England’s hopes of regaining the Women’s Ashes are slim. Heather Knight’s side are on their last chance, but can a switch to T20s and new faces change their fortunes and the series in Sydney?

England have no room for error

England were underdogs in the 50-match multi-match series, suffering an 86-run defeat in Hobart on Friday in the latest sobering setback after Melbourne and Sydney.

Australia led the table 6-0 and it seemed almost instantly that they needed just one more win to retain the Ashes.

For England, the equation is simple. If their decade-long wait for Ashes glory is to end, only a sweep of the three T20s and the series-ending Test series can end.

Reversing Australia’s lead will be no mean feat given the hosts’ dominance so far, but as long as a break is still possible, England must forget what came before and focus solely on maintaining perfection.

‘We’re alive’ – England captain Knight fights

England may well be struggling in Australia, but it’s not uncharted territory and they fought back valiantly from 6-0 down at home to draw 8-8 with Australia in the 2023 series.

It wasn’t enough to salvage the Ashes then, and it won’t be enough this time, but England captain Knight remains defiant as her team is on the verge of defeat.

“We’re still alive, we’re still in this. We have to continue to believe,” Knight said. “It’s going to be tough, but we’ve been here before.

“The score was 6-0 in the last Ashes and we were able to turn it around. Game by game we maintained that result and made some progress.

“I think the format change will be really good for us, T20 is one of our best formats and I think a little reset will do us some good. T20 is a format that a lot of girls like to play and I hope There are many benefits to change that can work.”

New format, opportunity to improve England’s fortunes?

With the ODI leg of the multi-format series now over, the move to T20s should be a boon for England.

The format is arguably England’s strongest, with Knight’s side winning seven of eight T20 matches ahead of the Ashes, including a 3-0 whitewash in the recent T20 tour of South Africa .

“I think the change in format is really good for us. T20 is one of our best formats and I think the little tweaks will do us some good,” Knight added.

“T20 is a format that a lot of girls love to play and I hope this change will do us a lot of good.”

With the arrival of the new format, England’s T20 team takes over the baton from their ODI opponents for Monday’s crucial match in Sydney.

All-rounder Freya Kemp, spinner Linsey Smith and wicketkeeper Bess Heath will join the squad for the T20 leg, with Tammy Beaumont ), Kate Cross and Ryana MacDonald-Gay will withdraw to begin preparations for the series-ending Test match at the MCG.

“I think the change of format will boost morale and put everyone at ease,” Nat Sciver-Brunt said. “Having the new staff will bring energy to us and we’re looking forward to it Back to Sydney.”

2025 Women’s Ashes Schedule

All dates and times in the UK and Ireland

• First foreign direct investment: Saturday 11 January – North Sydney Oval – Australia wins by four wickets
• The second foreign direct investment: Monday 13 January – Junction Oval, Melbourne – Australia won by 21 points
• The third overseas direct investment: Thursday 16 January – Hobart Ninja Stadium – Australia won by 86 runs
• First T20I: Monday 20 January 8:40am – Sydney Cricket Ground
• Second T20I: Thursday 23 January 8.40am – Manuka Oval, Canberra
• Third T20I: Saturday 25 January 8am – Adelaide Oval
• test: Thursday 30 January to 3.30am Sunday 2 February – MCG, Melbourne