Women's Ashes 2019: Australia extend lead over England with second ODI win

Australia took a 4-0 lead in the multi-format Women's Ashes with a four-wicket win in the second one-day international against England, despite a century from Tammy Beaumont in Leicester.

Opener Beaumont hit 114 from 115 balls but her dismissal sparked an England collapse from 187-6 to 217 all out, with Delissa Kimmince taking 5-26.

Ellyse Perry then hit 62 as Australia won with more than four overs to spare.

The two sides meet in the final one-day international in Canterbury on Sunday.

The teams play three one-day internationals, three T20 internationals and one Test match throughout July, with four points for a win and two for a draw in the Test, and two points for a win in all limited-overs games.

Australia won the first ODI by two wickets on Tuesday.

• Women's Ashes schedule

• 'This is the most prepared we've ever been for an Ashes series' - Heather Knight column

England fail with the bat again

After being dismissed for 177 in the first one-day international on Tuesday, England were looking for an improvement with the bat at Grace Road.

But, after winning the toss, they made an identical start, again losing Amy Jones in the second over off the bowling of Perry.

Heather Knight found herself bogged down by the tight line of Megan Schutt before being dismissed by Ashleigh Gardner for a laboured 17 off 47 deliveries.

Beaumont looked much more comfortable and anchored the innings with a patient century featuring 12 fours - the lowest boundary percentage of her six ODI hundreds. However, she consistently lost partners at the other end.

Natalie Sciver was trapped lbw off the bowling of Kimmince for 15 before Fran Wilson holed out to the mid-wicket boundary for eight.

Danni Wyatt looked spritely but her stumping by Alyssa Healy off Schutt for a run-a-ball 25 sparked a collapse, with England losing their final six wickets for 34 runs and failing to score a boundary after Beaumont's dismissal in the 40th over.

With the ball, England removed openers Healy and Nicole Bolton in successive overs to reduce Australia to 17-2.

Brunt claimed the crucial wicket of captain Meg Lanning for 18 but injured her ankle celebrating and was unable to bowl again until the 31st over, with Australia moving on to 126-4 by that stage.

Two wickets from Anya Shrubsole dragged England back into the game but they simply did not have enough runs to play with, with Beth Mooney and Jess Jonassen seeing Australia home comfortably.

Australia impress yet again

Australia were again impressive with the ball as England struggled at either end of their innings.

Healy snared the early wicket of Jones while Schutt's first five overs went for just 13 to leave England 38-1 after 10 overs.

Skipper Lanning also proved inspired with her bowling changes, with Haynes removing Knight and Kimmince taking the wicket of Sciver immediately after coming into the attack.

Then, some excellent death bowling by Schutt and Kimmince ensured England once again failed to see out their 50 overs, with Kimmince claiming the final four wickets to claim career best figures of 5-26. from just 7.4 overs.

In reply, Australia were wobbling when Lanning's dismissal reduced them to 59-3 but a punchy 62 from Perry led the recovery.

A slower delivery from Shrubsole bowled Ashleigh Gardner through the gate for 13 to leave Australia 158-6. But Australia's depth of batting showed, with Mooney and Jonassen putting on an unbeaten 60 for the seventh wicket to see them to victory.

'Australia are ruthless' - what they said

England captain Heather Knight: "A frustrating one from our perspective. Tammy played outstandingly, if someone had stayed with her we would have pushed the score to 250 and beyond. We tried to put pressure on them with the ball and took early wickets, but another 20-30 runs would have helped.

"We need to be smarter with the bat. A change of venue on Sunday, we're going to have to park this and turn it around like we did in Australia."

Australia captain Meg Lanning: "It's nice to get a win on the board. Our performance was a lot better, our bowlers did a great job to drag them back and to bowl them out for 217 was a great effort.

"I thought Delissa Kimmince bowled really well, she kept it simple by bowling nice and straight.

"We also showed great composure with the bat. We did lose some early wickets but we were able to build some partnerships.

"It's nice to get a few wins up early but we have to continue to improve, it's another challenge on Sunday and we're looking forward to it."

Ex-England batter Ebony Rainford-Brent on TMS: "Australia are ruthless. This is a side that aren't playing their best cricket but what they do is know how to win big games and handle pressure.

"Even though England chipped away it seemed like every batter established themselves just enough to keep that scoreboard ticking over, making it easy for them to get over the line with little fuss."

BBC Sport has launched #ChangeTheGame this summer to showcase female athletes in a way they never have been before. Through more live women's sport available to watch across the BBC this summer, complemented by our journalism, we are aiming to turn up the volume on women's sport and alter perceptions. Find out more here.