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
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."
