Australia's women cricketers have succeeded where the men failed, winning the Ashes on English soil for the first time since 2001 with a 20-run Twenty20 win at Hove.

The Southern Stars - led by Ellyse Perry (2-13), player of the match Rene Farrell (3-17) and Megan Schutt (2-18) - bowled magnificently to defend a small target of 108, dismissing the hosts for 87 in front of a sell-out crowd of over 5000.

The victory in the second of three T20 internationals meant Meg Lanning's team took an unassailable 10-4 points lead having already won the one-off Test and two of the three one-day matches.

It was the first time since the multi-format series was introduced in 2013 the Southern Stars have triumphed over England.

But they did it the hard way after England won the toss and elected to bowl, restricting the tourists to 7-107, a total bolstered by a big final over from Jess Cameron that yielded 13 runs.

Lanning was full of praise for her players for the manner in which they kept their composure with the ball to decimate the England top order, who were reduced to 5-28 after five overs.

"We didn't bat well tonight but our bowlers came to play and our fielding was the best it's been all series," Lanning told Sky Sports.

"It's one of the best wins I have been a part of. It's really nice to win this series.

"Winning the Ashes is the only thing we haven't been able to do over the last five years. But we came here very confident and used our whole squad which has been great."

Australia players celebrate their win over England during the 2nd NatWest T20 of the Women's Ashes Series between England and Australia. (Getty)

Perry failed with the bat after being promoted to the top of the order, scoring just seven.

But she was brilliant with the ball, her 17 dot deliveries preventing England getting off to a strong start.

She also took two wickets in as many balls including the prized scalp of the dangerous Sarah Taylor for eight.

"Ellyse is a genuine all-rounder - she is great with bat and with ball and she always steps up on the big occasions," Lanning said.

"I am very happy she is on my side. You need early wickets when you are defending 107 and we did that with five in the powerplay."

Disappointed England skipper Charlotte Edwards said the side should have been able to chase down such a small total but admitted the Australian bowlers had been too good throughout the series.

"Full credit has to go to Australia they have completely outplayed us today," Edwards said.

"We did brilliantly with the ball but our batting throughout this series hasn't been good enough. We're going to have to go away and do something about it.