England look to start afresh after missed chances in opener

England are counting the cost of a handful of pivotal moments that have left them on the back foot early in the Ashes, as they face a rapid turnaround to avoid falling further behind in the multi-format series.

While Australia outplayed their Ashes rivals for much of the opening ODI at North Sydney Oval, Heather Knight's team squandered several opportunities to take the ascendency with bat in hand, then spilled a late chance to crack open the hosts' tail in a slightly nervy chase.

It was the latter of those that was fresh in the mind of quick Lauren Bell following the game: Australia had been 6-183 chasing 205 when the set Ashleigh Gardner miscued a drive off a full toss directly to Sophie Ecclestone at mid-off.

Ecclestone went to ground after taking the ball, jarring her elbow on the turf and grassing the chance. Gardner, who had already turned tail for the pavilion, returned to the crease and steered Australia home.

Australia had appeared relatively comfortable through much of their pursuit of the below-par total, but Gardner's wicket at that point – which would have come one ball after Tahlia McGrath departed for two off 14 – would have given England a sniff with Alana King and Kim Garth facing a tricky end to the chase.

"I don't think she could have done that again if she tried," Bell conceded afterwards. 

"She hit her elbows (on the ground) and it popped out. I was celebrating. I was sure. 

"Sophie doesn't drop many catches, it's very rare to see a Sophie Ecclestone drop. I think she had it.

"I don't think I can say if we would have won or not, I can't see into the future. 

"It could have changed the game, it could or not, but we'll never know."

Earlier, England's two best batters Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt were dismissed in identical fashion, caught by Ellyse Perry at deep midwicket attempting to slog sweep wide Gardner deliveries into the wind.

Knight had been set to anchor England's innings on 39, while Sciver-Brunt had already cleared the boundary once and was looking ominous.

"(They) probably weren't my two best balls, but sometimes that's what pressure does, and players play shots that sometimes aren't there," Gardner reflected after the match. 

England and Australia now travel to Melbourne ahead of Tuesday’s second ODI at the CitiPower Centre.

With no time to train between matches, Bell said England would need to draw on the experience of those who had previously played at the venue to prepare for the match.

Every game in the seven-match multi-format Ashes will be played at a fresh venue and the tight schedule means there is scant room for training to adjust to the varying conditions, another factor Bell said would challenge the tourists.

"It's definitely tough," Bell said. 

"We've played here today, and we now know the conditions of how to play here if we want to play again, but we're not, we're going to Melbourne. 

"So we're just going to have to adapt really quickly, communicate with the girls that maybe have played there and try and get as much information as we can about the pitch."

Nonetheless, the quick said England would draw confidence from how they bowled after posting a low total.

"I think there are a few things that we could definitely work on a moving forward, obviously, Australia caught very well, and we dropped a few in important moments," Bell continued. 

"But I think as a whole, we take fair amount of confidence from the game.

"We're one game into a pretty long series, and we're two-nil down, but we're going to have to start the next game and imagine it's nil-nil and go again – and I think that is the beauty of the series."

Commbank Women's Ashes 2025

Australia lead the multi-format series 2-0

First ODI: Australia won by six wickets

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, 7.15pm AEDT

Second T20I: January 23: Manuka Oval, Canberra, 7.15pm AEDT

Third T20I: January 25: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, 6.45pm ACDT (7.15pm 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