Winless with a mountain to climb – what hope for England?

England are already in need of a win in the Women’s Ashes, and they are still looking for their first points.

Following a flawless sweep in the series’ one-day international leg, dominating Australia now leads by six points.

In the aftermath of an 86-run defeat in the third ODI at Hobart, England captain Heather Knight said her side would “keep believing”, making reference to their fightback from 6-0 behind to draw 8-8 in the 2023 home series.

The four-day Melbourne showpiece will conclude their tour in Australia, where they face a different challenge than England, which won the Test that set off that 2023 series.

Australia and England both know that one more defeat would prevent them from returning home with the trophy after drawing the match two years ago.

The next three games, which begin on Monday in Sydney, could give the team a chance to stay alive before the Test will start on January 30. Because Knight and her colleagues have spoken with confidence about T20 cricket being their strength,

The hosts’ performance in the opening two ODI matches was below par despite the series’ dominant Australian performance. That suggests there are fragilities England, with a complete performance, could still exploit.

England’s goal is clear: they must win every remaining match in order to qualify for the Ashes for the first time in more than ten years.

England’s bowling performance was the most important takeaway from the ODI series. In contrast to the experienced Kate Cross, who has a back injury, Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer, who are both young seamers, have stood up admirably.

In the opening match, Australia only managed 204 wickets while losing six. They were then dismissed for 180 in match two, and slipped to 59-4 in the third game before a sensational middle-order rescue.

That suggests Australia’s top order is vulnerable, and in the T20s England must look to spin as their biggest weapon and bring in Sarah Glenn’s leg-spin to complement Sophie Ecclestone’s left-arm deliveries and Charlie Dean’s off-breaks.

Since the beginning of 2024, Australia’s spinners have taken 53 wickets in 17 T20 matches at an average of 18.4, while their England counterparts have taken 87 in 22 at 16.7. Only Sri Lanka, with 92, have taken more wickets with spin in that time.

This could ultimately be decided by who has the best spin attack, which is also England’s obvious weakness with the bat. This is unusual for a series in Australia.

During the 2023 series, England lost 23 wickets to Ash Gardner alone, and in the ODIs here they have given up 17 wickets to spin, being particularly troubled against leg-spinners.

At a combined average of just 10.2, Alana King and Georgia Wareham have each taken 13 wickets.

In contrast to the bowling, England have plenty of room for improvement in the batting department.

They had a top 222 in three ODIs, but they wasted a golden opportunity to score points on the board when they went all out for 159-22 short of the victory target in the second game when they were all out.

If the T20s are to provide England’s route back into the series, their senior players must step up.

Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Amy Jones have each played more than 100 internationals in the shortest format.

Of that quartet, only Sciver-Brunt passed 50 once in the ODIs, and that amounts to a collective failure. Tammy Beaumont was England’s only other half-centurion.

In contrast, five Australians passed the milestone and all were experienced names: Ellyse Perry, Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath.

Knight anticipates a reset from the change in format, and he has predicted that England will experience more “energy” with new faces.

Cross also makes a switch at the top of the order and includes Glenn, while Linsey Smith, Freya Kemp, Danielle Gibson, and Freya Kemp, all-rounders, are also the new faces.

Given their impressive powerplay debuts, England will likely be reluctant to switch Bell or Filer, but they have already played all three of their matches without Cross, and if they play all three T20s, they could end up feeling worn out before the Test match even begins.

If the seamers are shuffled, Gibson and Kemp will provide powerful lower-order batting and field excellency.

The number three position is England’s biggest puzzler. Although Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey have recently taken on the role, they have each managed just one score over 50 in their previous 17 innings.

Opener Bouchier’s stuttering contributions compound the fragile look of England’s top order.

Despite scoring a century in just her second ODI appearance against India in December and striking at a rate of nearly 145 in the most recent Women’s Big Bash League, Australia could add explosive batter Grace Harris to their lineup.

Australia are clearly well placed, but they have not played a T20 since the autumn’s World Cup when they were knocked out in the semi-finals by South Africa.