Aus Women Complete Historic 16-0 Ashes Sweep with Dominant Victory at MCG, King POS

 

Alana King and Ashleigh Gardner spun Australia to a commanding innings-and-122-run victory in the day-night Ashes Test at the MCG, sealing an unprecedented clean sweep across all formats.

Bowling from the Shane Warne Stand end, King was in devastating form with the pink ball, claiming 5-53 as England crumbled for 148 in 68.4 overs, ending the match inside three days. Gardner provided strong support with figures of 4-39, while King’s overall match haul of 9-98 earned her a place on the MCG honours board—joining Beth Mooney, who had earlier notched her maiden Test century.

Determined to atone for their 2023 tour of England, where they let a 6-0 series lead slip and ultimately settled for an 8-8 draw, Australia entered this Ashes series with renewed purpose. In just 22 days, Alyssa Healy’s squad achieved their redemption in emphatic style, inflicting a 16-0 whitewash on England. The visitors, who had arrived in Australia confident they had bridged the gap between the two teams, now face tough questions upon their return home.

This result marks the first-ever 16-0 outcome since the introduction of the multi-format Ashes points system in 2023, surpassing the previous most lopsided series scoreline of 12-4.

Mooney finished as the series' leading run-scorer, setting a new record for the highest aggregate in a multi-format Ashes with 409 runs at an average of 68.16. Meanwhile, player of the series King strengthened her claim as the world’s premier leg-spinner, equaling Gardner’s 2023 Ashes record of 23 wickets, taken at an exceptional average of 11.59.

Remarkably, Australia's dominant performance came despite the absence of Healy and Gardner during the T20Is due to injury, as well as Ellyse Perry’s limited role in the Test, where she contributed just two runs before being sidelined with a corked hip.

England did show brief signs of resistance on the final day. Their bowlers were excellent in the opening hour, restricting Australia to just 18 additional runs as the hosts were bowled out for 440. However, facing a daunting 270-run deficit, their fightback was short-lived.

Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight provided some hope with a resilient 73-run second-wicket partnership, applying pressure on Australia’s pace attack. But once spin was introduced, the momentum shifted decisively. Gardner made the breakthrough, with Knight flicking a catch straight to Phoebe Litchfield at short leg, departing for 32.

From that moment, England's innings unraveled. Beaumont (47) played onto her stumps against King, who had earlier dismissed Sophia Dunkley with a stunning delivery that drifted in before spinning away to clip the top of off stump. Nat Sciver-Brunt (18) couldn’t hold on for long, and the lower order folded in rapid succession. England lost their final nine wickets for just 69 runs, bringing a dismal campaign to a crushing end.