England v Australia: Women's Ashes, second T20 – live!

The players are back on the field! Elwiss is taking the new ball at Healy, who is opening with Mooney. PLAY!

20th over: England 121-8 (Ecclestone 17, Marsh 1) Ecclestone does the job at the death, making room to lift Schutt over long-off, just clearing Haynes’ fingertips. That six It gets England beyond a run a ball, which isn’t a bad effort considering how poorly they batted.

Ecclestone takes Schutt through the gap at midwicket for four to begin the over but there is a bad mix-up from the second delivery, Elwiss coming back for a second run out to backward square but the spinner wasn’t coming. Gardner’s throw and Healy’s backhanded effort with the gloves were enough to get Australia an eighth wicket.

19th over: England 108-7 (Elwiss 5, Ecclestone 6) Five singles to the sweepers but they can find the gaps against Jonassen. She finishes with 2/19 with nine dots along the way. She’s been excellent.

“Insofar as placement of fielders is concerned,” emails Sarah Bacon, “while England has managed to loft a few past the fingertips of the Aussie fielders, I think that Australia is proving better equiped in this area. Thoughts?”

Yep, Australia have outcaught England comprehensively in this series. The hosts looked overwhelmed in the field on Friday.

18th over: England 103-7 (Elwiss 3, Ecclestone 3) England have raised their 100 with an Elwiss single to cover but there isn’t much to get excited about in another successful over. Brunt was actually given out caught before she was stumped, ala Brian Lara v Zoe Goss.

Brunt dances at Kimmince but she sees her coming, sending it out wide and beating the bat, Healy doing the rest after missing the bails to begin. But it doesn’t matter – the ‘keeper has loads of time.

17th over: England 98-6 (Brunt 6, Elwiss 1) The third ump takes their time to give Elwiss not out, her dive to Healy’s end over the line. She is then off the mark first ball in her first T20 since 2016.

Straight down backward square’s throat! Winfield had to go and hit it well but has picked out the boundary rider.

16th over: England 94-5 (Winfield 12, Brunt 3) Whoa, a SIX! The first of the innings. A fine one too, Winfield taking Wareham straight back over her head. The first boundary in six overs. By contrast, Australia struck 40 (nine sixes, 31 fours) on Friday night. A lot of work to do.

15th over: England 84-5 (Winfield 4, Brunt 1) Big appeal for lbw, Healy insisting that Kimmince had Winfield, but turned down. Must have been very close but without DRS, we’ll never know. Sigh. A wide and three singles isn’t going to be enough to get this tally up to anything credible so they’re going to have to bowl the house down.

14th over: England 80-5 (Winfield 2, Brunt 0) Brunt considered paddling the first ball of her afternoon but pulled out of it. She isn’t able to beat the field to get off the mark. One wicket and one run from the Wareham over, her figures now 2/12 from three. Tip top.

A gentle return catch, taken with ease by the leggie. The England captain danced at her but didn’t quite get to the pitch, checking a drive but only only managing to give catching practice.

13th over: England 79-4 (Knight 17, Winfield 1) Winfield is off the mark first ball to midwicket. She was good the other night after coming in for Sarah Taylor. Usually an opener, of course.

Nothing left to chance by Jonassen, bowling Beaumont. She misses a reverse sweep, nutmegged. The delivery was fuller and quicker; the spinner might have saw her coming. Fine bowling.

12th over: England 74-3 (Beaumont 42, Knight 14) Mooney drops another off Beaumont! It’s a tougher than the previous over, above her head on the circle at mid on, but she got both hands to it. Earlier in the set, Knight nearly did exactly the same thing, only just clearing the Queenslander in that position. Of course, she’s a wicketkeeper at domestic level but plays in the Australian team as a specialist bat. Eight from it, giving England something of a platform.

11th over: England 66-3 (Beaumont 37, Knight 11) DROPPED! Mooney took a fantastic snaffle earlier but has put down an easy one here, Beaumont the recipient of the life after chipping Kimmince to long-on at a very catchable height. The all-rounder had a good shout against Beaumont for leg before in her first over, too. But she survives. It’s still a good over for Lanning’s side, only four added.

10th over: England 62-3 (Beaumont 35, Knight 9) Beaumont is well enough set that she is happy to take on Molineux and does it really well twice in a row, dancing to punch the spinner over her head then flicking her just as effectively over midwicket for four more.

9th over: England 51-3 (Beaumont 25, Knight 8) Ooooh! Knight was run out on Friday and so nearly again here. Haynes has a great arm but the throw from short third isn’t on target at the non-strikers’ end. After the dicey moment to begin it is a prodcutive over, finished off with a well-timed cut by the captain for four. They need her here.

8th over: England 43-3 (Beaumont 23, Knight 2) After watching a couple to begin, Knight gets off the mark with a sweep to midwicket, two further singles exchanged on the posh side to finish the successful Wareham over. She’s a very good cricketer.

Sciver bowled around her front pad! The legspinner Wareham gets a wicket first ball. The England all-rounder went across her stumps in an effort to paddle past fine leg but got cramped and missed the ball.

7th over: England 40-2 (Beaumont 22, Sciver 8) Schutt is so hard to get away with her natural movement and changes of pace. In turn, both Sciver and Beaumont are happy to focus on turning the strike over, collecting five risk-free singles. Better batting now.

6th over: England 35-2 (Beaumont 20, Sciver 5) Good batting from Beaumont, middling Jonnasen over mid-on for a once-bounce four to end the power play on a positive note. Four singles along with that four makes eight from the over, England’s most convincing so far.

“Afternoon Adam.” Hello David Langlois. “Do you think Elysse Perry gets quite the credit she deserves?. Where is there a more versatile or effective sportsperson on the planet? They day she wins SPOTY overseas sports personality of the year I’ll begin believing her incredible achievements are recognised in England (it’s not going to happen, but it should).”

In Australia, she is absolutely a household name. But that hasn’t been by accident. The investment made in putting women’s cricket on free TV over the last four summers is really paying off.

5th over: England 27-2 (Beaumont 14, Sciver 3) The squeeze is already on. Molineux is straight where she needs to be, just four runs taken out to the sweeper at cover but without threatening the rope.

Jonassen is into the book with the final ball of an excellent first over, getting rid of Wyatt. The punchy opener danced at her in an effort to plonk it over long-on but didn’t get much of it, wonderfully taken by Mooney running back with the flight of the ball. Perfect technique.

4th over: England 23-2 (Beaumont 13)

3rd over: England 22-1 (Wyatt 9, Beaumont 12) Buzzers! Did we call overthrows that before David Lloyd? Not to worry; England has four of them with Wareham taking a ping at Beaumont’s end from cover but it spills away to the rope. Australia won’t mind that – the young spinner did execute a fine run out in the World T20 final last year, Mel Jones reminds me on TV. Earlier in the Perry set, Beaumont played the shot of the day so far, crunching past point. This was the ground where the pocket rocket made the first of her three international centuries last summer, earning a Wisden gong.

1st over: England 6-1 (Wyatt 4, Beaumont 1) After a legside wide to begin before the wicket, Beaumont gets the board moving via the bat with one to long leg. Wyatt too with an edge that would have gone straight to first slip if Perry had one! Perfect outswinging delivery; deserved a second scalp not four runs. “Where’s the slip?” asks Mel Jones on television. With all that movement, it’s a good question.

The hold Perry has on Jones! She has her again. It is a dreadful shot too, gifting a limp catch to cover point. The fourth time she has picked her up in the series. No footwork. Horrible cricket.

The players are on the field. This series has been such a massive mismatch since the opening exchanges, England winning about five of the 50 hours played thereafter. Let’s hope that by batting first here at Hove today, the hosts get a big competitive total and we have ourselves an interesting afternoon. Wyatt and Jones are opening for England, Perry taking the first over with the ball. PLAY!

The restructure. There has been a lot of debate since England lost the Ashes about what women’s cricket is going to look like in this country as of next summer, when the new domestic plan kicks in.

The ECB’s women’s cricket supremo, Clare Connor, has been on TMS and Sky TV before play talking about this very topic. I’ll get those comments to you as soon as they appear on the wires, et al.

Confirmation from the England camp that Shrubsole was left out, not injured. That’s a big call but she hasn’t been at her best.

Have a read of Megan Schutt’s column. She’s a gem.

It makes complete sense to me that we become a republic. In doing so, I hope Australia can move forward in a whole range of areas, especially the way we officially appreciate our Indigenous history. It’s just ridiculous to me that we have a union jack on our flag but no reference to our Aboriginal people, and the date of Australia Day has to change.

Australia: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning (c), Ashleigh Gardner, Ellyse Perry, Rachael Haynes, Sophie Molineux, Jess Jonassen, Georgia Wareham, Delissa Kimmince, Megan Schutt.

England: Danni Wyatt, Amy Jones (wk), Tammy Beaumont, Nat Sciver, Heather Knight (c), Georgia Elwiss, Lauren Winfield, Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Laura Marsh, Kate Cross.

That will be a relief for Heather Knight, the home skipper.

The big news from the middle is that England’s vice-captain, Anya Shrubsole, has been left out of the playing XI. Of course, she had 50 taken from her three overs during Lanning’s masterclass on Friday.

Australia, as we expected, are unchanged.