Women's Ashes: Australia thrash England after Tahlia McGrath's brilliance

Tahlia McGrath is yet to be dismissed in four T20s for Australia

England were thrashed in the opening match of the Women's Ashes as Tahlia McGrath's outstanding all-round performance fired Australia to a nine-wicket win in the first T20.

McGrath blasted an unbeaten 91 from 49 balls after taking 3-26 as Australia chased down 170 with 18 balls to spare at the Adelaide Oval.

She shared a brutal 144-run stand with captain Meg Lanning, who finished with 64 from 44 balls, to help Australia register their highest chase in T20s.

England had posted a seemingly threatening 169-4 from their 20 overs, led by 70 from Danni Wyatt.

A ragged bowling and fielding display cost England, who were unable to maintain any pressure on the brilliant McGrath and Lanning.

Victory gives Australia two points in the multi-format series, with the second of three T20s taking place at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

• 'One of the best innings I've seen' - McGrath sends a familiar chill through England

No Perry, no problem for Australia

Tahlia McGrath impressed with bat and ball, bowling Danni Wyatt and Nat Sciver in the space of three deliveries

That Australia were able to drop Ellyse Perry, an icon of Australian cricket, and still register such a crushing victory shows how much depth they have.

While Perry has struggled for consistency in T20s in recent times, McGrath excelled in Australia's series against India and offers more power with the bat.

Her batting was astonishing; she struck 13 fours and one six, constantly finding gaps in the field and putting the pressure on England's fielders, who wilted.

With Lanning, opening in place of the injured Beth Mooney, alongside her and chipping away at the run-rate, McGrath had licence to hit out.

She particularly targeted leg-spinner Sarah Glenn, stepping forward and driving strongly as Glenn's three overs disappeared for 39.

Nat Sciver and Freya Davies were also expensive, with McGrath pulling Davies handsomely into the stands for her sole six, and only Sophie Ecclestone came close to finding the control England's bowlers needed.

When Heather Knight brought herself on to bowl towards the end of the chase, McGrath hit three fours in three balls, simply underlining Australia's dominance in what could have been a tricky chase.

She had earlier impressed with the ball, including dismissing set batters Sciver and Danni Wyatt in the space of three balls to check England's progress from 141-1.

Her pace and accuracy - Sciver and Wyatt fell to near-identical yorkers - will bode well for Australia as the series progresses.

England fail to make most of batting

Knight described England's preparation for the series as "comical", with players' families feeding bowling machine as they spent Christmas in near-isolation.

The disruption showed more in the fielding than in the batting. England had no answers to McGrath and Lanning, with a number of misfields helping Australia on their way.

They were also sloppy with the ball, conceding seven wides and one leg-bye as the disciplined lines and lengths of the first few overs disappeared.

At the halfway stage, they would have felt as though they had a chance. They were understandably rusty with the bat at the start but Wyatt and Tammy Beaumont provided an excellent platform.

Helped by short bowling from Australia, and McGrath dropping a return catch off Beaumont on nine, the two shared an 82-run stand to put the hosts under pressure.

Wyatt was particularly impressive, attacking key bowler Jess Jonassen straight away by striking her first two deliveries down the ground for six, before Beaumont fell to debutant spinner Alana King.

Wyatt's 59-run stand with Sciver looked to have put England within touching distance of 180, but McGrath's return to the attack limited them to 169.

It was a competitive total - but not competitive enough against a brilliant Australia white-ball side.

'England didn't bowl well enough' - what they said

England captain Heather Knight: "The way Danni Wyatt and Tammy Beaumont came out and batted was outstanding, especially because they said they felt a bit rusty.

"We thought we got to about par with the bat. They batted outstandingly and Tahlia McGrath made it difficult to set fields. We'll have to learn from that ahead of Saturday."

England World Cup winner Alex Hartley on Test Match Special: "England, on paper, are a well-rounded side but tonight they looked a bowler short because they didn't bowl well enough.

"They had enough runs on the board - they just didn't bowl well enough."

Australia all-rounder Tahlia McGrath, speaking to ABC: "I'm just loving playing cricket at the moment. It's always nice when you're winning and in good form. I'll roll with it as long as possible.

"We thought it was probably about par. They had a really good start and we pegged it back quite well. We gave ourselves every chance."

'Era-defining moment?'

Analysis by Geoff Lemon, Australian cricket journalist

It might be an era-defining moment: Australia's star all-rounder Ellyse Perry left out of the first Women's Ashes T20.

It was the first time she has been dropped on form in any format in her long career. Australia's women had only played three T20 matches in their history before Perry's first in 2008, and she played 126 of the next 148 whenever fit.

Perry will still be a sure starter in the 50-over matches and the upcoming Test. But her bowling effectiveness in the shortest format has declined, and despite still being the country's most refined bat, her scoring speed has been overtaken by the game's development.

Tahlia McGrath especially has supplanted Perry with recent great form, offering four overs of seam bowling allied with more muscular hitting.

As Perry watched the display from the bench on Thursday, it may be the end of an era: Australian women's cricket growing out of reliance on its biggest name.