AUSTRALIA has retained the Women’s Ashes after winning the second One Dayer by three runs in a nail biting finish overnight.

After the Australians made 7/282 from their 50 overs, the match ultimately went down to the final ball, with England falling agonisingly short.

The Australians got off to a wobbly start in their batting innings, finding themselves at 2/27 after just over five overs.

However this bad start brought Ellyse Perry and Beth Mooney together at the crease, who put on a 61-run partnership to turn things around a bit for the Australians. Perry went on to be the top scorer for the entire Australian innings, finishing on 91.

Despite this, they needed to pick up the run rate a bit as the innings continued towards its conclusion.

Enter Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham, who answered the call.

Sutherland made 50 before Wareham went whack in the final over – 6,6,4,6,4 – to score 26 off her 37 runs off that final over.

Meanwhile for the English it was Lauren Bell and Sophie Ecclestone who starred with the ball, finishing with three wickets each. Sarah Glenn picked up the other wicket.

The English made a much more productive start to their innings, going at about 10 runs an over before they lost their first wicket.

After a bit of a mid innings wobble, the back end of the English innings saw some big partnerships, with Natalie Sciver-Brunt at the core of it all. Herr 111 not out really held things together for the English for much of the innings, while before her Tammy Beaumont’s 60 really got the English off to a good start.

Ultimately, like a lot of games this series, it came down to the final over.

Needing 15 runs from the final over, ultimately the English only managed one boundary in the final over as Jess Jonassen kept a level head and bowled strongly at the death to deny the English the win.

Earlier, both Ash Gardner and Alana King has picked up three wickets each for the Aussies.

Although now a dead rubber, the final match of the series is tomorrow in Taunton.