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We are just hours out from the first ball of the Women’s Ashes, and it’ll be another big commitment from fans of the Australian team to follow along throughout the night.
Cricket diehards were tested with a brutal time difference the last time the side were in action 16 weeks ago, where they defeated South Africa in Cape Town to lift the T20 Word Cup trophy.
Some of the players have enjoyed a long break from that point in late February, while others played in the very first instalment of the WPL and finally got to put their feet up in late March.
Either way, the team should be well rested leading into the Ashes, which is not something they’ve been able to say for a good 18 months.
Since the Aussies won the last series in 2022, they’ve clinched the Cricket World Cup, the T20 World Cup and a Commonwealth Games gold medal inside a very packed schedule.
England were unable to win a match in either of their men’s or women’s Ashes campaigns played here on Australian soil, as Meg Lanning’s team romped to a 12-4 victory to repeat the same points differential of the previous contest.
That 2019 summer is another England’s women would love to forget, after losing in such devastating fashion despite having the advantage of the home conditions. In fact, it’s been nine years since they last held the trophy and they’ll be desperately hoping to claw it back this time.
They won the two first editions of the multi-format series back in 2013/14 when the structure was altered to incorporate white-ball cricket, but Australia have either outright won or retained the Ashes since then, so it’s going to take something special to knock off the world’s number one team.
Still, England haven’t had to deal with the travel or jetlag and have been vocal about their desire to play an attacking brand of cricket, similar to what we’ve seen in the first men’s Test at Edgbaston.
Putting their own spin on ‘Bazball’, they’ll be running with their own version – ‘Jonball’ – under relatively new head coach Jon Lewis, who takes the reins for the first time in an Ashes contest, as does Australia’s Shelley Nitschke.
So, what are the biggest talking points and narratives to ponder leading in? The ABC’s Beamsy and Britt podcast has got you sorted.
What’s new this series?
A couple of key changes have shaken up the format for this upcoming series.
For the first time since February 1992, the women will play a five-day Test. This has been advocated for by the players for several years, knowing that is the base standard in the men’s game.
More time playing the traditional format is always appreciated, but more importantly, it should give teams a better chance at enforcing a result.
Australia hasn’t won a Test match since they played in Canterbury for the 2015 Ashes, and they’ve drawn four Tests in eight years since then – three times against England and once against India.
The other change is the shuffle of the order in scheduling.
In the first two editions of the multi-format points system, the Test was scheduled first, worth six points and followed by three ODIs and T20Is. In 2015 that was altered, reducing the Test match to just four points and positioning it in the middle of the series between the white-ball formats.
For 2023, given fans’ growing demands to see the women don the whites, the Test has resumed its importance at the front of the rank.
Former Australian leg-spinner Kristen Beams believes this is a pivotal response to the ongoing debate about the worth of the Test and whether it should return to six points in order to stop the captains playing it safe for a draw (two points each).
Beams was also frustrated by the suggestion that previous women’s Tests have been boring tactically, as the captains choose to play it more conservative.
“I always get a bit grumpy when people say that if the women want to play more Test matches they’ve got to play a particular style, because the way the multi-format series has been set up in the past really hasn’t allowed that to happen,” Beams said.
“If this was a five Test series, you probably could take the handbrake off in the first couple of Tests, so I think that view is a little unfair knowing the series result is all about how the points add up.
“When you have the Test match in the middle, you can kind of play it based on how you’ve gone throughout the ODIs, so if you’ve dominated them there is no incentive then to entertain at the cost of your overall position in the series.
“I love seeing the Test up-front, I think that changes it all because it’s such an advantage to win that first and you want to start on a strong note, so I like the switch and I think we will see teams have to continue that attacking play throughout the white-ball formats based on the early result.”
Lanning out, as Healy takes over captaincy
In May, the unfortunate news broke that Meg Lanning had been ruled out of the Ashes for medical reasons. Lanning also took a six-month mental health break last summer after the Commonwealth Games before making her way back into the line-up in the lead up to the T20 World Cup.
It’s the second time Lanning has missed the series, after sitting out the 2017 edition while recovering from a serious shoulder injury, and the skipper will be sorely missed, as she’s been involved in many of the greatest Women’s Ashes moments; like her record-breaking knock at Chelmsford in 2019.
It is unclear whether her omission from this series is related, but her absence opens up the huge opportunity for Alyssa Healy to take on the Ashes captaincy for the first time.
It’s a defining moment in the opening batter and wicketkeeper’s international career, given the historic rivalry of the series, the enormous interest in the contest and the stamina and tactics that will be required to secure victory across a range of formats on the overseas tour.
The role also marks another step in her evolution as a player. From a powerful batter that could give you rocks or diamonds, to fighting her way to the top of the order with a more measured approach and consistent form, and now as a senior leader within the group.
Healy has filled Lanning’s shoes before, acting as captain last December in a T20I series against India, but an Ashes series is a whole different kettle of fish.
“I think she’ll dominate it, when I think about how Alyssa has approached the Ashes before, she’s just that competitive character up for the fight and this is a great opportunity to channel that into the style of cricket she wants the team to play,” Beams said.
“You put a baggy green on her head and it’s going to be so good to watch, she is someone that will back in the bowlers to do their role and I always loved being in combination with her as keeper and bowler because of that.
“I’d expect her to have really close relationships with the bowlers and won’t be afraid to ask them, ‘Right, what do you want to do?’ … I feel that could be the real making of them, questioning how they want to take on an Ashes.”
Unexpected change in Aussie openers
As a result, it looks like Healy may end up batting lower down the order.
Under former coach Matthew Mott, it was rare to see much change, but this is one way that Shelley Nitschke – who took over as an interim coach in May 2022 and was appointed formally in September – may look to stamp her own mark on the team.
Healy came in at fifth in Australia’s three-day warm-up match at Leicester against England A and those on the ground believe it is a sure sign of what’s to come in the real event.
Whether this will pay off is anyone’s guess, as the selectors try to take some of the responsibility of her shoulders so she can concentrate on the captaincy. However, her style of play very much suits the opening position, so you have to wonder if it will give Healy even more to think about as she gets her head around a stabilising role in an unfamiliar spot.
The other opening position has surely been locked down by Beth Mooney who made 116 off 138 balls in the warm-up at the top of the order. This is a natural progression, as Mooney has already occupied that role in T20I cricket for some time and recently took on same role in ODI cricket when former vice-captain Rachael Haynes retired.
If not Healy, then who else plays alongside Mooney is the big question. Twenty-year-old Phoebe Litchfield may be the favourite, as she got the start in both innings of the warm-up (19, 78).
“I don’t think there’s too many wrong decisions here,” Beams said.
“Beth Mooney opening the batting makes complete sense, there’s some considerations about whether you go with a left-hand, right-hand combination instead knowing there might be some inexperience there for England’s bowlers.
“I’d say Litchfield will probably already know if she’s got the role, if you’re opening in the warm-up then you’re in with a pretty good chance.
“Ellyse Perry could also open, as could Tahlia McGrath or Annabel Sutherland.
“What we do know about Alyssa Healy is that she’ll play whatever role best fits the team and it wouldn’t surprise me if she opened or if she ended up batting at six or seven, it’ll just come down to finding the right balance.”
Not only is the opening batting partnership up in the air, but so is the bowling.
In the warm-up Irish woman turned Aussie, Kim Garth, started opposite Darcie Brown to attack the English A side from both ends with pace.
If you read into that, it looks as if Australia’s go-to strike bowler Megan Schutt could miss her second straight Test. Schutt didn’t make selection for the last Ashes Test but is ranked fourth in the world for ODIs and sixth for T20Is.
To omit her again would therefore be a really tough call, knowing how rare an opportunity it is.
“I don’t think that indicates that’s the case and still I think Schutt is as good a chance as anyone to play in this game,” Beams said.
“That’s the flexibility they’ve got in terms of the batters that can also play a bowling role, and when you think about Garth and Schutt’s ability to swing the ball in a Test match that is crucial.
“I’m also interested to see what happens with the spinners based on the conditions, as it feels likely they’ll go in with a left-arm, a leg spinner and an offspinner, so it’s just about doing the maths.”
You’ve heard of Bazball, but what about Jonball?
The Women’s Ashes begins this Thursday night 8pm AEST and you can hear all the action on the ABC Listen app, with recently retired English stalwart Katherine Sciver-Brunt on the mic for the coverage.
England have already declared how hard it has been for them to find her replacement, so how they shape up in that department will be interesting.
Meanwhile, the side bring in some good form with the bat which is the area that has let them down in previous Ashes series, failing to grit their teeth in the tough moments and build partnerships.
Opener Tammy Beaumont made a double century (201 off 238 balls) against Australia A in the warm-up held in Derby, while the middle order of Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophia Dunkley and Amy Jones all made it into the 70s or 80s.
