the T20I series in New Zealand had become a much bigger issue when England captain Heather Knight (RCB) and Lauren Bell (UPW) had opted out of WPL completely to represent their national team. Coincidentally, Athapaththu had replaced Bell for UPW then.
However, since then boards like the ECB have assured their players they won’t schedule international games during the WPL, which is set to move from the current February-March window to January-February 2026 onwards, according to the new women’s Future Tours Programme (FTP). To avoid such clashes between international series and other T20 leagues, the Hundred (August) and the WBBL (November) have also been given separate windows in the FTP that runs till 2029.
[Cricinfo]
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Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts in the evening or night
WEATHER FORECAST FOR 20 FEBRUARY 2025
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 20 February 2025 by the Department of Meteorology
Misty conditions can be expected at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, Uva, North-western, Northern and North-central provinces during the morning.
Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts in the evening or night. Mainly dry weather will prevail elsewhere over the island.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
WEATHER FORECAST FOR SEA AREAS AROUND THE ISLAND DURING NEXT 24 HOURS
[Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 20 February 2025]
Mainly fair weather will prevail over the sea areas around the island.
Winds will be north-easterly and speed will be (20-30) kmph. Wind speed can increase up to 40 kmph at times in the sea areas off the coast extending from Colombo to Mannar via Puttalam.
The sea areas off the coasts extending from Colombo to Mannar via Puttalam can be fairly rough at times. Other sea areas around the island will be slight.
This year’s budget was formulated to augment state revenues within limited fiscal space – SASA
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