Flashback: Australia regain Ashes to kickstart decade of dominance

Australia have kept the Women’s Ashes safely stowed in their trophy cabinet since mid-2015, and Alyssa Healy’s team will be desperate to make sure that’s where it remains when England arrive Down under this month.

It took an inspired, and at times unlikely, Test victory and an all-time effort with the ball in a low-scoring T20 to win back the trophy 10 points to six a decade ago, when captain Meg Lanning and her new coach Matthew Mott successfully plotted their way to Australia’s first away Ashes victory in 14 years.

Since, England have tried in vain to take back the Ashes, with their closest call coming in last year’s rollercoaster series in the United Kingdom, where a white-ball resurgence saw the fight for the Ashes come down to the penultimate game.

Women’s Ashes in the multi-format era

2013 (UK): England defeated Australia 4-12

 

2013-14 (Aus): England defeated Australia 10-8

 

2015 (UK): Australia defeated England 10-6

 

2017-18 (Aus): Series tied 8-8

 

2019 (UK): Australia defeated England 12-4

 

2021-22 (Aus): Australia defeated England 12-4

 

2023 (UK): Series tied 8-8

That series ended locked at eight points apiece, enough for Australia to keep the perpetual trophy.

It was the second time in the last decade that Heather Knight’s team tied the Ashes – the other draw came in 2017-18, when Australia had earned enough points to retain with two games remaining, but the chance to win outright slipped through their fingers when they dropped both of those matches.

In 2019, Australia were simply dominant, with Ellyse Perry’s ODI spell of 7-24 and Meg Lanning’s then-record T20I score of 133 headlining a series that finished 12-4 in their favour. England’s only points came from the drawn Test, and a dead rubber win in the final T20I.

In early 2022, came the series played in a covid bubble, with the spectre of upcoming New Zealand ODI World Cup (and need to avoid infection in order to make it into quarantine immediately) hanging over the Ashes.

Two of the three T20Is were washed out, while the drawn Test came down to the final over on a thrilling final day in Canberra. With the points 6-4 in Australia’s favour heading into the ODIs, Lanning’s team swept the 50-over format to again win 12-4.

As England can attest from their toils over the last decade, the need to earn at least nine points makes winning back the Ashes a tough assignment.

With that in mind, here’s a look back at how Lanning, Mott and their team did it in 2015.

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Mott took the helm as Australian coach in April 2015, joining forces with a then 23-year-old Lanning who had taken on the Australian captaincy on a full-time basis one year earlier.

The Australian team were flying in ICC tournaments at that point: they had won three T20 World Cups in a row, plus the 2023 ODI World Cup.

But they had only won the Ashes once in the previous 10 years – via a one-off Test in 2011 – and had not won them in the United Kingdom since 2001.

England had taken out both editions following the introduction of the multi-format, points-based system, thrashing Australia 12-4 in the UK in 2013, before narrowly winning 10-8 Down Under in 2013-14.

As Australia departed for the UK in mid-2015, Lanning told the media her squad would focus on their own game, rather than be motivated by the need to avenge their 2014 defeat.

"I'm not too sure about 'revenge'. We're just focused on what we can do," Lanning said.

"It's the one thing we haven't been able to win, which the group is very fired up about. We've been able to introduce a couple of new players as well, which is great."

First ODI, Taunton, July 21: Australia 9-238; England 6-240

 

England win by four wickets with 4.2 overs remaining

Charlotte Edwards' side made the perfect start to their bid to retain the Ashes, chasing down Australia’s middling total of 238 in Taunton.

Ellyse Perry's 78 had anchored Australia’s innings, but half-centuries from Lydia Greenway (53) and Nat Sciver (66) saw England recover from 4-80 to win with more than four overs to spare.

"We would have loved to start off with a win … the start probably cost us, Ellyse and Alex (Blackwell) got us back into it but if we'd had 30 or 40 more runs it might have been our day," Lanning said at the time.

Australia: 0 | England: 2 

Second ODI, Bristol, July 23: Australia 6-259; England 196

 

Australia win by 63 runs

Australia needed to hit back fast after the opening one-dayer and to the surprise of nowhere, that response came from the bat of Lanning, who smacked her sixth ODI hundred as she led her side to a hefty total of 6-259.

The Aussie captain was again in the thick of the action in the field, running out Knight with a brilliant direct-hit to end a 92-run stand with opening partner Edwards. From there, the tourists took control, as England lost 9-74 in 18 overs, with Schutt’s 4-47 leading the wicket takers.

"We looked back at the last game, saw where we could improve in all areas and did that really well," Lanning said. "We bowled straight - the run-out was more luck than anything but it's always good to get a direct hit."

Australia: 2 | England: 2 

Third ODI, New Road, July 26: Australia 7-241; England 152

 

Australia win by 89 runs

Australia got their noses ahead 4-2 at the end of the ODI leg thanks to a brilliant all-round performance from Perry, who hit 67 off 58 balls as part of an 85-run fourth-wicket stand with Lanning, whose good form continued with 85 of her own.

Perry – who had only recently been promoted up the order and was beginning to prove herself as a genuine allrounder – then snared the key wickets of Edwards and Sarah Taylor, paving the way to a comprehensive win.

"It was up to me to show that I was capable of batting a bit higher," Perry said at the time.

"I’ve worked and developed on my game. It’s started to come together now and I think it makes me a better player for Australia."

Lanning, meanwhile, said Australia had been to "timid” in the first game, but had responded well to take the ODI leg 2-1.

"It's important to celebrate victory - we'll celebrate a little but we'll be ready to go when the Test comes along," Lanning said.

Australia: 4 | England: 2 

Only Test, Canterbury, August 11-14: Australia 9-274d & 6-156d; England 168 & 101

 

Australia win by 161 runs

The points on offer for a Test win had been reduced from six to four for this series, with many believing too much weight was placed on the sole long-format game.

Still, a win in Canterbury was worth four precious points and Australia after winning the toss, made a solid start, posting 9-274d thanks largely to Jess Jonassen’s 99 on debut.

Megan Schutt (4-26) and Perry (3-38) then got stuck in with the ball, dismissing England for 168 and handing Australia a 106-run first-innings lead.

Jonassen top-scored again with 54 in Australia’s second dig, supported by Alex Blackwell's 47, before Lanning waved in her troops at 6-156, leaving England needing 263 for victory, and giving the tourists just two-and-a-half sessions in which to take 10 wickets.

"Declaring and sending England back in.. felt like game was there for us to win and they were going to come out with a more defensive mindset," Perry recalled in 2017.

Schutt and Perry struck early blows to have the hosts in deep trouble at 5-29, before Lydia Greenway and Georgia Elwiss dug in to defy Australia’s push for victory.

The game swung in dramatic fashion when Greenway’s 137-ball innings – which had yielded just 16 runs – ended when she was, somehow, bowled ducking a Perry ‘bouncer’ that failed to find any height, and from there, Perry ran riot, taking 6-32 as England were skittled for 101.

"We always knew that batting was difficult, especially for the new batters coming in," Lanning said on the timing of her declaration.

"It was still under three an over, so if England had batted well the carrot was there. 

"But we really wanted to win the game and we thought the more overs we could get at them the better. 

"We declared at a good time and we certainly had enough overs there at the end."

Australia headed into the T20Is with an 8-2 series lead, needing to win just one of the three T20Is to regain the Ashes. But it would not be so simple…

Australia: 8 | England: 2 

First T20I, Chelmsford, August 26: Australia 8-122; England 3-125

 

England win by seven wickets with 15 balls remaining

Australia were forced to wait for their final push at the Ashes, having headed to Ireland for a three-game T20I series following the Test. 

When they did return to England, the hosts needed to win all three T20Is to retain the urn, and Sarah Taylor scored 50 as England kept their chances of retaining the women's ashes alive by winning the first T20 international

They made the perfect start with Taylor, who shared a 77-run partnership with Edwards, hitting a half-century as England chased down Australia's score of 122-8 with 15 balls to spare to keep the series alive.

"England outplayed us in all departments of the game," Lanning said.

"Their opening bowlers really set the tone in the first six and we just couldn't get going with the bat."

Australia: 8 | England: 4 

Second T20I, Hove, August 28: Australia 7-107; England 87

 

Australia win by 20 runs

Both teams moved on to Hove with England still needing two wins to draw the series and retain the Ashes, and they were in the match at the halfway stage, restricting the Aussies to 7-107 after sending them in to bat.

"At the break between innings Motty walked in and had some pretty harsh words and put down a challenge to us, because we’d so under performed with the bat," Jonassen recalled in 2017.

"He said this is going to have to be our best bowing performance ever, if we want to win it."

And that is exactly what they produced. A ruthless bowling display from the Australia - spearheaded by Rene Farrell (3-17) - saw England bowled out for 87 as the tourists secured their first Women's Ashes victory in England in 14 years.

As she has done throughout the Ashes, it was Lanning who commanded her troops with precision and purpose to author an England collapse of 5-28 which proved impossible to overcome.

"It was just pure elation, to be able to win an Ashes away from home," Jonassen said.

Australia: 10 | England: 4 

Third T20I, Cardiff August 31: Australia 111; England 5-114

 

England win by five wickets

Australia already had the Ashes in their keeping with a 10-4 lead going into the final game, but could not finish off on a winning note as England claimed a consolation win.

But that was not enough to wipe the smiles of the Australians’ faces as Lanning finally lifted the trophy.

"We hadn't held the Ashes in quite a long time (and) we had a great preparation back home and to play the way we have against such fantastic opposition in England has been a fantastic experience," player of the series Perry said at the time.

"There's a great feeling amongst the group … it has been fantastically enjoyable and really exciting for the future."

Final points: Australia: 10 | England: 6 

Commbank Women's Ashes 2025

First ODI: January 12: North Sydney Oval, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT

Second ODI: January 14: CitiPower Centre, Melbourne, 10.05am AEDT

Third ODI: January 17: Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 10.05am AEDT

First T20I: January 20: SCG, Sydney, 7.40pm AEDT

Second T20I: January 23: Manuka Oval, Canberra, 7.40pm AEDT

Third T20I: January 25: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, 7.10pm ACDT (7.40pm AEDT)

Day-night Test: January 30 - February 2: MCG, Melbourne, 2.30pm AEDT

The rivalry resumes with a blockbuster series in Australia from Jan 12 - Feb 2. Learn about the remarkable 90-year history at the Women's Ashes Hub