Heather Knight hailed England’s fight after she and “hero” Kate Cross completed a remarkable run-chase to level the Women’s Ashes in Bristol.
Australia have been one win away from retaining the Urn since winning the First T20 at Edgbaston to take a 6-0 lead in the series earlier this month, but England’s victory in the First ODI was their third on the spin and has dragged the scoreline back to 6-6.
Knight made an unbeaten 75 to anchor England’s highest successful ODI chase, with Cross’s 19 off 20 balls helping see the side home by two wickets just as the home tail was threatening to fold.
"It feels very good,” Knight said. “I thought it was starting to slip away but Kate Cross, what a hero. She was nervous when she came in but we broke it down.
"To beat a very good side is outstanding. The fight in the side is remarkable and we showed that again today. I was trying to keep [the emotion] in.
“It was pure relief and ecstasy. We kept making it hard for ourselves but I was a lot calmer than I would have been watching.”
The result means the series remains live heading into Sunday’s Second ODI in Southampton, with the Third to follow at Taunton on Tuesday.
A win in either game would see Australia retain the Ashes but the world champions must now win both matches to take the series outright, while successive England victories would complete the most unlikely of comebacks.
“Every game has been so close,” Knight added. “It’s been an awesome series. I wanted to be there at the end. It was pure joy.
“We’ve kept growing as a team and we’re still got a long way to go. We’ve kept calm in the big moments. We’ve got a lot of momentum. The support from the crowd was unreal again. It has really made the difference for us."
