Australia beat England to retain women's Ashes

Australia's cricketers have retained the women's Ashes, after thrashing England by 57 runs in the first T20 match of the series in Sydney.

The result gives the hosts an 8-nil lead in the competition.

This means that even if England win all of the remaining matches, they will only be able to draw the series.

The last time England lifted the women's Ashes trophy was more than ten years ago, during the 2013-2014 series.

What happened?

Australia were first to bat, and set England a total of 199 to win.

However, despite their best efforts, including Sophia Dunkley who was the top batter with 59, England never got close and were all out for 141.

After the match, England captain Heather Knight said that the game had been "frustrating."

Speaking to TNT Sports, Sophia Dunkley added: "I think we're just really disappointed - we wanted to bring a lot of energy and we fell quite short.

"I wanted to go out there and give it my best shot and put the pressure on Australia. We can still draw the Ashes, it's not completely gone, so we'll focus on that."

There are still two T20s and a one-off Test match left to play, but even if England win all those, they will finish the series level on eight points with the Aussies.

What are the women's Ashes?

The Ashes series is one of the biggest cricket competitions in the world and one of the longest-running rivalries in sport between England and Australia.

The first women's Ashes began in 1934, 52 years after the first men's tournament.

The contest was not officially referred to as "the Women's Ashes" until 1998, when a miniature bat was burned before the first Test at Lord's, and the ashes were placed inside a cricket ball to make a trophy.

In 2013, a new Women's Ashes trophy was produced, with the original trophy mounted in the centre of a larger frame.