Australia overhauled their target in the 37th over to send an ominous warning ahead of the upcoming World Cup
Australia 164 for 2 (Lanning 57*, Healy 42, Ecclestone 1-18) beat England 163 (Beaumont 50, Sciver 46, Sutherland 4-31, Schutt 2-25) by eight wickets
All-conquering Australia crushed England by eight wickets to complete an unbeaten Ashes triumph in the third and final ODI at the Junction Oval.
She received a life on 24 when dropped by wicketkeeper Amy Jones off seamer Freya Davies’ first delivery and Healy made her pay with a thundering pull to the boundary two balls later. But Davies got her revenge when she dismissed Healy for 42 to end the 74-run opening stand, and then Rachael Haynes fell in the next over to provide England with a glimmer of hope.
But Lanning and No. 4 Ellyse Perry, who made a fluent 40 two days ago, shut the door on England’s unlikely attempts at a consolation victory. Perry started aggressively and then was overtaken by Lanning, who sealed Australia’s dominant Ashes campaign in style with a six.
Having claimed the Ashes outright after a five-wicket victory in the second ODI at the same venue, Australia won the multi-format series 12-4 to ensure England – like their male counterparts – endured a barren Ashes campaign.
Australia, who have lost just one of their last 30 ODIs, swept the three-match ODI series and gained another psychological edge ahead of the World Cup, where the teams meet on March 5.
The pair had given England hope of mustering a competitive total but suffered a shocking collapse of 8 for 56 after Beaumont fell for 50. In a major headache for England, their batting frailties resurfaced with only three batters reaching double figures.
England were dealt a blow when quick Kate Cross was ruled out of the series finale with a wrist injury sustained in the field on Sunday. It was a precautionary measure ahead of the World Cup, where England will go into their title defence short on confidence after a miserable Ashes campaign.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth