England wrap up T20 series with last-over win

England 6 for 146 (Marsh 45, Edwards 36) beat Australia 6 for 145 (Lanning 34, Guha 3-24) by 4 wickets
Scorecard

Lydia Greenway continued her impressive tour by leading England to the brink of a victory that set up a record-breaking Twenty20 series win over Australia in Canberra. Greenway, who was a crucial figure in the first two successes, was dismissed for 23 in a frenetic last over that ended in a four-wicket win for the tourists with a ball to spare.

England now lead the five-game contest 3-0 - it's their first limited-overs series triumph in Australia - and the final two matches will be played over the next two days. The visitors' reply started extremely well when Charlotte Edwards, the captain, and Laura Marsh put on 71 in the first 10 overs before Edwards went for 36. Marsh, the Player of the Match, was third out for 45 off 44 balls and England were a wobbly 4 for 114 when Suzie Rowe became Sarah Coyte's second wicket.

Greenway and Jenny Gunn rescued the situation with a stand of 29 in 3.1 overs and had cut the assignment to five from six balls before an action-packed conclusion. Rene Farrell started the final over with a wide that cost two, but picked up Greenway when she hit to midwicket, and Heather Knight was run-out from the next delivery. Three singles took England to victory, with Gunn walking off unbeaten on 10.

The opener Meg Lanning provided Australia with a swift start as she raced to 34 off 22 balls, including a six and four fours, while her partner Shelley Nitschke registered 22. Leah Poulton (25), Alex Blackwell (29) and Jess Cameron (15) all made quick contributions before each fell to Isa Guha, who collected 3 for 24 off four overs.

"I'm absolutely over the moon to win today and to win our first limited-over series in Australia is very special," Edwards said. "We upped our game on a very good pitch and again batted exceptionally well. I'm very proud of the whole squad. Everyone has contributed throughout the last three games and thoroughly deserve this series victory."

Coyte said the confidence in Australia's squad was still "good" despite the defeats. "There have been some key moments in the last few matches that we haven't been winning and we need to change that," she said. "But we now have two more games to turn things around ahead of the Ashes Test."