England 3 for 213 (Greenway 59, Edwards 48*, Haynes 1-5) beat Australia 212 (Sthalekar 60, Cameron 32, Guha 2-40) by seven wickets
Scorecard
England's women managed a consolatory victory in the third one-day international against Australia at the WACA, chasing down 213 with two overs to spare for a seven-wicket win. Lydia Greenway passed fifty before she was dismissed and captain Charlotte Edwards continued her sparkling form, finishing unbeaten on 48 and striking the winning runs to ensure a measure of honour in the 2-1 series scoreline.
Danielle Wyatt led an early charge with the bat as England's openers put on 47 in under 10 overs. She struck six boundaries in a rapid 30 - her highest score for the national side - and had few problems against the new ball before she was sent back attempting a quick single in the 10th over and run out by a distance.
Greenway was soon into her groove to keep the runs flowing, greeting the introduction of Shelley Nitschke's left-arm spin by jumping out of her crease to loft a boundary. She also found the middle of the bat with a pair of perfectly executed reverse sweeps and was soon outscoring the more circumspect Heather Knight.
They had put on 66 for the second wicket - the highest partnership in either innings - when Knight attempted to crack Lisa Sthalekar's offspin over the top but picked out Rene Farrell to depart for 33. Greenway enjoyed some good fortune as she was dropped by Sarah Coyte at long leg and chopped a no-ball from Ellyse Perry onto her own stumps, but took advantage of the let-offs to register a sixth ODI half-century.
After she was caught at long-off by Leah Poulton, Edwards was joined by Jenny Gunn - who was batting with a runner - and together they sealed the result with an unbeaten 53-run stand. Edwards took her series run-tally to 188, easily the highest on either side, and hit the winning run off the final ball of the 48th over. Edwards, who scored 50 in the first match and 90 in Friday's nine-wicket defeat was named Player of the Series, while Greenway's fifty made her Player of the Match.
England's bowlers were on a hiding to nothing in the midst of Nitschke and Meg Lanning's 151-run opening stand two days ago, but were far more incisive this time around as Australia experimented with their top order. Alyssa Healy, opening for the first time in national colours with Lanning rested, cut Isa Guha in the air to gully where Gunn held a sharp catch in the third over and soon afterwards Poulton swiped across the line to be caught by Holly Colvin at mid-on and give Guha a second wicket.
Australia had stumbled to 5 for 75 in the 26th over before the experienced Sthalekar and Jess Cameron prompted a recovery with a 65-run partnership. Sthalekar batted particularly fluently before she was dismissed for a 75-ball 60 in the 45th over, while Coyte ensured her team passed 200 with a tenacious 30, but a spate of run-outs pegged back the Australian innings and they were bowled out for 212 off the final ball of the innings.
"We obviously wanted to get the series whitewash and finish the one-day series on a positive note, but England came out and played very well today and we will look to bounce back," said Australian captain Alex Blackwell. "We lost early wickets and didn't quite post the total we would have liked and we didn't quite get it right with the ball either but we're not far away and we'll take the confidence of a series win into the Twenty20s."
"It's a nice feeling to come away with the one-day series win; last time we were in England we were soundly beaten so it's nice to come back and play well at home. We head to Adelaide tomorrow for the first of the Twenty20s on Wednesday and we can't wait.
"We were in a bit of trouble when we lost five wickets fairly early and needed a couple of players to stand-up and build a partnership," she added. "Lisa is a very experienced player and a key member of our middle-order and it was great to see her make a good score, especially during a very important part of the innings when we needed someone to rebuild.
"She played very well and scored quickly, working well with two of the younger players in Jess and Sarah who also played well to help get our score over 200. We didn't quite execute how we would have liked to and things didn't quite go our way early with a few near misses. We're really looking forward to the Twenty20 series; after the Twenty20 World Cup win last year we are really happy with how we've been going in that form of the game."
"I'm really proud of the team's performance today," added England captain Edwards. "We all dug deep to beat a very good Australian side. We weren't at full strength but the team have responded well to overcome setbacks and we will be looking to carry some momentum forward into the Twenty20 series.
"I feel in really good touch at the moment and the wickets out here have been excellent to bat on. I'm looking forward getting out on the park at Adelaide on Wednesday. It's always a great atmosphere to play in a double header with the men."
There will be an unavoidable change to England's squad for the Twenty20s, with Caroline Atkins coming in for Beth Morgan, who will return to England for treatment after sustaining a shoulder subluxation during the second ODI.
"This is a great opportunity for me, I can't wait to get out to Australia and join the squad," said Atkins. "I have some good memories of playing out there in 2008 and am very much looking forward to playing out there again. It's a great shame for Beth, I wish her a speedy recovery."
