by Kate Cross believes a competitive 2023 Ashes series has given England “a lot of confidence” knowing they can beat Australia.
Australia retained the Ashes after a thrilling match last time out which saw England claim a draw in the second half of the series.
After the tourists claimed victory in the opening Test match of the series at Trent Bridge, England then won four of their six white-ball matches to level at 8-8.
They now face Australia in their own backyard this month, starting with a one-day international at North Sydney Oval on Saturday evening, with the series being broadcast on TNT Sports.
England go into the competition on the back of a series win over South Africa and while Cross admits a lot has changed in 18 months, she believes the memories of 2023 can be beneficial.
Reflecting on the last Ashes, Cross told the PA news agency: “It gave us a lot of confidence knowing we can beat Australia.
“I think there was a lot of scarring, certainly from the older, experienced players in the group who went to Australia and were beaten by them a lot.
“I think there was almost an obstacle that we overcame in this 2023 series. That said, we have a lot of young people on the team who don’t have those scars, who were part of this 2023 series, have won two white ball games of the series.
“It didn’t really happen until the last day of that Test match against the Australians and ultimately lost four runs.
“That feels like as much confidence as we can gain from this 2023 series – that was also 18 months ago and a lot has changed since then.
“We had a bit of disappointment at the World Cup, as did Australia. I know what it means from our point of view, it’s kind of allowed us to regroup, try to get younger again and I know that will happen in the Australian dressing room as well.
“We know it will be a huge challenge, it always happens in Australia and it is notoriously difficult to win here.
“I feel like the group is really up for it. We’re looking forward to the challenge, facing the Australians and hopefully putting on a really exciting series again like we did in 2023.”
An Ashes victory would be England’s first in 10 years, with their last victory coming during the 2013-14 tour of Australia, a team Cross was part of.
This year’s series begins with three ODIs and three T20 matches before concluding with a one-off day-night Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Cross was named in the ODI and Test match squads, but is recovering from an injury sustained in South Africa.
The seamstress’ tour ended with back spasms, but she revealed she had worked hard to ensure she was fully fit for Australia.
“To go into a series that featured three ODIs and a Test match and only come away with 4.5 overs was obviously disappointing,” Cross said.
“It has had its challenges and the Christmas period has had its challenges as well. I fought really hard to make sure I was in shape for this one day series.
“I was able to get the ball in my hand a little bit here and move around a little bit better, so it’s definitely going in the right direction.”
“Obviously there’s a lot of cricket to be played over the next month and hopefully I can play a part in that in some capacity. Working hard to be fit for Sunday.
Watch every Women’s Ashes match between Australia and England, live exclusively on TNT Sports and Discovery+ from 11pm on Saturday 11 January.
