‘We don’t have as many scars as before’ – Dean

England “don’t have as many scars” as in previous years as they head into the Ashes, says spinner Charlie Dean.

After drawing a thrilling contest in the home summer of 2023 with famous victories in both white-ball legs of the multi-format series, Heather Knight’s team are hoping to win the Ashes for the first time since 2014.

In contrast to their previous home tour in 2022, where they did not win a game, England will take a lot of confidence from that effort, according to Dean.

When I went back to my previous trip, Dean said, “I was quite intimidated by the prospect of playing Australia.”

“I don’t know if the rest of the group was, but I felt that way a bit. So I think this time around, we’re a bit more experienced.

We’ve lost a few players along the way, but it seems like we don’t have as many scars from previous series. Big problems present opportunities for success, and the Ashes summer has given us a lot of encouragement for what we know we can do.

Following their disappointing T20 World Cup campaigns in the autumn, England and Australia both have strong performances going into the series.

Dean also attributed the rise in franchise cricket to reducing the intimidation brought on by playing against Australia on their home soil, where players frequently switch from team-mates to opponents in the middle of competitions.

You can be friends off the field, but when it comes to winning a game for your country, she said, “You can be friends off the pitch and you can do whatever it takes.”

” But it does bring some familiarity, it doesn’t seem so intimidating any more, which is an interesting dynamic to balance. “

England’s only warm-up match before the series starts on 11 January (23: 30 GMT) was cut short by rain at the North Sydney Oval, with only 28.2 overs bowled against the Australian Governor General’s XI.