Aussies ready to ramp up Ashes preparations

Australia’s Ashes preparations will go up a notch in Brisbane this week, with Meg Lanning’s squad to take on Australia A in two warm-up matches at Wynnum Manly Cricket Club.

The 50-over-a-side hit-outs will be played on Monday and Wednesday, before the 14-player Ashes touring party flies out for the United Kingdom on Friday.

Both matches will be a chance for Australia’s batters to spend precious time in the middle before they arrive in England, with the Ashes begin with three ODIs – the first to be played at Leicester’s Grace Road Oval on July 2.

The warm-ups will give players on the fringe of the ODI XI an opportunity to impress before the start of the multi-format, points-based series, while they’re also likely to herald the return of one-day opener Nicole Bolton alongside Alyssa Healy at the top of the order, after the Western Australian missed February’s ODIs against New Zealand due to personal reasons.

Australia are expected to field 13 players in Monday's first game, with only 11 permitted to bat.

For the Australia A contingent, the matches are a chance to test themselves against the world’s top-ranked team ahead of their own tour of the UK, beginning just days later.

"There's nothing better than trial matches and against the Aussie girls, you can't get much better opposition," Australia A allrounder Erin Burns told cricket.com.au on Sunday.

"It'll be really good for us to have a few hit outs and get as close to real match-play as we can before we jet off."

Once Australia arrive in the UK on Saturday, they’ll have nine days to acclimatise before that opening ODI in Leicester, including two 50-over warm-ups against an England Academy team in Loughborough.

While Lanning’s squad is preparing under the Queensland sun, Heather Knight’s England group is in the thick of a home limited-overs series against West Indies.

In an ominous sign from the hosts, they wrapped up a dominant a 3-0 ODI series victory over their Caribbean rivals on Thursday, winning by 208, 121 and 135 runs respectively.

Opener Amy Jones was brilliant posting scores of 91 and 80, while opening partner Tammy Beaumont was also in fine form with scores of 32, 61 and 46.

After struggling early in the series, No.3 Sarah Taylor found form in the series finale, striking 70 from 61 – her first half-century for England since June 2018.

Even more impressive was captain Knight who followed her 94 in the first ODI with a 19-ball 40no in the third.

Their performances prompted former England captain Charlotte Edwards – who in March said she believed it would be "tough" for England to win back the Ashes – to say on Test Match Special: "The more I watch England the more I think they'll do well in the Ashes.

"I like the balance of their side, players are getting into form. The more I think about it the more confident I get."

England will play the Windies in three T20Is from Tuesday before meeting Australia A in a one-off 50-over warm-up in Loughborough on June 29.

CommBank Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

June 26: England Academy v Australia, Loughborough

June 28:  England Academy v Australia, Loughborough

July 2: First ODI, Grace Road, Leicester

July 4: Second ODI, Grace Road, Leicester

July 7:  Third ODI, St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury

July 11-13: England Academy v Australia, Marlborough College, Swindon

July 18-21: Only Test, The County Ground, Taunton

July 26: First T20, County Ground, Chelmsford

July 28: Second T20, The County Ground, Hove

July 31: Third T20, Bristol County Ground, Bristol

A Test victory is worth four points (two each for a draw), two points are awarded for ODI and T20 wins