England shed past Ashes scars, have trophy in sights: Dean

The young talent in England’s Ashes squad do not carry the scars of the group who failed to win a game on their last trip to Australia in 2022, spinner Charlie Dean says.

Instead, Heather Knight’s group have landed in Sydney quietly optimistic about their chances in the multi-format series following their come-from-behind effort in last year’s drawn Ashes on home soil.

Australia are determined to claim an outright Ashes win after surrendering a six-point lead on that tour, while England are desperate to get their hands on the trophy after surrendering it almost a decade ago.

The points-based series will pit the world’s two top-ranked teams against one another, both also with a point to prove after disappointing T20 World Cup campaigns last October.

"Going back to the last Ashes trip, I was really fresh based on the international scene, and I think I was quite daunted by the prospect of the Aussies," Dean told reporters on Friday.

"This time around, I feel like a few more of us are a bit more experienced.

"We've lost a few players, but then a lot of us (younger players) have got some games under our belt.

"It feels like we don't have as many scars in the group from games in previous (Ashes) and we're coming through with a bit more of a fresh attitude towards the challenge that the Aussies bring.

"There's maybe a good sense of the group and the home Ashes summer has really brought some positive feelings around the Ashes and what we can do."

That 2022 series – which was played in a Covid bubble ahead of the ODI World Cup in New Zealand – saw Australia claim a comfortable win in the opening T20I, before the next two 20-over games were washed out.

The Test in Canberra ended in a thrilling draw, and Australia swept the ODIs to take the series 12-4.

It followed a similarly torrid home Ashes for England in 2019 where their only win came in a dead rubber T20.

Dean said it was "dangerous" to daydream about how it would feel to finally reclaim the trophy, but said England were far better placed than they had been on their 2022 campaign.

"We played for a month-and-a-half and I don't think we won a game, so it was a tough tour," Dean said of the 2022 campaign.

"I think that home Ashes summer (in 2023) was really big for us in terms of getting some white-ball results.

"We didn't come away with an Ashes win, but it felt like we did a lot of hard work and a lot of the momentum was with us in that series and hopefully that's something that we can replicate.

"We're very aware that playing in the Aussies' backyard is going to be a challenge but I think we're up to it.

"We feel that we're closing the gap in our way, they've been so dominant over the past 10 years.

"But we also know that when the Aussies get poked it only spurs them on to do greater things ... hopefully we can come at them with the same attitude and energy that we did back at home."

Dean forms part of England’s potent spin attack who will look to squeeze Australia through the middle overs, and is a far more mature and battle-hardened competitor than on her previous visit in 2022, where she made her Test and T20I debuts.

The 24-year-old off-spinner has become a core member of England’s XIs, and last month claimed an ODI hat-trick against South Africa.

She will join the world’s top-ranked white-ball spinner, left-armer Sophie Ecclestone, and leg-spinner Sarah Glenn – who has likewise grown in stature since that 2022 Ashes – in an enviable spin trio, while another left-armer Linsey Smith is an option in the shortest format.

On their 2022 Ashes tour, Ecclestone shouldered an immense load for England, playing all seven matches and sending down more than 25 per cent of their overall overs, and almost 75 per cent of their spin overs.

Dean and Glenn bowled a combined 29.2 overs to Ecclestone’s 78 and while the left-armer will still lead their spin attack on this tour, she will have far more support.

"It's going to be a big part of the series, trying to get as much from the surface as possible," Dean said of England’s spinners.

"I think if we can control the middle phase of the game like we have done in the past in the white-ball (formats), then we should be in the game.

"Really looking forward to it, we've got the best spinner in the world in Eccles, so partnering with her is always makes my life easy."

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)

Australia squad (ODI/T20Is): Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris+, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath (vc), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

England squad (ODI/T20Is): Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross*, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson+, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath+, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp+, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Linsey Smith+, Danni Wyatt-Hodge

* ODIs only; + T20Is only

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

Australia Test squad: TBC

England Test squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge

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