England had collapsed to 203 for seven when Sarah Glenn joined Sciver-Brunt at the crease, with an unlikely 80 runs needed from the remaining 68 balls to achieve their highest ever winning chase - but Sciver-Brunt took just enough calculated risks to keep them in the hunt.
Put down by a sprawling Georgia Wareham at deep midwicket on 97 in the penultimate over, she brought up her hundred the very next ball, digging out Ash Gardner's yorker to long-on for a single.
The job was not done, though: 15 runs still needed from Jess Jonassen's final over. The pair ran hard, but though Sciver-Brunt's first slog-sweep found the boundary off the third, she was left needing five off the final ball and could manage only a single.
Australia now have an unassailable 8-6 lead on points in the series, with one match left to play. But though England's dream of a first Ashes win in a decade may be over, they once again lived up to the billing of their coach, Jon Lewis, whose mission is for his team to "inspire and entertain". Heather Knight labelled it "the best series there's ever been in the history of the women's game". After a match that once again came down to the final ball, Knight said: "The Ashes are gone, which is disappointing, but I feel pride that we got so close. This series has showed that we're very evenly matched.
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