Australia’s women on the ropes in Ashes

Star cricket allrounder Ellyse Perry hasn’t given up hope of leading Australia to Ashes glory despite the Southern Stars’ 61-run Test defeat to England at the WACA on Monday.

Chasing 185 for victory, Australia crashed to 5-55 before being bowled out for 123 shortly before lunch on the fourth and final day.

The Test win gave England six points in the multi-format series, which also features three one-dayers and three Twenty20s.

With each one-dayer and T20 match worth only two points, Australia need to win five of the remaining six fixtures to regain the urn.

That will be a tough task against an England side now brimming with confidence following their early success on enemy territory.

But Perry, who was named player of the Test after taking eight wickets and scoring 102 runs, said Australia remained confident of pulling off an Ashes upset.

“Winning the Test match is a great head start for England because it’s worth so many points,” Perry said.

“But I think we’ve got a really good opportunity playing in these next six matches.

“Typically it’s the kind of cricket we play the most.

“That’s probably where we’re most comfortable.

“There’s every opportunity there for us to play well and win the majority of those matches, and hopefully get enough points to reclaim the Ashes.

“It’s going to be a great challenge.”

England captain Charlotte Edwards said her side wouldn’t get carried away by their Test triumph.

“To win a test match in Australia is a great achievement for us. We’ll enjoy this,” Edwards said.

“But we don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves.

“Last summer, we won five games on the bounce, and it’s quite easily done once you get the momentum in your favour.

“This is a great Australian team. We want to keep the momentum firmly in our favour moving forward.”

Edwards said it was crucial for her team to do more homework on Perry, who looms as a major headache for England over the next six matches.

“We’ve got a lot of footage on her now,” Edwards said.

“She’s a world-class player.

“We are going to have to put a few plans in place to restrict her.”

Australia will travel to Melbourne on Tuesday ahead of their one-day clash with England at the MCG on January 19.

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!