Women's Ashes Test: England crumble as Australia seize control

Megan Schutt was playing in her second Test match, having only taken one wicket in her first

Australia seized control on the second day of the Women's Ashes Test as England crumbled to 168 all out in their first innings at Canterbury.

Megan Schutt took 4-26 and Ellyse Perry 3-38 as no England batter passed 40.

Earlier, debutant Jess Jonassen was dismissed on 99 as Australia reached 274-9 declared in their first innings.

A win in the four-day Test will put Australia, who lead by four points to two after the three-match ODI series, on the brink of regaining the Ashes.

England grind to a halt

Having lost four early wickets, England needed to rebuild but fear seemed to overtake the hosts as their innings almost ground to a complete halt.

The fifth-wicket partnership between Natalie Sciver and Lydia Greenway lasted 21 overs, in which time they scored just 32 runs, with half of those coming from boundaries.

It came in stark contrast to the sixth-wicket partnership on day one between Jonassen and Alyssa Healy - with Australia in similar trouble on 99-5 - that brought an impetus to their innings.

When Sciver fell lbw for 35 to the exciting Schutt it saw a collapse of three wickets for four runs in just 22 balls for England - with the fast bowler producing a spell of 4-4-0-2.

In all England played an astonishing 436 dot balls of the 513 deliveries the team faced, with Anya Shrubsole recording a 47-ball duck.

The one player to go against the grain was tail-ender Katherine Brunt, who made a belligerent 39 off 73 balls.

Jonassen falls agonisingly short

Jess Jonassen was disconsolate after becoming the first woman to be dismissed for 99 on Test debut

Having reached 95 not out overnight, all-rounder Jonassen was aiming to become the eighth Australian and 13th overall batter to reach a century on debut.

But after taking four singles the Queenslander fell lbw to Katherine Brunt, whose figures of 2-60 did not do justice to a number of superb bowling spells on Tuesday.

An overnight left calf strain for Kristen Beams hampered her abilities to run twos on a couple of occasions - potentially costing Jonassen a century.

With Australia having been looking to declare after passing 250, final batter Holly Ferling somewhat comically came out to face just a single ball before Meg Lanning called time on her side's first innings at 274-9.

Lanning excels in captaincy

Lanning may have been playing her first Test as captain but she proved why, at 21, she became the youngest player - man or woman - to lead Australia.

Despite the rain lessening the movement off the pitch, her rotation of the visitors' front-line bowlers and clever field placings kept England constantly on the back foot.

Perry was deployed from the Nackington Road End and the fierce all-rounder captured two wickets in two balls in her second over, having Lauren Winfield caught behind and trapping Sarah Taylor lbw for a golden duck.

With Australia on the attack Lanning took an exceptional catch at first slip to get rid of Heather Knight off Sarah Coyte before Schutt bowled Charlotte Edwards for 30 to leave England teetering on 61-4, a position from which they never really recovered.