Heather Knight ready for ‘pressure moments’ as England target Ashes upset | Cricket News

England captain Heather Knight has called on her team to realise their potential and win “the real pressure moments” as they aim to upset Australia and win the Women’s Ashes for the first time since 2014.

Australia have won three of the last four multi-format Ashes series, including two emphatic victories in 2019 and eighteen months ago Down Under, as well as being T20 and 50-over world champions and Commonwealth gold medallists.

In contrast, England’s recent history has been characterised by a number of near misses and spurned opportunities – beaten by India in the Commonwealth semi-final before an emphatic defeat to New Zealand in the bronze-medal match, and then a heart-breaking defeat to hosts South Africa in the World T20 semi-final in February.

In the latter loss at Newlands, head coach Jon Lewis, still fairly fresh to the role, had felt England’s communication in the vital moments had been lacking, and last month decided to take his players out of their comfort zone on a team bonding trip to the Lake District which included climbing, cold water immersion and hill sprints with an aim that their collective experiences might prove significant over the course of the summer.

“We’re just trying to create a bit more of an open culture, where we challenge each other and say things that need to be said and the Lake District few days was the start of that trying to embed that into our dressing room, part of my job is to grow the people around me and growing more leaders in the team has been a big part of my agenda,” Knight told Sky Sports News.

“If we’re really honest with ourselves as a team we’ve had the talent but we haven’t quite won those real pressure moments, I think cricket wise we’re not too far away from the Australians but it’s about winning those really big moments when you’re under the pump.

“A big part of that is communicating really well and being really clear with your partner you’re batting with or being really clear with your plans as a bowler and making sure different people in the team are leading at different points is really important.

“We’re a really close team that gets on very well and sometimes that makes it a little bit harder to be brutally honest but it’s really important that us as a group are challenging each other to be better and when we see things that need to be better we need to be talking about it and push forward as individuals and a group.”

The last Ashes series was an unhappy one all round for England, their preparation was hugely compromised by Australia’s strict Covid protocols meaning their practice partners were friends and family, there was little freedom upon arrival in Australia, and England failed to win any match in a rain-ravaged series.

The build-up to the 50-over World Cup that followed soon after in New Zealand was equally chaotic at times and at the start of the tournament it showed as England lost their opening three matches before rallying impressively to reach the final.

But once there England were again outclassed by their old rivals, an outstanding 170 from Alyssa Healy helped Australia to a 71-run victory that was never really in doubt despite the heroics of Nat Sciver-Brunt.

Touring during the pandemic had become an unhappy and restrictive experience and Knight questioned whether she wanted to continue in the role she’d taken on in 2016 before leading her country to a famous World Cup win at Lord’s the following summer.

“It was a pretty tough time and I was quite close to giving up the job just after Ashes and the World Cup, that was the only time where I really felt like being captain and all the other stuff around it was affecting my game and I was pretty mentally drained after that trip,” said Knight.

“I just thought ‘do I want to do this anymore’ I think and that’s been something that has never really crossed my mind before.

“But after that trip I had a bit of time off, came back we had a few really exciting young players and I thought I could have an impact here in shaping the start of their careers and shaping us a team and obviously Covid sort of disappeared which was a very big relief because that was a real challenge for anyone that was a leader during that time to try and manage a lot of things you didn’t think you’d ever have to manage.”

England’s Test team that gets the series underway at Trent Bridge on Thursday could feature as many as four Ashes debutants – all-rounder Dani Gibson and seam bowlers Issy Wong, Lauren Filer and Lauren Bell are all in the 13-player squad, whilst teenager Alice Capsey will figure in the shorter formats later on.

There are players not scarred by a string of defeats to an all-conquering Australian machine that has lost just one of their last 23 T20s and one of the last 42 ODIs.

Amongst them, Wong has suggested it might be a good time to play Australia this summer, and Knight believes there is a fearlessness in the England squad that could help them mount a realistic challenge to regain the Ashes.

“They’re so much more used to playing in front of crowds and a lot of them thrive off that, younger people are a lot more savvy and confident and willing to challenge the status quo which is a really good thing and it’s about adapting myself about how I manage those younger players and make them really comfortable to be themselves and the get best out of their game,” said Knight.

“I think there’s certainly a real belief not just in the younger girls but in the whole squad about how we want to do things and how we want to play.

“We’ve got to show respect to the Australians, they’re a very good side they’ve won a hell of a lot of things and we feel like we’ve got to be the disruptors, the people who have to do things a little bit differently and challenge things and find a way to win against them.

“They’re a super side they’ve got a lot of depth in their side and we’re chasing a little bit and they’re setting the standard that hopefully we can catch up to and go ahead but there’s confidence throughout the team that we’re good enough to be successful and we’ve got the mentality to challenge them and get some success.”

Women’s Ashes schedule (all games live on Sky Sports)

• Test match (Trent Bridge) – Thursday June 22 – Monday June 26 (11am start)
• First T20 international (Edgbaston) – Saturday July 1 (6.35pm start)
• Second T20 international (The Kia Oval) – Wednesday July 5 (6.35pm start)
• Third T20 international (Lord’s) – Saturday July 8 (6.35pm start)
• First one-day international (Unique Stadium, Bristol) – Wednesday, July 12 (1pm start)
• Second one-day international (The Ageas Bowl) – Sunday July 16 (11am start)
• Third one-day international (Taunton) – Tuesday July 18 (1pm start)

How does the scoring system work for the Women’s Ashes?

The winners of the Test match earn four points, with the teams taking two points each in the event of a draw. Two points are awarded for victories in each of the white-ball games, with sides picking up a point apiece in the event of a tie or no result.

Watch the Women’s Ashes live on Sky Sports Cricket from this Thursday. Coverage of the Test match, at Trent Bridge, begins at 10am ahead of the first ball at 11am.