Isa Guha discusses the Women's Ashes in a Hit for Six special
Tuesday 14 November 2017 07:33, UK
With the Women's Ashes under a week away, we get the thoughts of Isa Guha ahead the multi-format series in Australia.
The Ashes winner discusses the upcoming series, the key players for both sides, day-night Tests and what it take for a side to win Down Under in a special Women's Ashes edition of Hit for Six...
Who starts as the favourites to win the Women's Ashes?
It's really too close to call. England being world champions right now, they will be really confident ahead of the Ashes but Australia are up for revenge, and on home soil they are always a difficult team to beat. This time around they don't have Meg Lanning so that does enhance England's chances a fair amount, but it's still too close to call in my opinion.
Moving to the top of the world rankings also gives England a boost. The moment they beat Australia in the World Cup was when they started to believe that they could actually go on and win the trophy. The way they held their nerve under pressure against a side that are just so good at knockout situations would have given all the girls a lot of confidence and that belief to know they can get over the line against them in the Ashes.
Who are the key players for both sides?
For Australia, you have to look at Ellyse Perry, however, Australia do have a number of players that can cause England problems. And in the absence of Lanning it will be a real collective effort from the Aussies. Other batsmen will have to stand up and be counted to fill the void left by Lanning's absence and they've certainly got the resources to do that.
What we've seen with both of these sides is the fact it's not just one or two players that they rely on. Tammy Beaumont is obviously very important at the top of the order for England. Nat Sciver is also a key player along with the opening bowlers Anya Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt. There are so many players you can speak about and that's why they won the World Cup because everyone was contributing.
The battle of the captains will also be crucial. Who can handle the pressure better, who can rally their troops better and get the best out of their team at the crucial moments of the series? These are the questions people will be looking for answers to. Heather Knight has proven that already and the players are desperate to play for her and do well for her. She's got a very calm aura about her and she's very level-headed.
Rachel Haynes was the chosen one for Australia from the summer. They brought her in during Lanning's absence at the World Cup so they obviously knew they wanted to go with her for the Ashes. She's gone into domestic cricket and scored runs, showing she has some promise of being able to handle the pressure of being captain. She will have to work out quickly though how to get the best out of her players.
You played for England in Australia and won the Ashes Down Under, what are the key elements any side needs to win in Australia?
You have to be strong mentally. With there being a lot more coverage of Women's Cricket, the Ashes will be talked about quite a bit in the media. England have got to be fairly thick-skinned when it comes to that and I think they've been good at it in recent years. For example, there's no greater challenge than having to perform at a World Cup in your own back yard and their performance in winning the World Cup will give them a lot of confidence heading to Australia.
It's hard cricket that you play in Australia and one thing is for sure, the Aussies will come hard at them. They have already spoken about the fact that they don't want to be nice on the field. They are going to be aggressive in the way they play and the way they talk. England will have to be able to handle that and they will have to stick together as a team.
There will be times when you've had a bad day and you need to stick together, but you will also need to use the time off you have wisely. They need to explore, get away and enjoy being in Australia. A number of the girls have been out there before so they have the experience of having played there already. They know the conditions and it will be about adapting to them quickly. They have to start the series well and adapting to the Australian conditions quickly is key to that.
Do you like the multi-format series?
I love the multi-format series. Within it they've found a way to retain Test matches and England v Australia in the Test arena, they were always my favourite matches to play in.
The fact they are still able to play a Test but incorporate and give meaning to the rest of the games as well is vital, and perhaps it is something that can be employed around the world in other series.
The upcoming series sees the inaugural day-night women's Test taking place, is this a good move for Women's cricket? Would you have liked to have bowled with the pink ball?
It's a great step forward for women's cricket to have a day-night Test. We have to try these things and we have seen that it has been successful in the men's format. For England, it means going back to the North Sydney Oval and the girls will have fond memories of the ground after lifting the ODI World Cup there in 2009.
Playing with the pink ball in a day-night game will be fairly new to all the players. I know England have had a couple of warm-up games to get used to the conditions and bowling with the pink ball. It will be different when they out in Australia but both teams will be in the same position. They'll both have to adapt quickly and it will come down to which side does it better.
I have had a bowl with the pink ball but it was in a day game at Wormsley.
And finally, World Cup win or Ashes win?
World Cup win for sure because we've won the Ashes so many times! In all seriousness, in the World Cup you have to play against a lot of different nations and when the tournament gets to the knockout stages there is so much pressure to deal with. I do love the Ashes and some of my best memories are from Ashes cricket. I just wish we'd played a few more Test matches.
Anyway, the England girls will be hoping they have the choice after the Ashes! It's a great opportunity for the girls to experience playing in Australia and they'll be hoping to bring back the Ashes.
