Women’s Ashes: England captain Heather Knight calls for ‘more ruthless’ approach to batting in second ODI | Cricket news
Heather Knight admits England need to be “more ruthless” with the bat in the second game of the Women’s Ashes after losing the opening one-day international against Australia.
England travel to Melbourne for the second of three ODIs, starting at 11.05pm UK time on Monday, looking to bounce back immediately in the multi-format series after Australia comfortably won the Sydney opener by four wickets with 67 balls to spare.
The win means Australia have an early 2-0 lead in the series in which the six white-ball matches (three ODIs and three T20s) played this month carry two points to win ahead of the four-day Test, which runs from January 30 to On February 2 at the MCG in Melbourne, it offers four points for the outright winner.
While England captain Knight said there were many positives to take from the first game, particularly with the way the team bowled to set Australia a target of 204, she said they needed to find a way to score more in the second game at the Junction. Oval.
“I think we did some things really well in this game,” said Knight, who was England’s top scorer with 39.
“I think with the bat – myself included – a few of us have started and not been able to get a big score or a really big partnership, that’s something we can do a little bit better.
“Be a bit more ruthless when we go in to really get that big score, that wicket it didn’t always feel like you were in, there was always a bit of it during the innings.
“We get another 20 runs there and we’re really in the game.”
Bell: We can take confidence from the early series despite the first loss
Praising the way England’s bowlers approached the task of trying to limit Australia’s runs after being set a target of 204, Knight singled out “outstanding” Lauren Bell and said “that’s the best I’ve seen her bowl in an England shirt”.
Bell, who took the wicket of Ellyse Perry, said she felt “in a really good place” with her bowling and that, from a team perspective heading into Melbourne, “there are a few things we can definitely work on”.
“Obviously Australia caught really well and we dropped a few at key times,” she added.
“As a whole, we can take a fair amount of confidence from the game.
“We’re one game into a pretty long streak and obviously we’re down 2-0, but we’re going to have to start the next game, imagine it’s 0-0 and go again. That’s the beauty of these streaks; we can come back. We’re just going to have to reset and handle our plans and leave again.”
And on how they would approach the second ODI at the Junction Oval, Bell added: “I think we’ll sit down as a team and review and our batting line-up will come together and we’ll work it out.
“The conditions will be different in Melbourne, so we’ll have to adapt then. But we’ll come together as a group and work out the little things we can sort out and hopefully put in a better performance.”
Women’s Ashes 2025 schedule
All dates and times UK and Ireland
- First ODI: Saturday, January 11 – North Sydney Oval – Australia won by four wickets
- Other ODIs: 23.05, Monday 13 January – Junction Oval, Melbourne
- Third ODI: 23.05, Thursday, January 16 – Ninja Stadium, Hobart
- First T20I: 8.40am Monday 20th January – Sydney Cricket Ground
- Second T20I: 8.40am Thursday 23 January – Manuka Oval, Canberra
- Third T20I: 8.10am Saturday January 25 – Adelaide Oval
- Test: 3.30am Thursday 30 January – Sunday 2 February – MCG, Melbourne
