England are under pressure going into the sole Test of the women’s Ashes on Tuesday. The hosts were outmanoeuvred by Australia in the one-day contests, losing 2-1, and are 4-2 behind on points in the series as they attempt to retain the trophy.
While Meg Lanning’s century at Bristol was a masterclass in elegant aggression and Ellyse Perry’s new ball performance at Worcester was as good as any, England failed to capitalise after winning the opening one-day game. Their bowlers struggled to make breakthroughs, no batter went on to play a Lanning-style innings and the fielding slipped as the series progressed.
The change of format should play to England’s strengths but adapting to red-ball cricket will be a challenge for the sides. “We knew the Australians were going to bounce back,” says the England spinner Rebecca Grundy. “They have such a strong squad. But we’re aware of the areas of our game that we can work and improve on. The most important thing, when you suffer a defeat, is what you can take from that loss as a squad and work on and improve in your next game.”
That game will be the Test at Canterbury. England’s previous two Tests in this country, against India and Australia in the last Ashes, have been held at Wormsley. Although a picturesque part of the world, the pitch at the ground near High Wycombe was hardly conducive to positive, or even eye-catching, play.
The highlight of the previous Ashes Test in England, although highlight may be overstating it, was Laura Marsh’s 55 from 304 deliveries. There was nothing in the pitch to encourage either side to play their shots. Both were bogged down, resulting in slow cricket that did little to capture the imagination.
Canterbury’s pitch – a genuine, first-class wicket – will offer a test of techniques. The wicket will have more pace than Wormsley; granted, not as much as the WACA, where the Test in Australia was held, but enough to test the tourist’s confidence against the moving ball. The outfield will be quick, so batsmen will get value for their shots.
However, neither team play Tests with any regularity and while England would hope to hold an advantage in the long-form game over their rivals, their last Test outing against India exposed technical and tactical weaknesses. They now have the added pressure of trying to rescue an Ashes series.
There has also been a change in the points system that decides the women’s Ashes, with the Test points reduced from six to four. In previous series, the Test was also played first and the points weighting meant that whoever won the Test was almost guaranteed to win the series. That is not the case this time.
England won their last Test against Australia in convincing fashion in Perth. An emphatic bowling performance, led by Kate Cross, was supported by another captain’s innings from Charlotte Edwards. England won by 61 runs and their Ashes victory was all but ensured.
Home conditions will play a big part for England but they must utilise the early chances they create. They also cannot afford to give players of the quality of Lanning and Perry as many opportunities as in the one-day games.
“We have gone through our plans to Lanning and Perry,” Grundy says. “We keep looking and reviewing them. It’s a case of taking the chances we created in the other games. We’re not perfect all the time but we haven’t suddenly turned into a bad side overnight. We want to put the mistakes behind us and move forward with a free mind and play positively.”
Australia looked rusty in the first ODI at Taunton and, while they came back strongly, Test cricket in England is a challenge they acknowledge will be difficult.
“Facing world-class bowlers in their own conditions is tough,” says the Australia opener Nicole Bolton. “They gave us nothing and are a fantastic attack to face.
“When you haven’t played that much Test cricket, you don’t know what to expect. There’s a lot of different situations and scenarios thrown at you, but that is what makes it such a great format.”
The teams will be looking to their captains to set the tone. Lanning is in imperious form while Edwards has looked in good touch, but she will be hoping she can convert her starts into substantial scores.
Australia’s strength has been their middle-order. They have supported their top-order batsmen well and in the ODI series helped propel them to a strong position. England, by contrast, have relied on Edwards. Once she falls, the team goes with her. The batsmen will have to stand on their own if they are to win.
