Australia can retain Ashes with opening ODI win against England

One win is all Australia needs to retain the Ashes, but the pursuit of perfection means an ODI series clean sweep is their aim.

A return to their “fearless” mindset is crucial if Australia wants to win the Ashes and not just retain them according to star all-rounder Tahlia McGrath.

The series, which Australia leads 6-4 on points after the Test match and three T20s, will be decided by the final three ODIs, a format in which the Aussies have won 15-straight games.

McGrath said the team had zero interest in retaining the Ashes with a drawn series, and despite needing just one victory to ensure the Aussies hold on to the trophy, three wins was their aim.

“Winning 8-8 doesn’t sound as good as winning them outright. The focus is on winning tomorrow, but we want to win outright,” McGrath, the Australian vice-captain, said ahead of the first ODI in Bristol on Wednesday night.

“We just want to win the Ashes. That’s what we came here to do.

“I don’t think (drawing) is enough. We want to win every game of cricket. First and foremost is retaining the Ashes, but we want to win these three games coming up.”

Tahlia McGrath wants the Aussies to be ruthless. Picture: David Rogers/Getty Images

The make-up of Australia’s batting order remains unclear, with Phoebe Litchfield having opened the batting with Beth Mooney in the most recent ODI series against Pakistan in January. But that was in the absence of skipper Alyssa Healy, who is back but batted down the order in the T20s.

“I think the best thing about our side is the flexibility we have in that there’s a few options that can do the job and the other positive is we’re team first,” McGrath said.

“Whoever it is will do the job and then other people slot into the middle-order and do whatever role is required for the team.”

McGrath is confident a return to Australia’s favoured 50-over format will help players rediscover the “fearless” mindset that propelled them to World Cup victory in 2022 as they seek to close out the women’s Ashes after a rare setback in the T20 leg.

“It’s where we’ve been so successful in the past,” McGrath said.

“You’ve just got so much more time. You can build your innings a bit more, and we’ve had players cash in and score those big hundreds with players supporting them.

“And we play that team-first (brand of) cricket, so players coming in know exactly what they need to do for the team and then play their role to the best of their ability.

“The 50-over format is one we’ve been really consistent and really good at, so from there it’s about finetuning and playing a little bit more fearlessly.”

Originally published as Australia can retain Ashes with opening ODI win against England