Steve Smith excited to lead Australia in “new era”

A key contributor to each of England’s three wins – most notably with centuries at the SWALEC Stadium and Trent Bridge – the 24-year-old frequently bailed out his side following poor starts, and did so in a delightfully positive manner to earn man-of-the-series honours.

England face Australia in the one-off T20 global at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens on Monday before the ODI series begins at the Ageas Bowl on Thursday 3rd September. But, going along with the tune of the series, the luck of the Australians had completely run out, as the rain that had subsided for the majority of the series, with English domination being accompanied by drowning sunshine, finally peaked at a truly dismal time for the visitors. Find us on Facebook too!

England regained the Ashes following a thrilling 3-2 victory this summer, and the team are heading down under to defend the urn in 2017/18.

England were better at playing on those kinds of pitches, whereas our batting on the flatter pitches was as poor as Australia’s on the pitches that produced movement and swing. “I think the past three Test matches have not been that case”. England, on the other hand, have been unable to find players to stand up and be counted. He could open alongside Alex Hales in the series against Australia although Jason Roy is retained in the squads. “We’ve got a whole squad to pick from which is really nice. I think for us now, it’s just about raising that bar and continuing to get better each day”.

England’s celebrations were mildly marred by being fined for being two overs short of their target at the Oval.

Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole were immediately into their groove, and England were particularly lively in the field, with both Danielles – Wyatt and Hazell – making impressive early contributions. Rebecca Grundy, the left-arm spinner who featured in the ODI series, also returns to the 14-member squad. Japan’s Olympic minister Toshiaki Endo said the deadline, set in order that the venue could host necessary test events prior to the Games, would be tough to meet. “I’m not saying the wickets were fantastic – don’t get me wrong – but we’ve seen a victor and a loser over four days”, Clarke said.

With rain forecast in Chelmsford on Wednesday, things are looking bleak for Charlotte Edwards’s team, but they would be hoping against hope that the weather gods allow them one more shot at defending the Ashes.

“You look at the five games, if the second team had batted like the first we would have had five-day games”, said Bayliss.

Nine Network’s head of sport Steve Crawley said captain Meg Lanning, allrounder Ellyse Perry and wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy were world-class athletes and great entertainers.

“I’m extremely proud of the way Sarah Taylor played”.