by England head coach Jon Lewis says his team is “in a very good position” for the upcoming Ashes series in Australia, which he describes as the “toughest challenge” in cricket.
Lewis’ side bounced back from their T20 World Cup disappointment with a dominant multi-format series victory in South Africa.
The Women’s Ashes begins on January 11 with three ODIs, followed by three T20s and a single Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on January 30.
Lewis said: “We have just returned from a very successful tour of South Africa, which gave us very good preparation.
“We are in a very good position. We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what happened at the World Cup and we’re in a better place now than when we flew to South Africa.
“It’s a very difficult challenge. Is this the most difficult challenge? Yes, probably, almost.
“Winning a 50-over World Cup in India is also a big challenge, so 2025 is a huge year for us. We have two very different challenges that we are looking forward to.
Heather Knight’s side are bidding to win the Ashes for the first time in 10 years, with Australia remaining in a thrilling series draw in England in 2023.
Australia also bounced back from T20 World Cup disappointment – they lost to South Africa in the semi-final – by beating India 3-0 in their one-day international series.
Lewis added: “Their record needs to be respected and as a team they need to be respected and we really appreciate how difficult the challenge is to go and play our best cricket in Australia.
“I guess the thing we will focus on rather than the opposition will be ourselves and how we want to play.
“If we play our best cricket it will be a competitive series and I hope everyone will enjoy themselves thoroughly like they did a few years ago in England.
“We are quite confident, but we also understand how playing against Australia is a huge challenge for any team.”
England have named four potential Ashes debutants in their squad.
All-rounder Freya Kemp and spinner Linsey Smith are both named in the T20 squad, with wicketkeeper Bess Heath included in the T20 and Test squads as the trio battle to make their Ashes debut.
Sailor Ryana MacDonald-Gay is also included in the Test squad after impressing on her debut during the recent tour of South Africa.
Nat Sciver-Brunt is expected to be England’s key figure in their quest for the Ashes, after a superb year which culminated in her reaching the fastest century in the women’s Tests against South Africa, with only 96 balls.
