Charlotte Edwards says England can bounce back from Ashes loss
Saturday 29 August 2015 09:38, UK
England captain Charlotte Edwards has admitted that Australia deserved to win the Women's Ashes but is confident her side can bounce back from the defeat.
Edwards, who has said she wants to stay on as captain, saw England's hopes of retaining the urn end after a 20-run defeat in the second Twenty20 International at Hove on Friday night.
The result leaves Australia with an unassailable 10-4 lead in the series, which is played over all three formats of the game.
"It's disappointing, but Australia completely outplayed us in the series and they deserve to win the Ashes," Edwards said.
"After winning at Chelmsford [in the first T20 on Wednesday] we came into the game with the belief that we could do something really special.
"I thought we did brilliantly with the ball and we should have chased 108, but we just weren't good enough. There was some poor shot selection, although I thought Australia fielded really well.
"We haven't batted well throughout the series, really, and losing the Ashes will hurt for a while. But 2016 is a big year for us, including the T20 World Cup, and I think we have the players to bounce back."
In contrast, Australia captain Meg Lanning was understandably delighted to have regained the urn.
"It's nice to get our hands back on those Ashes," she said. "We came here with a really good squad and we were confident we could win them again.
"We didn't bat well but we got five wickets in the powerplay and that set the tone, and I thought our fielding was the best it's been in the series.
"Everyone stepped up and players like Ellyse Perry and Rene Farrell led the way – they were superb.
"It's an amazing feeling to win the Ashes here in England, especially after such an all-round performance against a quality England side.
"I'm sure we'll have a good celebration but we want to finish the series with a good performance in the last T20 in Cardiff on Monday."
Live Women's Ashes
Watch the final T20 between England and Australia in Cardiff. Coverage begins on Sky Sports Ashes at 10:25am on Monday.
