Sophie Ecclestone has set the standard, but Ashleigh Gardner isn’t too far behind: Beth Mooney

At Trent Bridge, the one-off Test of the women’s Ashes has been a wild ride, and Day 5 should be a classic fight. After Alyssa Healy‘s team scored 473 runs in the first inning, the hosts were able to hold Australia to 257 runs because of Sophie Ecclestone great five-for-four on Day 4.

England wasn’t too far behind, as the team responded with 463 runs in the first inning. However, things are looking a little shaky in the second inning, as the team led by Heather Knight has lost five wickets with only 116 runs on the board and still needs 152 runs to pull off a great win.

Sophie Ecclestone is getting a lot of praise for her great five-for in both innings of the one-off Test.

The youngster has dominated white-ball cricket for the last couple of years and is now making a big effect in red-ball cricket as well. On the other hand, Australia’s all-rounder, Ashleigh Gardner, has also done well. She bowled very well at the end of Day 4 to help her team win.

The 26-year-old changed the way the game went when she took out Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight, and Nat Sciver-Brunt, who were all very important players. So, when Australia’s best hitter, Beth Mooney, praised her after the game, she said that Ecclestone had definitely impressed everyone, but Gardner wasn’t too far behind either.

“To Ash Gardner’s credit, her off-spin bowling has gotten so much better in the last few years that it’s hard to believe. We know that she can settle into one end and bowl the ball right where we want it to go in this style. So it’s a big prize for all the hard work she’s done on and off the pitch. “I couldn’t be happier for Ash, I think she’s done a great job for us,” Mooney was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

“Sophie Ecclestone has been the best at white-ball cricket for a long time, and now she’s showing how good she is at test cricket. I don’t think Ash is too far behind her, though. Mooney said at the end of the day’s play, “She’s been great for us over the last few years.”