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By Brittany Carter

Women's Ashes top 20: Amanda-Jade Wellington's 'ball of the century'

Amanda-Jade Wellington provided one of the great moments in recent cricket history with her 'ball of the century'.

It was a ball that left commentators gushing and later went viral for its comparisons to Shane Warne's 1993 Gatting 'ball of the century'.

On the final day of the 2017 day-night women's Ashes Test, Australia were in desperate need of a wicket.

Despite outplaying England up until that point – bowling them all out for 280 before declaring at 9/448, with a 168-run lead – the hosts were struggling to break the opening partnership of Lauren Winfield-Hill and Tammy Beaumont.

The pair had survived a new pink ball under lights at North Sydney Oval the night before and were now set at 0/40, defending as much as possible as they dug in to try and enforce a draw.

England's Tammy Beaumont plays a sweep shot during the 2017 Women's Ashes Test. (AAP: Dean Lewins)

Ultimately, it was the 20-year-old Australian Test debutant that found the breakthrough, drawing inspiration from her leg-spinning hero Shane Warne and her experience having bowled to Beaumont many times before.

Wellington had trained alongside Beaumont while both players were contracted to the Adelaide Strikers in the Women's Big Bash League, and that inside knowledge certainly helped Wellington to dismiss the dangerous batter for 70 in the first innings, before seeing her off for 37 in the second.

"It's funny, there's always a big competition between me and Tammy … I know the attacking style she wants to play against spinners, so if I can get a few dots on her early that creates pressure for her to score against me," Wellington told the ABC.

By the time Wellington was given the ball for this ripping delivery, she'd already bowled six overs on that fourth day, with Beaumont tentatively getting by on singles and sometimes taking up to four dots to rotate the strike.

Even Australia's stand-in captain Rachael Haynes had a bowl in the Women's Ashes Test as the hosts struggled to get England all out. (AAP: Daniel Munoz)

Wellington herself had been chopping and changing between bowling over and around the wicket, trying to keep the batters on their toes and use a rough patch to get a bit of spin.

On the second ball of the 32nd over she got it just right, pitching the ball around leg stump, before it turned on a sharp angle to knock the bails clean from the off stump.

Although England were successful in their efforts to hold on for a draw, Wellington's moment was cause for much celebration.

The footage went viral, helping the women's game attract new followers right around the world, just in time for the WBBL to gain some more traction before the start of its third season.

"I reckon I've seen that video about a million times now, it brings back so many good memories and I can't believe so much time has passed," Wellington said.

"There was a huge influx of media attention around that Test and around that series, we started to break records when it came to sell-out crowds and people watching along on TV."

Interestingly, the debutant bowled more overs than any other Australian bowler during that Test match, toiling away for a total of 57 overs across the two innings.

Wellington was all smiles after getting the wicket of Beaumont twice in the Test. (AAP: Daniel Munoz)

It's a shame that the brilliant flight and turn Wellington produced in this all-time Women's Ashes moment now seems to be her biggest barrier to breaking back into the team, considering she hasn't played a match for her country since March 2018.

Overlooked time and time again

Less than a year after Wellington's own 'ball of the century', the leg spinner fell out of favour with Australian selectors.

At the time, she was told she'd done nothing to warrant being dropped, but that Victorian bowler Georgia Wareham offered the team a better all-round package, excelling in the field and offering some explosive power lower in the batting order.

Since then, Wareham has maintained her position in the side, only missing out on the current Ashes series due to a devastating knee injury, after she ruptured her ACL in the WBBL.

Amanda-Jade Wellington claimed the best finals figures in WBBL history, when she took 5/8 against the Brisbane Heat back in November. (Getty:  Chris Hyde)

The opening in the national team had fans convinced Wellington was going to make a comeback, given the now 24-year-old has been in the form of her life over the past year.

Wellington led the wicket tally for the Southern Brave in the UK's inaugural season of The Hundred in 2021, before heading home to finish as the leading wicket-taker in WBBL07 — taking a record 5fa in the finals.

Despite this, Wellington was overlooked for the current Women's Ashes series, with selectors opting to pick Perth Scorchers bowler Alana King instead.

King has also had a brilliant summer, claiming 16 scalps in the WBBL to find herself in the top five bowlers of the competition. She has already proved her worth to the Australian team too, after taking four wickets so far in her debut international series.

The reliable bowler has done a lot of work on her technique over the past few seasons to mould her leg-spinning style to be closer to Wareham's, attacking the stumps and limiting scoring opportunities for the opposition.

Alana King runs out Anya Shrubsole in her Test debut at Manuka Oval. (Getty: Mark Kolbe)

This made her an attractive replacement and saw Wellington picked for the understudy Australia A team instead.

"It was a tight decision and we talked about it for quite some time, but it's all about the role we want the leg spinner to play," national selector Shawn Flegler said.

Wellington's positive attitude , meanwhile, has seen her carry on with her brilliant form, taking 11 wickets across five matches against England A, including best figures of 3/15.

These consistent efforts encouraged the selectors to add her to the squad for the upcoming Women's World Cup, scheduled to be played in New Zealand right after the Ashes finishes.

King is still, by and large, the preferred candidate, and although Flegler hasn't ruled out giving both leg spinners a run in the same game, it would be an unlikely scenario with left-arm orthodox spinner Jess Jonassen and off spinner Ash Gardner already mainstays in the team.

There are also questions about what will happen with that leg-spinning spot once Georgia Wareham is fit and firing again.

Wellington has been recalled to the Australian squad for the upcoming World Cup. (Getty: Daniel Kalisz)

While there are no guarantees Wellington will get another go on the international stage, she says she has found peace with the situation.

"I know that I'm good enough as a person and as a cricketer," she said. "So if it happens, it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't, you know?"

"My mindset has changed so much over the years and of course, I'm excited about the opportunity, but whatever will be, will be."

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