They might be the No.1 side in all three forms of the game, but Australia’s women’s cricket team doesn’t feel that will give them an edge in this year’s new-look Ashes series.
A 15-player squad was named on Tuesday to defend the women’s Ashes crown in England in August, when Australia will aim to add to their World Cup and World T20 titles.
This year’s series will feature one Test, plus three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 fixtures.
Australia won back the Ashes on home turf in 2011 for the first time since 2005.
Since then, the Southern Stars beat England to clinch back-to-back world Twenty20 titles last October and again defeated them on the way to winning this year’s World Cup.
But, with England hosting this year’s series, Southern Stars coach Cathryn Fitzpatrick says Australia won’t have the upper hand.
The last time Australia faced England away was in the women’s quadrangular series final in 2011 at Sir Paul Getty’s Ground, Wormsley – a match England won with pace bowler Katherine Brunt doing most of the damage claiming 5-18.
Fitzpatrick feels the fact they’ve chosen the same ground to host the Test will greatly boost England’s bid to reclaim the urn.
“I don’t see the fact that we’ll be playing all three formats providing a great advantage to us really,” she told AAP on Tuesday.
“It’s no surprise to me the venue they’ve chosen for the Test is a ground that we haven’t had a great deal of success on.
“They’ve got a couple of really good opening bowlers who swing the ball and, on a wicket that’s probably going to have a bit of grass on it, it will really suit them.”
Dual international Ellyse Perry, who juggles her cricketing career with footballing commitments, feels it’s England’s batting – most notably skipper Charlotte Edwards – that Australia have to watch out for.
“We’re the top-ranked team and, over the last six months, we’ve probably had the upper hand but, playing over in their home conditions, it should be pretty even,” Perry told AAP.
“We always look at her (Edwards) and gauge their success on how Charlotte’s doing but, across the park, they’re a very fit and skilful side.”
Meanwhile, Australia’s female cricketers were rewarded with big pay rises with Cricket Australia (CA) announcing a restructuring of the contracting system for women’s international and state cricket.
The top player retainer increases from $15,000 to $52,000 and the minimum retainer rises from $5000 to $25,000.
With tour payments also increasing from $100 to $250 per day – and 85 tour days within the next year – the country’s top female cricketers can earn $70,000 to $80,000 in the next 12 months.
“We are still working towards the day when Australia’s female cricketers will be able to earn a fulltime, professional living from cricket,” CA boss James Sutherland said.
“But the performances of our female stars justify this step.”
Ashes squad: Jodie Fields (capt), Alex Blackwell (v-capt), Jess Cameron, Sarah Coyte, Sarah Elliott (Test only), Holly Ferling, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Julie Hunter, Jess Jonassen, Meg Lanning, Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani.
National contract list, 2013-14: Blackwell, Cameron, Coyte, Ferling, Fields, Haynes, Healy, Hunter, Jonassen, Lanning, Osborne, Perry, Schutt, Villani.
