SWINDON'S Lauren Bell took two wickets as England levelled the Women’s Ashes with a thrilling two-wicket victory over Australia in their opening ODI at Bristol on Wednesday.

The multi-format series now stands at six points apiece with remaining ODI matches at Southampton and Taunton to play.

Australia need to win only one of those games to retain the Ashes, but the momentum is very much with England after three successive victories.

Back-to-back T20 wins had revitalised England but crossing this particular line against opponents who had won 41 of their last 42 ODI matches will generate huge belief that they can upset the odds.

Australia’s 263-8 - which featured two wickets in three balls from Bell midway through - was overhauled with 11 balls to spare, thanks largely to captain Heather Knight’s unbeaten 75 from 86 balls and a brilliant late cameo from Kate Cross, and the visitors' fate would have been worse had England not dropped four catches and shelled a stumping opportunity.

Six England bowlers shared the wickets as bowlers as Beth Mooney, reprieved on 19 and 39, top scored with an unbeaten 81.

England were always ahead of the required rate after Tammy Beaumont and Alice Capsey brought up a rapid hundred in the 12th over, but Australia’s ability to take wickets at regular intervals left the contest in the balance.

Despite playing in all five games so far, Bell has only been required to bat twice and remained in the shed on Wednesday night as her teammates helped guide England home.

Post-match, Bell's teammate, Alice Capsey warned Australia that England are yet to play their best cricket this summer.

“We were 6-0 down, but we took a lot of confidence from the Test match because we saw how close we were to winning that,” said number three batter Capsey, 18, who struck 40 from 34 balls on Wednesday.

“We had another narrow loss in the opening T20 at Edgbaston, but we were pretty confident that once we got that first win we would go on a streak.

“The whole series we haven’t been at our best. In the T20s we were playing at 80 per cent and we weren’t at our best again here.

“But to get over the line in pressure moments when previously we would have crumbled a little bit is great. We were so calm out there, which is something we have focused on.

“It’s really exciting we haven’t played our best cricket and it’s six-all.”