Australia regained the women's Ashes with a 20-run win over England in the second Twenty20 international at Hove on Friday. Victory gave Australia an unbeatable 10-4 points lead in the multi-format series, which concludes with a now 'dead rubber' Twenty20 in Cardiff on Monday. England captain Charlotte Edwards elected to field after winning the toss and then saw her side restrict Australia to a seemingly meagre 107 for seven in 20 overs.
But England in reply collapsed to 87 all out - their lowest score in a Twenty20 international - with recalled seamer Rene Farrell taking three for 17 to win the player-of-the-match award. Ellyse Perry and Farrell both took two wickets in an over as England slumped to 28 for five after their six-over power play. Experienced England batsmen Edwards and Sarah Taylor both fell for eight and the hosts never recovered from seeing two of their best players fall so cheaply.
England came into this match with their confidence boosted by a seven-wicket win in the first Twenty20 at Chelmsford on Wednesday. Australia, the reigning 50-over and Twenty20 world champions, had previously won the one-off Test and two of the three one-day internationals. England knew they needed to win all three Twenty20 matches to level the overall score at 8-8 and so retain the Ashes by virtue of holding them prior to this series.