Charlotte Edwards admitted her England team got exactly what they deserved when suffering Women’s Ashes defeat.

Australia regained the crown by winning the second Twenty20 international between the sides at Hove last night by 21 runs.

England, captained by Edwards who grew up in Pidley, were skittled for 87 in pursuit of 108.

The Aussies now have an unassailable 10-4 lead in a series has been contested over all three formats of the game – Twenty20, Test and one-day – with points awarded for victories.

Edwards was magnanimous in defeat as she admitted: “The best team have won the Ashes. Credit must go to Australia as they played much better over all three formats.

“I thought both teams bowled well. On our behalf, there was some poor shot selection. I think there was some great fielding, two unlucky bits of cricket, but ultimately, they outplayed us.

“I thought we did brilliantly with the ball, our bowlers have been absolutely fantastic throughout this series, it is just a shame the batting unit haven’t backed that up.

“That is bitterly disappointing for me and the rest of the team.”

The series concludes on Monday with the final Twenty20 battle in Cardiff.