England captain Heather Knight insists the pressure is all on Australia after the home side fought back in the Women’s Ashes winning the T20 series 2-1.
Australia appeared to be cruising towards a successful Ashes defence after winning the solitary Test and the opening T20I to take a 6-0 lead in the multi-format series.
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Reaction from both captains after England clinched victory in the third T20 against Australia at Lord’s
But England have reduced the deficit to two points after winning back-to-back T20s and head into the three-match one-day international series with renewed confidence of upsetting the world’s number one women’s side.
Their efforts piqued the interest of 795,000 viewers, the highest ever for a women’s T20 international, with an average audience of 285,000.
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Highlights from the third Women’s Ashes T20 as England secured a thrilling win over Australia to keep their Ashes hopes alive
“We had to win five games on the trot to win the Ashes, so I guess the pressure was on us as we were massive underdogs at that point,” Knight said ahead of the opening ODI in Bristol.
“But the pressure’s all on them now, they’ve only got to win one game [to retain the Ashes]. If we can keep doing what we’re doing, keep ramping up that pressure a little bit.
“We’re still the underdogs in the context of the whole series. I feel like the pressure’s not massively on us.”
Test stars Tammy Beaumont and Lauren Filer have returned to the England squad with Knight promising that her side will continue to “disrupt” Australia.
Beaumont became England’s first Test double centurion while Filer touched speeds in excess of 75mph at Trent Bridge to live up to her reputation as the fastest female bowler in the country.
“We see her [Filer] as someone who can disrupt a bit and bowl in those middle overs and try to take wickets,” Knight said.
“She’s obviously played a lot at Bristol as well, knows the ground well and is really exciting.
Tammy Beaumont has been recalled to England’s squad for the three ODIs after being left out of the T20s
“In the past, we might have got a bit down and had the ‘here we go again’ thing against the Aussies, but there’s a real belief in that room that we can match this cricket team.
“We’ve always seen ourselves as the disrupters in this series, having to do things differently to beat this really good team.
“I’m sure they’ll come at us hard but our job is to keep trying to disrupt, keep trying to put them under pressure and bring our best cricket.”
England’s men’s team have kept their own Ashes hopes alive by winning at Headingley since the women’s side wrapped up a 2-1 T20 series win on Saturday.
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Watch the moment England beat Australia by three wickets in the third Ashes Test at Headingley to keep the series alive
That feel-good factor in English cricket is something Knight is keen to tap into during the remaining ODI games at Bristol, Southampton and Taunton, all three of which have sold out.
She said: “It was great to see the guys win. I think they have actually been quite parallel series – they obviously lost the first two games which were very close as well.
“There’s a real buzz around the country, which is awesome, that’s what Ashes series can do. We’re buzzing off the amount of people that have come to watch us.
“We’re just trying to keep the momentum going and if the boys can keep doing well and we can keep doing well, then maybe we can both have the great escape.
“Time will tell.”
Australia all-rounder Tahlia McGrath says the visitors are not panicking after successive defeats.
McGrath said: “It was disappointing not to have played the cricket we would have liked, right through the T20 aspect.
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Australia’s Tahlia McGrath is very confident her team can beat England to win the Ashes
“But we’ve had some good discussions and we’re still pretty confident. We’re here to win the Ashes and we’ve still got our noses in front. There’s no panic stations.”
Asked if just retaining the Ashes with an 8-8 draw would be enough for Australia, McGrath said: “I don’t think so. We want to win every game of cricket.
“First and foremost we want to retain the Ashes and doing that eight-all doesn’t sound the same as winning them outright.”
Women’s Ashes schedule (all games live on Sky Sports)
Watch the first ODI of the multi-format Women’s Ashes between England and Australia on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 12.30pm, ahead of the first ball at 1pm. Stream this summer’s men’s and women’s Ashes series on NOW