Women's Ashes Test: All you need to know

Match details 

Who: Australia v England 

What: CommBank Women's Ashes day-night Test match  

When: January 30-February 2, 2025, first ball at 2.30pm AEDT (3.30am GMT) 

Where: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Victoria

Live score: Match Centre

Officials: Claire Polosak and Eloise Sheridan (field), Shawn Craig (third), Lisa McCabe (fourth), Kent Hannam (referee)

How to watch or listen in Australia: Channel 7, 7plus, Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports, ABC radio

How to watch or listen in the UK: TNT or BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au and the CA Live app

Tickets: Get your day-night Test tickets here 

The state of play

Australia are gunning for an unprecedented multi-format Ashes whitewash about blowing England away in the third and final T20I at Adelaide Oval.

They officially retained the Ashes when they won the first T20I at the SCG, and then won the series outright a game later at Manuka Oval, but Australia have said they are hungry to make it 16-0. 

The Test will celebrate the 90th anniversary of women's Test cricket. 

Australia lead the multi-format series 12-0

First ODI: Australia won by four wickets

Second ODI: Australia won by 21 runs

Third ODI: Australia won by 86 runs

First T20I: Australia won by 57 runs

Second T20I: Australia won by six runs (DLS)

Third T20I: Australia won by 72 runs

The squads

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

Alyssa Healy has been named in Australia's squad for next week's day-night MCG Ashes Test as a specialist batter, with selectors saying they will give her "every chance" to overcome foot issues and play in the historic match.

Cricket Australia has named a stable 13-player squad for the pink-ball match, with no changes to the group that swept the ODI leg 3-0 earlier this month despite injury concerns surrounding both Healy and star allrounder Ashleigh Gardner.

England: 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

England have named a refined 14-player squad for the one-off Test. That means Alice Capsey, Linsey Smith, Sarah Glenn, Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson have departed following the white-ball legs, while Kate Cross, Tammy Beaumont and Ryana MacDonald-Gay come back into the fold. 

Session times 

First Session: 2:30pm – 4:30pm AEDT (3.30am – 5.30am GMT)

Tea: 4:30pm – 5:00pm (5:30am-6:00am GMT)

 

Second Session: 5:00pm – 7:00pm AEDT (6.00am – 8.00am GMT)

Dinner: 7:00pm – 7:30pm (8:00am-8:30am GMT)

 

Third Session: 7:30pm – 9:30pm AEDT (8.30am – 10.30am GMT)

* An extra 30 minutes can be used to complete daily overs

Broadcast info

Australian audiences will once again be able to watch every ball of this summer's Test series either free-to-air on Channel Seven and its digital streaming platform 7plus, or ad-break free during play on Foxtel and Kayo Sports.

For Channel Seven, coverage each day will begin at 2pm AEDT on its main channel 7HD, but the MCG action will move onto secondary channels 7Mate and 7two throughout the evening. Check local guides.   

The Appeal Appeal

Cricket Australia has partnered with UNICEF Australia to turn every appeal during the CommBank Women's Ashes Test into a powerful appeal for gender equality.

The 'Appeal Appeal' will help support UNICEF's programs in countries across the world, addressing critical issues like education, child marriage, safety, and adolescent health.

Every appeal during the Ashes Test will also serve as an appeal for gender equality, and fans at the MCG and viewers at home will all be encouraged to donate to UNICEF to help empower girls and support their rights to education and safety.

The MCG will activate a call to action on the big screen and stadium signage, allowing fans to scan the QR code to donate, or by visiting www.unicef.org.au/cricket. The Appeal Cam will take place during key breaks, giving fans the chance to win a prize for the best appeals.

Qantas have also offered 500,000 frequent flyer points to encourage donations, and any person that donates to the campaign in the lead-up, during and post-match automatically goes into the draw to win.

Last time they met

Ashleigh Gardner rolled through England on the final morning at Trent Bridge to seal Australia's 89-run win in the 2023 Ashes. Sutherland was the hero after Australia batted first, hitting 137 batting at No.8 as the tourists posted 473.

Off-spinner Gardner then picked up four wickets as England were bowled out for 463, with Tammy Beaumont's 208 their major contribution. 

Half-centuries to Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy helped Australia set England 267 for victory, but they could only manage 178 as Gardner claimed 8-66, finishing with 12 wickets for the match. 

Form Guide

Past 10 matches (going back to 2013), most recent first. W: win, L: loss, T: Tie   

Australia: WLWDDDDWLD

After playing four consecutive Test matches that ended in draws, Australia have won two of their last three. The most recent of those was their thumping innings-and-284-run win over South Africa at the WACA Ground last year, where Annabel Sutherland hit a double century and Darcie Brown claimed her first career five-wicket haul.

England: WLLDDDDDLL

Like Australia, England's most recent Test win was against South Africa, just last month in Bloemfontein. That 286-run victory was their first Test win since the 2013-14 Ashes and they will draw confidence from that dominant display as they look to avoid an Ashes whitewash, with Maia Bouchier making a century on Test debut while Natalie Sciver-Brunt also tonned up, and quicks Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer taking 11 wickets between them.

Local knowledge

When it comes to women's Test cricket at the MCG, there is not a great deal of intel to draw on, given the last one was played in 1949 and featured the likes of Aussie greats Betty Wilson, Molly Dive and Una Paisley, alongside England's Betty Snowball and Molly Hide.

This is also the first day-night Test at the MCG, adding another point of intrigue. Australia and England have previously played one day-night Test at North Sydney Oval in 2017, with that game – most memorable for Ellyse Perry's double century – ending in a draw.

Australia played another pink-ball Test against India on the Gold Coast in 2021, and that game was also a draw thanks to wet weather.     

Just eight women's Test matches have been held in Melbourne, with the most recent of those played against New Zealand at Arden Street in North Melbourne in 1996.

The forecast

Melbourne is set to be a moderate 22 degrees Celsius for day one on Thursday, with temperatures expected to rise to 25 on day two, and 29 on day three then peaking at 34 on Sunday for day four. 

Rapid stats

• Australia have lost only one of their last nine women’s Tests against England (W3 D5) – a 61-run loss in January 2014; they will be aiming for back-to-back wins against England in the format for the first time since February 2003.
• Australia are undefeated in all their five women’s Tests against England in Victoria (W1 D4); this will be their first such fixture against England since a seven-wicket victory in January 1985 at Queen Elizabeth II Oval in Bendigo.
• England will be aiming for back-to-back wins in women’s Tests for the first time since March 1969, following their 286-run victory against South Africa last time out (December 2024).
• England have lost only one of their last five women’s Tests away from home (W2 D2) – a 347-run loss against India in December 2023; they will be aiming for consecutive wins in such fixtures for just the third time in the history of the format (in 1935 and 1969).
• Heather Knight (913) is 87 away from becoming the eighth player to score 1,000 runs for England in women’s Tests; she’s scored 357 runs at an average of 178.5 across her last four Test innings in Australia (62, 79*, 168*, 48).
• Ellyse Perry (928) is 72 away from becoming only the second player to score 1,000 runs for Australia in women’s Tests (Karen Rolton – 1,002); her Test batting average (61.9) is the second best of any player (min. 11 innings) in the history of the format, behind Australian Denise Annetts (81.9).

Afghan XI v Cricket Without Borders XI

Former Afghanistan women's players living in exile in Australia will finally have an opportunity to play together, with an exhibition match to be staged the CitiPower Centre at Junction Oval on January 30, prior to the start of day one of the Test. 

An Afghanistan Women's XI will meet a Cricket Without Borders XI in a T20 match starting at 9.15am AEDT, and expected to conclude at 12.45pm.

The match is free entry, with seating available in the Blackie Ironmonger and Shane Warne Stands as well as on the northern hill.

There are 22 Afghanistan players, contracted by the Afghanistan Cricket Board before the Taliban regime seized control of the nation in September 2021, who have been based in Canberra and Melbourne since they fled to Australia. 

How does the multi-format system work?

Unlike the men's Ashes, the women's Ashes are a multi-format, points-based series featuring three ODIs, three T20Is and one Test. The team with the most points at the end of the series is awarded the trophy. An ODI or T20I win earns two points, a loss none and a tie, no result or abandoned match will earn a single point. There are four points on offer for the Test, with each team awarded two if there's a draw.

Australia are the current holders of the Ashes having regained them on English soil in 2015, then retained them at home two years later. The last time they met in mid-2023, Australia took an early 6-0 lead before England came home with a wet sail to tie the series 8-8. It was enough to the Aussies to retain the trophy, but they were left frustrated that they could not complete an outright series win.

You can find out more about the women's Ashes trophy and how it was created HERE 

Have the women's Ashes always used a points system?

The points system has been in place since 2013, with England winning the first two editions Test matches between the two countries before Australia bounced back in 2015, while points were split in 2017. Australia won the 2019 and 2022 series outright, while the most recent edition in 2023 was tied. Prior to that, the Ashes were determined solely on the outcomes of Test matches.

Commbank Women's Ashes 2025

Australia lead the multi-format series 12-0

First ODI: Australia won by four wickets

Second ODI: Australia won by 21 runs

Third ODI: Australia won by 86 runs

First T20I: Australia won by 57 runs

Second T20I: Australia won by six runs (DLS)

Third T20I: Australia won by 72 runs

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: Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath (vc), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

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