Women's Ashes 2025: 'Gulf between Australia and England is only getting bigger'

This edition of the Women's Ashes series, held in Australia, was considered to be the most evenly matched contest between the two teams in nearly a decade. It was widely believed that the gap between the legendary Australian team and the rapidly improving, determined English team was closing.

However, after four one-sided matches, England disappointingly surrendered the Ashes at the earliest opportunity. Coming off a drawn series in 2023 and both teams having early exits from the T20 World Cup in the autumn, both were eager to prove themselves, with England also having learned from past lessons.

In the first two ODIs, England were bowled out for 204 and then failed to chase 181 to level the series. Captain Heather Knight has stated multiple times that England are “really close” to Australia and “not far off catching them.” Following a 57-run defeat in the first T20 on Monday, Knight expressed a similar message, saying “we felt we were in the game” and “we can match them.”

But with Australia leading 8-0 and showing no signs of letting up, England need to stop deluding themselves – and us. Frankly, they are a long way off. England can keep saying they are closing the gap, but the results and performances do not reflect that. Of course, there is no shame in losing to Australia, let’s be clear. They hold 50-over World Cup titles, and before last year, had won six of the previous seven T20 World Cups, and through their professional domestic system, they have built an enviable depth of strength in all aspects of the game, putting them ahead of the curve.

Australia are ruthless, but England are ranked second in the world and should be aspiring to knock them off the top spot – or at least compete closely and give them some trouble. However, it is England who are now bruised and battered. The frustration from this series stems from failing to execute the basics in the field, repeated batting collapses against spin, and the fact that since 2023, Australia have surged ahead in all aspects of the game, while England appear to have stagnated.

The second ODI was a defining match in the series, as, in essence, Australia got away with one. Instead of building momentum and leveling the series, England merely reminded Australia of their vulnerabilities, and they haven’t looked back since. They responded with 308 in the next ODI – in fairness, England could do little wrong in the field – and then posted 198 batting first in the first T20 in Sydney.

Beth Mooney, dropped twice (on 16 and 23), hit a match-winning 75 off 51 balls, after newcomer Georgia Voll was also dropped once (on 13) in an aggressive 21 off 11 balls. If we look at the gap between the two teams, the area England need to improve most is in the field – and it is exactly where Australia excel. In Australia's innings, England let balls slip through their hands and between their legs. There were singles stolen through misfields. They failed to reach balls on the boundary that Australian fielders were reaching with ease.

The hosts, whether commanded by Alyssa Healy or stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath, are relentless between overs. They give their opponents no time to breathe, let alone think. They suffocate you. They have exceptional athleticism and an aura, and when the rare mistake happens, the crowd falls silent in shock. Even when they are up against it – such as when Sophia Dunkley hit 50 off 24 balls in England’s chase – their body language does not change.

Mooney herself summed it up perfectly in her post-match interview. “It’s an attitude thing,” she said. “We go out there and consciously try and go for everything. We want to keep pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve.” In contrast, England have not addressed their issues with the same discipline. In 2023, they lost 39 wickets to spin against Australia, averaging 22.5 runs per wicket. At the end of that summer, they surprisingly lost a T20 series to Sri Lanka when spin again dominated.

Head coach Jon Lewis acknowledged this as a weakness and said he would take his players to a spin camp to address the problem. However, so far in this series, they have lost 22 wickets to spin, averaging just 11.63 runs per wicket, with a strike rate of 71. While the team have struggled on the field, they have not won many friends off it either. After they bowed out of the T20 World Cup with a string of dropped catches and heads down, former England bowler Alex Hartley was one of the few commentators to question the team’s fitness and suggest it was an area for improvement.

Since Hartley’s comments, some England players have not interacted with her when she has been conducting media interviews for BBC Test Match Special and Channel 7 in Australia. This came to a head in the pre-match preparations in Sydney when spinner Sophie Ecclestone – Hartley’s former teammate for England and Lancashire – refused to be interviewed by Hartley. “I’ve been blanked,” Hartley said on the BBC Test Match Special podcast. “The reason I said England aren’t as fit as Australia is because I want them to be competitive, I want them to get better, I want them to win. But I’ve had the cold shoulder ever since – not from everyone, but a few individuals and coaches.”

“Clearly I’ve upset them. They think I’m wrong, and that’s fine – I’m entitled to my opinion and they’re entitled to theirs.” What England have to accept is that until they close the gap on Australia, questions about all aspects of their game will continue to be asked. For Australia, the juggernaut keeps on rolling.