Women’s Ashes: England can take confidence from ‘rollercoaster’ Test, says captain Heather Knight | Cricket News

England trail Australia 6-4 on points ahead of Women’s Ashes ODIs; Heather Knight’s side will regain trophy if they win all three 50-over matches but will also triumph with two victories and a tie or no result; first ODI in Canberra on Thursday, final two on February 6 and 8 in Melbourne

Heather Knight’s side trail Australia 6-4 on points ahead of the three Women’s Ashes ODIs

Heather Knight says England will take confidence from “creating a few cracks” in the Australia team during a “rollercoaster” Test match as they head into the must-win ODI portion of the Women’s Ashes.

England trail Ashes holders Australia 6-4 on points after a gripping draw in last week’s red-ball game at Manuka Oval in Canberra, the same venue for Thursday’s first 50-over fixture.

Australia need just a solitary victory over the course of the three ODIs to regain the Ashes, with England requiring three wins, or two victories and a tie or no result, to claim the trophy.

England hung on for a draw in the Test after at one stage looking poised for victory – the tourists reached 218-3 in pursuit of 257 in 48 overs, only to then collapse to 244-9 and rely on No 11 Kate Cross seeing out 12 deliveries at the death.

Sophie Ecclestone and Kate Cross saw off the final 13 deliveries as England battled to a draw in the standalone Test match

Knight told reporters: “What a rollercoaster of a game. It felt like we were in a great position and then at the end it felt a little bit like a loss.

“The way we went at that chase was awesome – there was some real character from the girls to show we can do that and go at the Australians, something we talked about a lot before the series.

“It has shown we can fight back and that when we do go hard at them and put them under pressure we can really create a few cracks.

“It gives us real confidence, particularly as that second innings was very much like a one-day chase. All of the top five found a bit of nick.”

Knight scored a superb 168 not out in the first innings of the drawn Test match

Lauren Winfield-Hill (33), Tammy Beaumont (36), Nat Sciver (58), Sophia Dunkley (45 off 32 balls) and Knight (48) all starred for England in their second innings – Knight doing so after hitting a sublime unbeaten 168 in the visitors’ first knock of 297 all out.

Knight said: “The knock that I had was really important for me and I feel in a good place. I am excited to get out there and hopefully contribute to the team, scoring runs and leading by example.”

On Dunkley, who bossed a quick-fire 52-run stand with Sciver for the fourth wicket to take England to within 39 runs of victory, Knight added: “I thought her partnership with Nat was really smart. Dunks decided to go a little bit harder and Nat could sit in.

“Sophia can really strike a ball but what has probably impressed me most over the last couple of years is how she has really worked on her composure, her mental game, and how she goes about her innings and deals with that pressure. She is also certainly a key player for us in ODI cricket.”

We have got to keep our eye on the first game and win that, it’s as simple as that. We have to go hard at Australia. If we can win it, it’s 6-6 and all to play for.

Heather Knight

The final two one-day internationals will be held at Junction Oval in Melbourne on February 6 and 8.

Australia captain Meg Lanning said: “I think England will come at us pretty hard and we’ll do the same thing.

“Both teams will have (nerves), but if we can settle into our work as quickly as we can, we feel like we can get some momentum and hopefully put them under pressure.

“We’re really comfortable with our ODI game at the moment. We feel like it’s in a good spot, but we need to make sure we bring our best to beat England.”

Australia captain Meg Lanning says her side need to ‘bring their best’ in order to beat England

Knight: Test pitch was brilliant

There were further calls for Women’s Test cricket to be extended to five days after the Canberra draw, something Knight, Cross and Sky Sports columnist Phoebe Graham had championed ahead of the game.

Knight still believes there is a place for four-day Test cricket in some circumstances, while she also says the quality of pitches is vital in boosting the red-ball format.

She added: “There should be flexibility. If boards want to play Test cricket, they should decide how many days they want to play.

“If you want to play five days in an Ashes match where the result is a little bit more important then definitely but if countries want to play Test cricket and the only option is four then, absolutely, that should be the case.

“What this Test showed is that it’s not as much about the number of days but about the wicket. It was brilliant – great carry, swing throughout the innings and something in it for the batters.

“When you have games like that, it’s great for the game all round, not just for Test cricket but for the women’s game in general.”