England on the brink as Australia seal ODI clean sweep

Women's Ashes: Third ODI, Hobart

Australia 308-8 (50 overs): Gardner 102 (102); Sciver-Brunt 2-51

England 222 (42.2 overs): Sciver-Brunt 61 (78); King 5-46

Australia won by 86 runs, lead series 6-0

Scorecard

England's hopes of regaining the Women's Ashes are hanging by a thread after suffering a heavy 86-run defeat by Australia in the third and final one-day international in Hobart.

The hosts slipped to 59-4 as England's bowlers dominated the early stages, but Ash Gardner's sparkling run-a-ball 102 and half-centuries from Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath led a sensational recovery to help them post 308-8.

England were braver and more proactive with the bat than in the previous two matches but none of their top order could match Gardner's match-winning contribution, with four players passing 30 and Nat Sciver-Brunt's 61 the top score in their 222 all out.

Australia now hold a 6-0 lead in the points-based multi-format series and Heather Knight's side must win all three T20s (worth two points each) and the Test match (worth four points) in order to regain the Ashes, as a drawn series would see them retained by the holders.

While England's failure to chase 181 in the second ODI was a result of their own mistakes - unable to capitalise on a rare Australian off day - here was a timely reminder from the world champions of their class and staggering strength in depth.

Unbothered by more top-order failures, Gardner added a patient 95 for the fifth wicket with Mooney and 103 for the sixth with McGrath, who smashed 55 from 45 balls.

It was a perfectly-paced innings to set up Georgia Wareham, who was making her first appearance in the series in favour of seamer Darcie Brown, to finish the innings with a brutal 12-ball 38 as England conceded 104 from their final 10 overs.

England kept pace with Australia's innings throughout their chase, with an achievable 120 required from the final 15 overs, but the final six wickets were blown away for 22 runs through a combination of sensational fielding and relentless accuracy with the ball.

The T20 series begins on Monday 20 January (08:40 GMT) at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Australia deliver batting masterclass

After two below-par showings with the bat in the series so far, there was a sense that Australia could not be kept quiet for long and that a statement innings was due.

England's bowlers again started the innings with excellent discipline as Australia stuttered to 46-3 after the 10-over powerplay. They removed openers Phoebe Litchfield and Alyssa Healy for 15 apiece, Ellyse Perry was caught down the leg side for two and Annabel Sutherland fell shortly after for just 10.

But Gardner and Mooney delivered a masterclass in reading the conditions and absorbing the pressure through their proactive innings, adding 95 from 107 balls with exceptional judgement in running between the wickets and smart use of their feet to the spinners.

They took few risks, with Gardner hitting one six and eight fours in her first ODI hundred, and Mooney striking just four boundaries in her 64-ball 50.

Their platform subsequently allowed the explosive McGrath and Wareham to flourish and knock the wind out of England, the former finding form at a valuable time after a lean start to the series.

Sciver-Brunt, Charlie Dean and Lauren Bell took two wickets apiece but it was an unusually poor day for Sophie Ecclestone, who was targeted by Australia and conceded 76 from her 10 overs, including 17 from the final over of the innings by Wareham.

It was more an innings which highlighted Australia's brilliance as opposed to poor bowling from England but the manner in which the hosts dominated will see them enter the T20 series with an alarming confidence.

England's bravery in vain as King shines

England captain Knight called for more bravery from her batting line-up after a timid approach in the second ODI in particular and despite the margin of victory, this was a huge improvement in their intent.

They were in pursuit of the highest run chase in women's ODI history and when Maia Bouchier perished tamely in the opening over, there was a concern they could slump to another disappointing defeat.

Through Tammy Beaumont's 54 at the top of the order and Sciver-Brunt's 61, England kept in touch and the lively contributions of 35 and 30 from Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Amy Jones respectively ensured the run-rate did not run away from them.

But if the Australians felt any nerves, they were not on display.

Instead, they stepped up a gear with stunning diving catches from Litchfield to remove Wyatt-Hodge and Kim Garth to remove Jones, before Gardner added a sprinkling of genius to her day with a one-handed relay catch from inside the boundary rope.

Such was the breathtaking nature of the catches, Alana King's 5-46 went under the radar, while Wareham added a vital two wickets to her batting cameo as England lost another seven wickets to spin.

England can reflect on a much-improved performance and accept they were outplayed by the world's greatest team, but they have no time or choice to dwell on their disappointments as their task is now completely clear - win, or see the Ashes stay down under for the sixth series in a row.

'England will be hurting' - reaction

Former England batter Ebony Rainford-Brent on TNT Sports: "It only feels like 5% of difference between the teams, but it's not just one area - it's across the board.

"England are going to be hurting because they had Australia 59-4. I think another 5% might be in Australia's ruthlessness. No doubt there is a gulf."

England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt: "We made some improvements, but probably weren't our best in the field.

"They bat very low down, it makes it really hard for us. We thought with the start we had, we'd put pressure on them but they had a really good partnership.

"I think a change of format will lift the spirits. There's new recruits who will bring us energy, we look forward to going back to Sydney."

Australia all-rounder Tahlia McGrath: "We always talk about our depth and taking the game on.

"We were disappointed with how we batted in Melbourne and it felt like we were a bit timid with the bat and let them bowl to us so it was about showing good intent, being proactive and putting the pressure back on England."