With England’s Women’s Ashes humiliation sealed, the England and Wales Cricket Board has promised an inquest into the series.
Clare Connor, the managing director of England Women, acknowledged the 16-0 whitewash gave her a “huge amount to think about”, adding: “One of my reflections is that we need to learn and act quickly.”
England do have a grace period, albeit a small one. They have no matches until the visit of the West Indies at the end of May, although it remains to be seen what changes can be made in that time.
Telegraph Sport analyses what the governing body and team must do to close the gap before the visit of Australia for the 2027 Ashes.
1.Making the big decisions
In 2016, then head coach Mark Robinson made the difficult and controversial decision to replace Charlotte Edwards as England captain. The side, which topped the world in 2009 had been overtaken by Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies, and Robinson was not afraid to make the unpopular call to drop the captain. The game had started a new, professional era and did not look back.
A big call must be made again as England have shown just how far they have fallen behind Australia. Key changes are needed at the top. At least one of Jon Lewis or Heather Knight must be replaced. Connor refused to discuss individuals in the immediate aftermath, but she did say: “We won’t shy away from honest conversations about how to take the team forward.”
2.Fielding
It is easy to point the finger at the dropped catches or mis-fields and suggest England might want to hire another or a new fielding coach, but the problem is deeper than that. Confident players do not spill chances they take as second nature in training and thanks to an ill-judged social media post, there were clips of slip catches taken with ease.
When a side is struggling, the mistakes – like dropping chances – emerge with force, but when a side is doing well it can feel like every potential boundary is chased down and prevented.
There is no doubt the fielding has been below the required standard, but solving the problem will be more than just adding an extra hour of catching a week – and instilling confidence after a whitewash defeat will be a mountain to climb.
3.Fitness
It has been the elephant in the room since Alex Hartley spoke of the side’s shortcomings in the fitness department during the T20 World Cup. When Lewis admitted Australia had superior athleticism, it was the first outright acknowledgement of an area where England are falling obviously short.
Former Australia head coach Matthew Mott was working as a TV pundit when he spoke of how hard Beth Mooney had worked to improve her fitness, going from one of the worst to among the best through sheer determination and effort. Even Connor had to admit: “It is evident that to compete with Australia and to be the best cricket team in the world we are going to need to hit some higher standards in terms of our physical preparation, our physical robustness, our athleticism and speed.”
That is not to say there are not fit players in the England side, apparently back-up wicketkeeper Bess Heath runs more than 30km for pleasure, but collectively the standards are far below Australia and improvements must be made in this area.
4.Accountability
Putting up a 20-year-old who has played only one match of the series to speak to the media on a day when eight catches have been put down hinted at a much wider problem. It should have been a coach or senior player to stand up, accept the criticism and accept what came, not someone new to the team who was left to insist in at least two separate interviews that the side had to “keep moving on” while an Ashes whitewash was all but sealed.
England players have refused interviews while the coach has insisted that “cultural differences” are to blame for the gulf between the sides. If England cannot own up to their own errors publicly – and one would have to hope they are at least doing so behind closed doors – then they cannot begin to address them.
Australia have always been the first to be forthcoming with areas of improvement, despite winning matches at a canter, and it is one of the things that has made them the best. At least Connor has taken Sophie Ecclestone’s public snub of Alex Hartley into account, insisting: “That was an unfortunate incident that won’t happen again.”
5.Squad balance
Australia’s squad has everything a side could wish for. Looking at the T20 team, Mooney offered a left-handed option at the top of the order to form those difficult partnerships that force bowlers to constantly adjust. Alyssa Healy is not just a keeper but a top-of-the-order batter, in a side packed with all-rounders and even power hitters like Grace Harris to come in further down the order.
The bowling side of things, Megan Schutt swings the ball in, Kim Garth takes it away at the start of the innings. Ashleigh Gardner is a good off-spinner, while Alana King and Georgia Wareham provide leg-spin options.
England on the other hand have no left-handed batters in their side, no express pace and no power hitting. Their side lacks not only the depth but the balance of the Australian one, where everyone knows their clearly defined role and executes it expertly.
