Women's Ashes: Reasons to believe England can end Australia's dominance in multi-format series
Watch the Women's Ashes live on Sky Sports from Thursday as multi-format series kicks off with Test match; abseiling in the Lake District, an injection of youth, WPL experience and 'Jonball' give England real hope of first series win since 2014
Wednesday 21 June 2023 09:17, UK
England are not only facing a cricket team in the Women's Ashes. They are facing a juggernaut.
Australia hold the Ashes and have done since 2015. They are reigning 50-over and 20-over World Cup champions and also won the Commonwealth Games last year. Winning trophies is what they do.
But perhaps this is the summer the juggernaut is halted. Perhaps this is the summer England win the Women's Ashes for the first time in nine years. Here are the reasons why that may happen…
Trip to the Lake District
It may seem odd to start with this one but England coach Jon Lewis thinks a recent team-building exercise where his players were taken out of their comfort zone can help them become better at handling the pressure of key moments.
Lewis led England to 12 wins from 12 after taking over late last year but that run was snapped with a loss to South Africa in the semi-finals of February's T20 World Cup as they collapsed from 131-3 after 16 overs in a chase of 165, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Lewis told Sky Sports' Daggers and Lyds Podcast: "One of the gaps I saw [in our team] was that when the pressure is on at times our emotion can take over our decision-making.
"I was keen to put the girls in a place where they got really emotional - swimming in Lake Windermere, standing at the top of a cliff ready to jump into a waterfall, abseiling, walking through a tunnel that has no light in it without a headlamp.
"I wanted them in a situation where there will able to receive and deliver information coherently, connecting, 'I'm bricking it at the top of a waterfall but need to tell my mate how I want her to do things' [to cricket]."
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Women's Premier League
Lewis was at the inaugural Women's Premier League earlier this year as head coach for UP Warriorz. A number of his England players featured, too, including Sophie Ecclestone for Warriorz, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Issy Wong for Mumbai Indians and skipper Heather Knight for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Lewis' team's hopes of making the final were ended by Sciver-Brunt and Wong, with the former scoring an unbeaten 72 from 38 balls against Warriorz in the eliminator before seamer Wong claimed the tournament's first hat-trick, a feat clinched when she bowled Ecclestone off an inside edge.
England's stars played in front of big crowds and fervent atmospheres - something they hope to experience again during the Ashes with a record number of tickets sold - with Sciver-Brunt following up her half-century in the eliminator with another in the final as Mumbai beat a Delhi Capitals side featuring England teenager Alice Capsey.
Lewis said: "The WPL was a brilliant competition for our players. We talked at the World Cup in our debrief about exposing our players to more pressure moments. Sciver-Brunt played amazing knocks - even for a player of her experience, that will give her so much confidence.
"Capsey bowling the final over of a WPL final. Those moments are irreplaceable in a player's career. Lauren Bell didn't play a game for my Warriorz team but sitting with Australians with multiple winning experiences was invaluable. She has come back and is now performing well."
No scars - and no Lanning
Pace bowlers Bell and Wong and all-rounder Capsey are new to Ashes cricket, which could be a blessing in disguise. They will not have the bad memories of Ashes past - and there have been bad memories for England over recent years, with Australia winning the last two contests 12-4 on points.
In England in 2019, the home side's sole victory came in the dead-rubber final T20, while in Australia at the start of 2022, they did not win any of the matches with Australia too strong in the ODIs, weather affecting the T20 portion and the Test ending in a draw.
Bell, Wong and Capsey bring fresh zest to the squad, as do the uncapped Dani Gibson and Lauren Filer. That youth, coupled with hardnosed performers such as Knight, Sciver-Brunt, Tammy Beaumont and Ecclestone, should make for a strong blend.
Australia, of course, are missing one of their hardnosed performers in captain Meg Lanning, who has been ruled out of the series for unspecified medical reasons. Chirpy wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy is an excellent stand-in but it is not ideal to be without your permanent leader and Healy told Sky Sports that she will skipper in a different way to Lanning.
"Meg is not here and I am acutely aware that I am not Meg," said Healy, the wife of Australia men's fast bowler Mitchell Starc. "It's important I put my own spin on the group without stepping on too many toes." England will hope to take advantage if there are any teething problems.
'Jonball'
'Jonball' or 'Lewball' - it has not got an official name yet - is England Women's version of 'Bazball', the aggressive style of cricket that has rejuvenated the men's Test team. Lewis saw the impact Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum made when he was bowling coach for the men's side and wanted the women's team to play a similar brand.
Australia are challenging us to really stretch ourselves and make ourselves think differently to disrupt how they play. The captain [Heather Knight] was ready for a change in attitude in how we played the game. She had made her mind up that we needed to push on and play a more attacking style of cricket.
They swept West Indies aside ahead of the T20 World Cup - winning 8-0 across T20I and ODI cricket in the Caribbean - and then reeled off four wins at the big dance, including hitting a tournament record 213-5 against Pakistan when Sciver-Brunt struck a 40-ball 81 not out.
Questions will be asked about whether England can play Jonball against Australia's bowling attack of Megan Schutt, Ashleigh Gardner, Darcie Brown, Alana King and co. It is the acid test.
England's men are playing Bazball against one much-vaunted Australia bowling unit. Let's see if England's women can do the same. If they can, then Healy's side may just wobble…
Australia's nerves
It was not only England that stuttered in the T20 World Cup semi-finals earlier this year. Australia did, too, given a real scare before overcoming India by five runs. Lanning's team, as they were then, looked on course for a first semi-final exit in that competition since 2009 as India required 41 from 34 balls in a chase of 173.
Australia needed a game-changing moment and it came in bizarre fashion when India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was run out after her bat got stuck in the pitch. A potential game-winning moment then came in the penultimate over when Ellyse Perry's sprawling stop prevented a four.
So, there's two ways of looking at it, really. Australia have chinks in their armour and are not as infallible as we think or they know how to get the job done.
England's Kate Cross said: "Australia seem to be able to ride those tough pressure moments and find ways of winning and there will be documentaries about how successful they have been." But how will they fare under Jonball?
Sophie Ecclestone and Nat Sciver-Brunt
Left-arm spinner Ecclestone is top of the rankings in ODI and T20I cricket and often looks unplayable with her combination of height, accuracy, skill and control. Even on the rare occasion she does not take bundles of wickets, she can be relied upon to keep things tight.
Australia have been the one opposition to make her look human, though, with Ecclestone averaging 53.71 against them across three Tests and 48.77 in 10 one-day internationals. Her economy rates against the Southern Stars in ODIs and T20s are significantly higher than against other opposition.
Ecclestone will be desperate to improve on those numbers this summer, one in which she may have added responsibility with the bat down the order following the recent retirement of Katherine Sciver-Brunt.
Katherine's wife Nat remains a key player for England, perhaps the key player. Her seam bowling and fielding skill are important but it is her middle-order batting on which England will most rely.
On Sciver-Brunt, who struck two hundreds against Australia in the 2022 50-over World Cup, including one in the final, Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain said: "England have a few world-class players but she is right at the top of the tree. One of the best in the world.
"Across all formats she will score runs and take wickets. She stands up on the big stage, in big games she always delivers, and she needs to set the tone."
Women's Ashes schedule (all games live on Sky Sports)
- Test match (Trent Bridge) - Thursday June 22 - Monday June 26 (11am start)
- First T20 international (Edgbaston) - Saturday July 1 (6.35pm start)
- Second T20 international (The Kia Oval) - Wednesday July 5 (6.35pm start)
- Third T20 international (Lord's) - Saturday July 8 (6.35pm start)
- First one-day international (Unique Stadium, Bristol) - Wednesday, July 12 (1pm start)
- Second one-day international (The Ageas Bowl) - Sunday July 16 (11am start)
- Third one-day international (Taunton) - Tuesday July 18 (1pm start)
How does the scoring system work for the Women's Ashes?
The winners of the Test match earn four points, with the teams taking two points each in the event of a draw. Two points are awarded for victories in each of the white-ball games, with sides picking up a point apiece in the event of a tie or no result.
Watch the multi-format Women's Ashes live on Sky Sports Cricket from Thursday. Coverage of the Test match, at Trent Bridge, begins at 10am ahead of the first ball at 11am.
