Aussies ‘missing Meg’, England’s ‘exciting’ push to end 10-year women’s Ashes drought

Australia is on the cusp of losing the women’s Ashes for the first time in 10 years to an “exciting” England team that’s on fire.

Australian great Rachael Haynes believes England’s blend of youth, experience and BazBall influence has the Poms in the best position to win the women’s Ashes for the first time in a decade.

The multi format series is tied 6-6 with two One Day Internationals remaining after Australia suffered three consecutive losses for the first time since 2016.

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England chased down 258 in the first ODI to end the visitors’ 15-game winning streak in the 50-over format and shift the momentum to England who pulled off its highest-ever ODI run chase.

England haven’t won a women’s Ashes series since 2013-14 and it would be a massive upset if they topple the Aussies.

“From a fan perspective, it’s been a fantastic series. You can see the momentum that it’s building over in the UK,” Haynes told news.com.au.

“I actually got quite nervous when the ODI went down to the end.”

“Credit to England, they’ve played some good cricket. They were born from the T20 part of the series. England came out and said that was the format they thought they could really challenge Australia. They’ve certainly done that.

Australia have lost three games in a row. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

“They’ve brought a real attacking brand of cricket and built that momentum and it’s flowed into the One-Day component of the game.”

“From Australia’s perspective, they’ve probably been a little bit off in all three facets of the game.

“But they’ve got another opportunity, they’re still very much in the series and winning the Test match gave them a little buffer but now they’ve got to turn it around these last two games.”

Australia is without two stalwarts of its batting line-up — the recently retired Haynes and legendary captain Meg Lanning, who is missing the Ashes due to a medical issue.

Haynes believes the team is missing Lanning, but they have the depth to win the Ashes.

“I think they are missing Meg a bit, particularly for that stability in the batting,” said Haynes, who is speaking on a Kayo panel at the Women In Sport Summit on the Gold Coast next week.

“Her record is phenomenal, whether that’s when Australia is setting or chasing, she often has that matchwinning innings.

“They probably haven’t quite had that and obviously her leadership speaks for itself. She’s definitely someone who’s missed but they’ve got a really strong group of players over there at the moment.

“It’s very much in their control and it’s about trying to get those little extra pieces of performances out of each other to help galvanise the group and get the team over the line.”

The Aussies are missing Meg Lanning (left) and Rachael Haynes (right). (Photo by Phil Walter-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

England’s attacking style of cricket, particularly in the white ball formats, has drawn comparison to the men’s side “Bazball” approach.

“They’re certainly bringing parts of that aren’t they,” Haynes said.

“They’ve been learning towards that for the last 12-18 months. Their new coach Jon Lewis, it’s been a big part of his philosophy to play that fearless brand of cricket and they’ve selected in that fashion as well.

“They’ve selected in that fashion as well. Players like Sophia Dunkley, Alice Capsey — two young players that like to take the game on.

“They’ve got players in really good form — Danni Wyatt’s had a really good series and she’s naturally an attacking player. The other one is Tammy Beaumont. To get a double hundred in the Test and she’s backed it up in the ODIs.

England’s team has a blend of youth, experience and firepower. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

“It’s exciting and they’ve probably unearthed a couple of players as well. Lauren Filer got her opportunity. So now they’re in a position as a team where they’re able to genuinely make some hard calls on selection and they’ve created that depth.

“It’s been building for 18 months and as a spectator it’s been exciting to watch to see Australia get challenged.”

The second ODI takes place on Sunday at 8pm AEST, before the third and final ODI on Tuesday.

Australia can retain the Ashes by winning one of those matches, but England need to win both to reclaim the Ashes.

Originally published as Aussies ‘missing Meg’, England’s ‘exciting’ push to end 10-year women’s Ashes drought