Women’s Ashes, a beginner’s guide: All you need to know about Heather Knight’s England and the all-conquering Australians
Want to know more about the Women’s Ashes? Here’s our essential guide to the two teams, the multi-format series and which players to watch out for…
What is the Ashes?
one of tea great sporting rivalries.
England and Australia first met in a men’s Test match in Melbourne in 1877, but the Ashes as we know it started with the 1882/83 series after Australia claimed their first Test win on English soil, a narrow seven-run victory at The Oval in 1882
After bowling their hosts out for 77, a young journalist called Reginald Shirley Brooks penned a mock obituary for English cricket, writing: “In affectionate remembrance of English cricket which died at The Oval, 29th August, 1882. Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances, RIP. NB The body will be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia.”
Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain say England Women need to have faith if they are going to beat a great Australia team in The Ashes
The first women’s Test series between England and Australia, and in fact the first women’s Test series ever, was played in Australia in 1934/35, with England emerging victorious.
The contest was not officially designated ‘the Women’s Ashes’ until the 1998 series, when an autographed bat was burned before the first Test at Lord’s, with some ashes then being placed inside a hollowed-out wooden cricket ball replica. In 2013, a new Women’s Ashes trophy was produced.
How are the women’s ashes different?
Since the 2013 series, one-day internationals and T20 international matches have counted towards the result of the series, as well as test matches, in a multi-series format.
As of 2015, 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.
Heather Knight and Sophia Dunkley joined Mel Jones and Nasser Hussain to look ahead to the Women’s Ashes series
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 international T20 (The Kia Oval) – Wednesday July 5 (6.35pm start)
- Third T20 international (Lord’s) – Saturday July 8 (6.35pm start)
- First one day internationalI (Unique Stadium, Bristol) – Wednesday, July 12 (1pm start)
- Second international one dayI (The Ageas Bowl) – Sunday July 16 (11am start)
- Third one-day international (Taunton) – Tuesday July 18 (1pm start)
Record-breaking Ashes crowds expected
Over 80,000 tickets have now been sold for this summer’s Women’s Ashes series, breaking last year’s attendance record across the women’s summer of 50,000. The 2019 Women’s Ashes in England was attended by 32,000 people.
This year’s Women’s Ashes Test match at Trent Bridge, starting on Wednesday, has sold 14,500 tickets – double the record attendance for a women’s Test in the UK, which came last year as England played South Africa in front of 7,500 at Taunton.
England captain Heather Knight looks ahead to the first Ashes Test against Australia at Trent Bridge and says the Nottingham crowd can help them to victory
Who are the current holders of The Ashes?
A total of 24 series have taken place, with Australia winning 10, England six and eight ending up drawn.
Australia have won three of the last four series, drawing the other, to hold the Ashes since England last triumphed in 2013/14.
Australia have won both of the last two series by a scoreline of 12-4, with England’s sole victory in 2019 coming in the dead-rubber final T20, while they went winless on the 2021/22 tour, earning their four points through a draw Test and two weather-affected ‘no results’ in the T20 series.
What form are the two teams in?
Australia, quite simply, could not be in any better form, having secured a sixth T20 World Cup title – and third in succession – in South Africa earlier this year.
Tammy Beaumont and Nasser Hussain look at why Australia are so dominant after they claimed a sixth Women’s T20 World Cup title and third in a row
It was Australia’s 13th World Cup win across all formats. They have also won seven 50-over tournaments and are the current holders following their success in New Zealand last year.
“You could argue that they’re the greatest cricket team of all time, challenging that great Australian [men’s] team of the 2000s when I was growing up,” England beater Tammy Beaumont said following their T20 World Cup triumph.
Sky Sports Cricket’s pundits put in their predictions ahead of the men’s and women’s Ashes series
As for England, ‘Jonball’ or ‘Lewball’ – it has not got an official name yet – is the women’s version of ‘Bazball’, with women’s head coach Jon Lewis adopting a similarly aggressive approach to the one that has rejuvenated the men’s test team.
Since taking over in November 2022, Lewis’ team swept the 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 Nat Sciver-Brunt struck a 40-ball 81 not out.
England would ultimately suffer disappointment at the semi-final stage, losing out to hosts South Africa by six runs.
Who are the ones to watch for England?
england captain Heather Knight has yet to be on the winning end of an Ashes series, though she has troubled Australia greatly as a batter in the Test arena, scoring two huge hundreds – including a career-best 168 not out on the away tour 18 months ago – along with two fifties in seven matches.
Nat Sciver Brunt is arguably one of the best batters in the world right now, across all formats, ranking third in ODI cricket and 11th in the T20 format. And in 24-year-old Sophia DarkleyEngland have unearthed a real batting star of the future.
Left arm spinner Sophie Eccleston is ranked as the world’s No 1 bowler in both ODI and T20 cricket and will be heavily relied upon by the hosts to pin down the Australian batting line-up throughout the summer.
Check out Issy Wong’s incredible hat-trick as Mumbai Indians secured their place in the Women’s Premier League final
elsewhere, Lauren Filer has been picked to make her England debut in the series-opening Test match, preferred over fellow seamer Issy Wong – though the latter is still sure to feature prominently in the shorter formats, having mightily impressed for Mumbai Indians in their Women’s Premier League win earlier this year, taking a hat-trick in the semi-finals.
Who are the ones to watch for Australia?
Alyssa Healy says she will ‘put her own spin’ on the Australia side after stepping in as captain for the absent Meg Lanning
Australia are without their inspirational 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, however.
Healy forms part of a formidable batting line-up that also contains Beth Mooney other Tahlia McGrathwho sits atop of the ODI and T20 batting rankings respectively – Mooney also occupying second spot on the latter.
Australia vice-captain Tahlia McGrath has called for the growth of Test cricket in the women’s game and believes the Ashes series has set the benchmark in that respect
As for their bowling attack, star veteran Megan Rubble is superbly supported by young quick Darcie Brownamong a plethora of quality spin options.
Also, you would be hard-pressed to find two better all-rounders in world cricket than Ashleigh Gardner other Ellyse Perry. All actions.
Watch the Women’s Ashes live on Sky sports cricket from this Thursday. Coverage of the Test match, at Trent Bridge, begins at 10am ahead of the first ball at 11am.
