England batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge is expecting a ruthless Women’s Ashes battle with Australia.
The seven-match, multi-format series gets under way on January 11 in Sydney as England look to win the Ashes for the first time since 2014.
Despite England inflicting Australia’s first ODI series defeat in a decade in 2023, the Aussies retained the Ashes with an overall draw.
Wyatt-Hodge knows Australia will present another formidable challenge this winter, but the 33-year-old is confident England can take them on.
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“They bat so deep the Aussies, anyone who comes in is capable of getting valuable runs and they are ruthless, they will fight until the end and they are a hard team to beat,” she said.
“But as you can see from the Ashes, we’re able to compete and we’re excited to compete against them.
“A lot of us have played against them in the franchise teams and it will come down to who’s the calmest. We want to focus on ourselves and enjoy that challenge and enjoy being in Australia.”
Nat Sciver-Brunt shone in the last series as she helped England to a 69-run ODI win at Taunton.
“We’re taking confidence from that Ashes but it’s a new Ashes in their conditions,” she added.
“We know how good the Aussies are. They’re a quality team with world-class players and we’re looking forward to the challenge ahead.
“We’ve played so much cricket over the last few months which has been exciting and we’re feeling relaxed, calm and confident ahead of a massive challenge out here.”
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Among those England will need to be wary of is 21-year-old Georgia Voll, who has scored 173 runs across her first three ODI matches for Australia.
“Georgia Voll has had an outstanding start to her ODI career, anyone in their line-up can produce match winning performances,” Wyatt-Hodge said when asked about the young batter.
“In their conditions it adds to the challenge but a lot of us have played in the Big Bash so we’re used to the conditions.”