The
women's Ashes series has been in abeyance for the last fortnight, since
Australia took a 4-2 lead in the points-based format by winning two of the
three ODIs, but the contest will require little reheating when the teams meet
for the sole Test at Kent's Canterbury ground, starting on Tuesday. The match
will see a women's Test televised for the first time and will revive memories
of England's victory in a gruelling Perth encounter 18 months ago.
The
heat on that occasion was of the unbearable, get-indoors-and-stand-under-the-ac
variety, while the teams tussled for the advantage over four days under the
fierce western Australian sun. Conditions in the southeast corner of England
are likely to be more convivial - Kent is known as the Garden of England - and
there is the possibility of some rain, though the intensity of the cricket
should be just as high.
England's hold on the Ashes will weaken considerably if Australia
can secure a first Test win in the country since Karen Rolton's unbeaten
double-hundred set up victory at Headingley in
2001. However, a change to the points system since 2013-14 means that England
will remain in with a chance of drawing the series, and retaining the Ashes,
even if they lose.
When England closed out a 61-run win in Perth at the start of
the last series, it gave them a 6-0 points advantage that meant they only had
to win two of the remaining six limited-overs fixtures. Now, the Test will only
be worth four points to the winning side - with two points apiece for a draw -
which means the contest will be decided one way or another during the three
T20s scheduled for the end of August.
As Meg Lanning, Australia's captain who is set to lead in a
Test for the first time, put it: "The Test match is really important. If
either side can get a win here, that certainly puts you in the box seat."
A key factor will be the Canterbury pitch. Both sides
are equipped with lively pace-bowling options, as a low-scoring contest at the
WACA demonstrated, but Australia may be apprehensive of encountering a surface
similar to that at Wormsley in 2013, when Heather Knight's monumental, seven-hour 157
staved off the threat of defeat. Those at the ECB in charge of developing the
women's T20 franchise tournament in England might hope for something a bit more
televisual this time around.
England
eventually swept to a 12-4 points victory that summer but Australia, the
reigning 50-over and T20 champions, have more recently asserted their
limited-overs dominance. England have more experience in Tests and red-ball
cricket in general - Kate Cross has made an impression playing men's cricket in
the Lancashire Leagues - but they also suffered a surprise defeat to India at
Wormsley last year.
Having taken the lead in this Ashes series with
victory in the first ODI at Taunton, England were convincingly beaten in the second
and third games. The batting has looked susceptible, particularly if Australia
can keep Charlotte
Edwards quiet, and England
have brought in Fran Wilson for a potential Test debut after she made two
half-centuries against the tourists for the Academy - though Amy Jones, the
player Wilson replaced, promptly went and scored an unbeaten 155 at Beckenham last week.
Edwards
said it had been good to have a break after the ODIs to reflect and learn from
defeat. "We haven't got a huge amount of experience in terms of playing
four-day cricket," she said. "We go out there in our ODI cricket and
look to get wickets and score runs. We've just got to do it for an extended
period of time, and that's what we're saying to the players."
Australia's standard-bearers, Lanning and allrounder Ellyse Perry, have been
in prime form, leading the run-scoring during the ODIs. Perry has added a
century and 80 not out in Australia's two tour games since. They could be
tempted to bring in Rene Farrell, with Holly Ferling still searching for her
best form after injury, but the key battle will likely be between Lanning, in
her third Test, and Edwards, in her 23rd. Should Lanning's side continue to set
the tone, the Ashes could soon be within their grasp.
Form guide
(Last five completed matches, all formats)
England LLWWW
Australia WWLWW
Australia WWLWW
England squad Charlotte
Edwards (capt), Heather Knight, Katherine Brunt, Kathryn Cross, Georgia Elwiss,
Lydia Greenway, Rebecca Grundy, Jenny Gunn, Laura Marsh, Natalie Sciver, Anya Shrubsole,
Sarah Taylor (wk), Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield
Australia squad Meg
Lanning (capt), Alex Blackwell,Kristen Beams, Nicole Bolton, Jess Cameron,
Sarah Coyte, Rene Farrell, Holly Ferling, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen,
Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani