Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry struck her second straight Test century to continue her successful series before rain played spoilsport and ruined England’s chances of a fightback on the second day of the one-off Ashes Test at Taunton on Friday.
With Australia placed comfortably at 341/5, rain and a wet outfield prevented any play after the lunch break. Crucially, the rain delay dented England’s hopes in the four-day Test which is a must-win for them to claim the multi-format Ashes.
Resuming at 265/3, Perry and Rachael Haynes – who had both scored half-centuries on the first day – led the charge to pile on a good score for the visitors.
The 28-year-old Perry then scored her second straight ton to further compound the hosts’ troubles. Four out of Australia’s top five scored fifty-plus to all but ensure they would retain the Ashes.
But it was Perry who stood out with a brilliant 116 from 281 balls, after her unbeaten 213 at North Sydney in 2017 in the 2017 Ashes.
‘Born to play Test cricket’: Twitter hails Ellyse Perry’s second straight century in Ashes
Her knock came to an anticlimactic end when she chipped a simple catch to Heather Knight off Laura Marsh. Four overs later, Marsh dismissed the other set batter Haynes on 87. However, there was much to debate on her wicket as she was given out LBW but ultra-edge showed she had in fact gloved the ball, according to Cricket.com.au.
There is no DRS available for the Test.
Beth Mooney (7) and Jess Jonassen (4) were at the crease when rain forced the end of play.