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Relinquishing the T20 World Cup has done nothing to weaken Australia’s standing in world cricket, according to Danni Wyatt-Hodge, the England batter who knows them best.
She is set to contest her eighth Women’s Ashes series, and believes Australia’s batting depth, ruthlessness and home conditions will make them as dangerous as ever in the 2025 edition, which gets underway in Sydney this weekend.
Since last year’s failure to reach the final of the T20 World Cup for the first time since 2009, Australia have won all five of their completed matches during the home summer so far – all ODIs – defeating India 3-0 and New Zealand 2-0. During that time, they unearthed the outstanding talent of 21-year-old opening batter Georgia Voll, who averages 86.50 and scores at a strike rate of 108.80, including a century in just her second international match, against India in December.
The extent of Voll’s role in the Ashes remains to be seen after captain Alyssa Healy’s return from injury for the rain-affected tour of New Zealand in a batting-only capacity, with Beth Mooney keeping wicket. But Voll was drafted into the Ashes white-ball squads to replace injured allrounder Sophie Molineux after proving herself to be an excellent option for the hosts and a shining example of their still enviable depth, which also includes the more firmly established 21-year-old opener Phoebe Litchfield and 23-year-old allrounder Annabel Sutherland.
So Wyatt-Hodge isn’t buying into any suggestion that Australia’s shock World Cup exit leaves them as a diminished side.
“No, not at all, they’re a quality squad,” Wyatt-Hodge said in Australia on Monday. “Anyone in their squad that comes in performs. Look at Georgia Voll, she’s had an outstanding start to her ODI career. Anyone in their line-up is capable of match-winning performances. So it’s going to be a massive challenge for us, but one that we really can’t wait for, and especially playing them in their conditions as well adds another challenge.”
England proved that they could compete hard with Australia by winning both white-ball legs of the home series in 2023 after losing the Test, which meant points finished level on eight-all and Australia retained the trophy. During that series, Wyatt-Hodge was the second-highest run-scorer in the T20Is, trailing Mooney by just six runs.
“We’re going to take confidence from what happened,” Wyatt-Hodge said. “But we’re starting a new Ashes, obviously it’s in their conditions as well. We all know how good the Aussies are, they’re a real quality team, full of world-class players, but we’re really looking forward to the big challenge ahead.
“They bat so deep, don’t they, the Aussies? Anyone that comes in is capable of getting some valuable runs for their team. They’re just so ruthless, they just fight and fight till the end, and they are a very hard team to beat.”
England went some way to overcoming their own World Cup disappointment when, having been knocked out in the group stages with an uncomposed performance against West Indies in October, they finished 2024 with a successful tour of South Africa. There, they comprehensively won the Test, swept the T20Is 3-0 and dropped just one of their three ODIs. Wyatt was the leading run-scorer in the T20Is and second on England’s batting charts for the tour overall.
On tight schedule: ‘We can’t moan about it’
The 2025 Ashes kicks off with three ODIs from January 12, followed by three T20Is, and then a four-day pink-ball Test at the MCG, which is due to finish on February 2.
The schedule of seven matches – potentially 10 days’ play – in the space of 22 days with plenty of travel in between has come under criticism from Jon Lewis, the England head coach, who would have preferred more time to prepare, particularly for the Test. The only warm-up fixture, however, will be a 50-over match on January 9 between England and a Governor General’s XI, where Healy hopes to test recovery on her knee while taking the gloves.
“We can’t moan about it, just got to embrace it and make sure that we are prioritising our rest and once we’re on it, we’re on it,” Wyatt-Hodge said of the tight schedule. “We always speak about wanting to be calm and relaxed, but everyone’s different. Someone might need to be the opposite, so it’s going to be a matter of what works for you at the end of the day.
“But there’s a lot of hype around the Ashes and the first game. There’ll be a few nerves around, but I think it’s just going to be a matter of who stays calmest for sure and then get your head down. I definitely play a lot better when I’m feeling chilled and calm and relaxed. Obviously I get nervous and there’s a few nerves around, but yeah, definitely whoever stays the calmest will benefit more.”
Valkerie Baynes is a general editor, women’s cricket, at ESPNcricinfo
