Ash Gardner of Australia celebrates the wicket of Danni Wyatt of England to win the test match during day five of the LV= Insurance Women's Ashes Test match between England and Australia

Gardner's ground-breaking blitz seals Australia victory as records tumble in Women’s Ashes Test

Ash Gardner of Australia celebrates the wicket of Danni Wyatt of England to win the test match during day five of the LV= Insurance Women's Ashes Test match between England and Australia

Australia spinner Ashleigh Gardner took eight wickets in England’s second innings to seal victory for her side, while also claiming both the second-best innings and match figures ever in a Women’s Test.

England started the fifth day of the one-off Test of the multi-format series needing 152 runs to win with five wickets in hand, but were no match for a ruthless Gardner.

The 26-year-old took the five remaining scalps before lunch to wrap up an 89-run triumph for Australia, while finishing with 8/66 in the innings to go with 4/99 earlier in the match.

Gardner became the second woman to take eight wickets in a Test innings, after Neetu David’s 8/53 for India against England Women in 1995.

Enid Bakewell recalls her starring role with a triumphant England at the Women's Cricket World Cup 1973 and hails the growth in the game since those times.

The off-spinner's 12/165 in the match is also the second-best in Test history of the women’s game, trailing only Shaiza Khan’s 13/226 for Pakistan against West Indies Women in 2004.

Gardner’s stunning performance was just one of the many standout stats to come from the outstanding encounter.

England and Australia combined to pile on 1371 runs in Nottingham, getting them at a decent lick too with 3.67 runs per over across the game.

That total smashes the previous record of 1143, also set by these two nations, in Guildford back in 1998.

England opener Tammy Beaumont created history with her incredible 208 in the first innings.

The right-hander’s double century is the first ever by an English woman and the fifth-highest score in the history of the women’s Test game.

Kiran Baluch of Pakistan retains the highest individual score thanks to her 242 against West Indies back in 2004.

Beaumont made 22 in the England second innings to amass the second-highest total across a match, again behind Kiran Baluch on 242.

But the England opener has also become the first woman to score more than 150 in an innings and end up on the losing side.

Beaumont has form for big scores, and is just the second England woman - and fourth England player overall - to score a ton in all three formats.

The 32-year-old is now also the only woman to notch a score of 200+ in a Test match, 150+ in an ODI and 100+ in a T20I.

The brilliant Sophie Ecclestone was a star for England throughout the Test, taking a 10-wicket haul in the match to become just the tenth woman to do so.

Unfortunately for Ecclestone, she is now the first woman to take 10 wickets in a Test and still end up on the losing side.

This was also the first Women’s Test where two bowlers claimed 10-wicket hauls across the match.

Coming in at number eight for Australia, Annabel Sutherland showed that she is much more than just a lower order player.

Her 137* was the best score by a number eight in Women’s Test, and the 148 balls it took her to reach the milestone saw her break another record in the process.

That speed of scoring gave Sutherland the record for the fastest century by an Australian woman in Tests, breaking a record that had stood since Jill Kennare in 1984.

Australia’s triumph opens up a handy four-point lead in the multi-format Ashes series, while also taking them ahead of their rivals for most Test wins by a women’s team.

England remain on a total of 20 Test victories, while Australia now have 21 with six white-ball battles to come in the Women’s Ashes.

Australia WomenEngland WomenWomen's News