Sky Sports will bring you live ball-by-ball coverage of this summer's Women's Ashes. We speak to Sarah Taylor ahead of the showdown against Australia.
Friday 17 July 2015 13:57, UK
Wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor insists England will leave no stone unturned as they attempt to successfully defend the Women's Ashes against Australia.
England go in search of their third consecutive Ashes win when they play the first of three One-Day Internationals next week, followed by a Test and three Twenty20 Internationals.
And 2014 ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year Taylor has no doubt her team-mates will follow skipper Charlotte Edwards' lead as they attempt to keep the Ashes trophy in England.
"We have got real fight and we've shown that in practice games against guys and academy sides recently and there is no doubt we will take that into this Ashes series," Taylor told Sky Sports.
"We've done all the work, we've prepared so hard and I don't think we’ll let ourselves down. I'm sure we will get the best out of ourselves and I'm sure we will be competitive.
"They're probably about as tough a side as we are. They play with their hearts on their sleeves and I think that's exactly how we play. We play the way our captain plays and Charlotte Edwards plays every ball with her heart on her sleeve and you can see that.
"You can't help but feed off that and get that buzz from Charlotte. You're playing for pride and it doesn't matter who they have in their side, you're playing Australia and you’re playing for pride and your country, and that brings out the best in you.
"I'm sure there will be a lot of talk and a lot of words flying around from both camps but it will all come down to who wants it more on the day and who produces the best cricket.
"We always want to beat Australia but at the same time, they always want to beat us. We're both good sides and I just think it will be a very competitive series."
England's last Ashes win in January 2014 was particularly impressive as they came up against an Australia side who were a fully professional outfit.
England's players were awarded full-time central contracts five months later and this Ashes series will be the first contested by two professional women's teams.
"It's two professional women's sides squaring off against each other and it just happens to be an Ashes series," Taylor said.
"There's a lot riding on it and it probably makes the contest even better than it already is. It's really exciting and I'd hope that the standard of both sides has been raised and hopefully people will be able to see that."
Taylor believes team spirit could hold the key to a series win for England and points to the 2009 ICC Women's World Cup triumph as an example of what can be achieved when a squad is united.
"We'll draw experience from a lot of the matches we have played in the past, as well as World Cups," she added.
"One of my highlights as a player is when we won the World Cup in Australia in 2009. We didn't necessarily have the best team on paper but we had the best team as a collective of people.
"We wanted to do well for each other and I think that is probably what helped us bring out the best in each other.
"I love this bunch of girls. We're one big family. We see so much of each other and we can't help but want to do well for each other. Hopefully that will happen come next week."
Watch every ball of this summer's Women's Ashes live and exclusive on Sky Sports.
