*Official* Women's Ashes 2025

[Spark]

huge part of why the aussie women's team is so good is money and support on several levels to be fair... this hegemony is the result of a decades long project from CA, broadcasters and of course the players themselves to boost visibility, interest, professionalism, and support for the women's game here and it's worked wonders!

Plus we did just see a non-Aus team win a marquee tournament!

Clearly Aus are still ahead of the rest but the gap is narrowing IMO.

 

[Sunil1z]

huge part of why the aussie women's team is so good is money and support on several levels to be fair... this hegemony is the result of a decades long project from CA, broadcasters and of course the players themselves to boost visibility, interest, professionalism, and support for the women's game here and it's worked wonders!

Money is not everything. They are mentally very strong. I have lost count of number of games of IND-AUS in last 5-6 years when it felt that we would beat them only to see us lose another game. This Team is very very difficult to beat .

 

[Sunil1z]

Plus we did just see a non-Aus team win a marquee tournament!

Clearly Aus are still ahead of the rest but the gap is narrowing IMO.

T20 is a lottery. You know one good knock or bowling spell can make your team win .

 

[cascade]

Money is not everything. They are mentally very strong. I have lost count of number of games of IND-AUS in last 5-6 years when it felt that we would beat them only to see us lose another game. This Team is very very difficult to beat .

India have been smashing everyone including Australia in tests at home lately. They've been great fun to watch as well.

 

[_Ed_]

T20 is a lottery. You know one good knock or bowling spell can make your team win .

Australia won the T20 World Cup in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020 and 2023. So it was a pretty big deal that they didn't win the last one IMO.

 

[Shady Slim]

Money is not everything. They are mentally very strong. I have lost count of number of games of IND-AUS in last 5-6 years when it felt that we would beat them only to see us lose another game. This Team is very very difficult to beat .

absolutely! but a lot of that is a flow on from the professionalism and full court press to ramp up the standards in the womens game which were a part of what i mentioned earlier. the wbbl is a serious business professional women's league and women's cricketers at the highest level make enough money to live on, meaning that they can train and play as fulltime cricketers with all the inherent physical and mental advantages that it can bring! more and more, in australia, it is not "cricket" and "women's cricket", but it is really "men's cricket" and "women's cricket"; they're not just a tokenstic sideshow for equal opportunity, they are an elite sporting international outfit and are treated suchly. all of these things mean that the aussie girls bring a fitness and mental edge to the park that other teams don't
i'd love to say it's our superior genetic and psychosocial makeup compared to that of the pallid and melancholy english, but it is not, it's all about the level of professionalism with which the women's game is treated here. and i for one am loving it!

 

[social]

ABC radio is broadcasting an irrelevant tennis match involving non Australian players on its main station

I don’t particularly like women’s cricket but that’s wrong

 

[social]

Money is not everything. They are mentally very strong. I have lost count of number of games of IND-AUS in last 5-6 years when it felt that we would beat them only to see us lose another game. This Team is very very difficult to beat .

Arguably the greatest sporting team in history

 

[Qlder]

ABC radio is broadcasting an irrelevant tennis match involving non Australian players on its main station

I don’t particularly like women’s cricket but that’s wrong

I'm listening to ABC radio in Malaysia and it has the cricket on (through the CA match page streaming)

 

[GoodAreasShane]

absolutely! but a lot of that is a flow on from the professionalism and full court press to ramp up the standards in the womens game which were a part of what i mentioned earlier. the wbbl is a serious business professional women's league and women's cricketers at the highest level make enough money to live on, meaning that they can train and play as fulltime cricketers with all the inherent physical and mental advantages that it can bring! more and more, in australia, it is not "cricket" and "women's cricket", but it is really "men's cricket" and "women's cricket"; they're not just a tokenstic sideshow for equal opportunity, they are an elite sporting international outfit and are treated suchly. all of these things mean that the aussie girls bring a fitness and mental edge to the park that other teams don't
i'd love to say it's our superior genetic and psychosocial makeup compared to that of the pallid and melancholy english, but it is not, it's all about the level of professionalism with which the women's game is treated here. and i for one am loving it!

All that is broadly absolutely true (and genuinely good from CA, rare as that might be) but from a distance it looks like England have been putting significantly more into their women's domestic scene for the past few years (since covid pretty much) and they still haven't really caught up in the amount of talent being produced

Pretty much all the English women who have went well in the WBBL have been seasoned internationals, their younger players have typically tended to not go so flash over here

 

[_Ed_]

England would have been right back in this if Ecclestone had held on to that catch.

 

[Burgey]

Another easy win for an Australian cricket team.

golden summer

 

[GoodAreasShane]

Made a little bit heavier weather of that than is absolutely ideal, but still a good win for Australia to start the series with

 

[social]

I'm listening to ABC radio in Malaysia and it has the cricket on (through the CA match page streaming)

I’m in Australia and the CA match page links you to the tennis station

Had to disconnect the phone in the car and manually search for it on the radio

First world problems

 

[Spark]

Surely Voll has to be in over McGrath at this point; the latter really needs to have a break and reset her game.

 

[Durham Fan]

England have a real problem with dropping catches and I’m sorry but the physical condition of the players who are dropping them doesn’t exactly scream “professional athlete”.

 

[kevinw]

I didn't see the game but there are a couple of players in this XI, who aren't Lizelle Lee, but really need to be much fitter, or otherwise they shouldn't be selected (one of whom definitely dropped a catch).

 

[Molehill]

It doesn't help that the two in question are best mates. Ecclestone offers enough elsewhere that her place is not in question, but I've no idea what Capsey gives to this side now. If she's not going to bowl, they may as well play Dunkley, who whilst questionable with the bat is at least mobile in the field.

I get that Capsey is a different frame to others and is never going to be the most agile, but she can surely be better than she is. Ecclestone's fitness levels seem to have dropped ever since Capsey joined the squad....

 

[Himannv]

They can't drop Ecclestone because she's the best bowler or close to it in the women's game. It'd be like dropping Shane Warne. She can do with a bit more work on her fitness but dropping her is the wrong move IMO.

Capsey, on the other hand, should be dropped on form alone even if you ignore fitness. Get Dunkley in but play her down the order. Knight, Dunkley, and DWH can all bowl a bit anyway.

 

[kevinw]

Ecclestone shouldn't be complacent just because she's the best bowler in the team/the world. She is a role model to other players. I could accept Australia being better with the bat or ball but fitness and conditioning and strong fielding is essential if we're going to compete and given the resources in the women's game, there is no excuse for players not being at the same fitness level as Australia. Some tough love is needed.