The 'kick in the bum' that triggered Australia's Ashes sweep

Australia’s unprecedented Ashes clean sweep was borne of two significant disappointments across the last 18 months, which captain Alyssa Healy said had served as "a bit of a kick up the bum."

England arrived in Sydney at the start of January buoyed by a successful multi-format tour of South Africa just weeks earlier, optimistic they could at least match, or even better, their efforts from the drawn 2023 Ashes on home soil.

But they ran head on into an Australian outfit ready to tear down anything in their path, and not even injuries to Healy, Ashleigh Gardner or Ellyse Perry stopped them battering the world’s second-ranked team to sweep the points 16-0.

After a couple of early wobbles in the first two one-dayers, which saw Australia first lose six wickets chasing 204 at North Sydney Oval before successfully defending 180 in the second game in Melbourne, they were unstoppable.

It was after that second match at Junction Oval that Healy knew Australia had England’s measure.

"I thought that was a real opportunity for them to come back in and get some momentum, in a sense," Healy reflected following Australia’s innings-and-22-run Test victory at the MCG.

"Once we're in front, I feel like we we’re really hard to catch.

"I've been a part of a lot of Ashes series that have been really hard-fought series, and I never thought that either side would win 16-nil at any point.

"This is a really special moment for our group, and I hope everyone appreciates what what's just unfolded, because it's pretty amazing.

"I genuinely think that this side can achieve anything, it's just whether or not we back ourselves to do it at any given occasion.

"We're obviously somewhat spurred on by a little bit of disappointment, last year with the T20 World Cup ... we spoke quite heavily about the way we want to play the game and how we want to approach it, and I think that's been the most pleasing part for me, that we've actually acted on that, and we've showcased that.

"England are a really, really good cricket side, and we were able to put them to the sword right throughout this series."

Healy was adamant that Australia’s disappointment from the T20 World Cup in Dubai last October did not come from their failure to lift the trophy, but by the nature of their shock semi-final loss to South Africa.

Batting first, Australia managed to put on only 5-134, led by Beth Mooney’s run-a-ball 44, Tahlia McGrath’s 27 off 33 and Ellyse Perry’s innings of 31 off 23, while Annabel Sutherland and Phoebe Litchfield did not face a ball.

The Proteas, spurred on by a career-best 48-ball 74no from unheralded No.3 Anneke Bosch, chased it down in 17.2 overs.

Australia had already revisited their values and brand of cricket following the drawn Ashes in England in 2023, and last year’s disappointment only spurred them on.

"In that semi-final, we went away from how we wanted to play the game, and that was maybe a little bit of a kick up the bum that we needed, that we actually need to keep getting better, keep taking the game on," Healy said.

"Just knowing that how good this squad is, (and saying) let's utilise one another, trust one another more ... first and foremost, connect better, and then utilise that on the field to the best of our ability, and get the results go away.

"And I think the way we took that into this series shows that we're on the right track."

Australia have now held the Ashes since 2015, winning four series outright across that period and drawing two.

Asked if this was the greatest Ashes team she had been part of, Healy was inclined to agree, pointing to Australia’s significant and seemingly ever-increasingly depth.

"Quite possibly," she said. "When you're sitting Megan Schutt and Georgia Wareham on the sidelines for a pink-ball Test match, probably means that you've got a pretty strong side to pick from, and the fact that you pick Georgia Voll to debut in a couple of series as well within this series, just shows the depth that we've got waiting there in the wings and that are ready to go in international cricket.

"It's a bit harsh on some of the legends of the game that I've played alongside. I've played in some really good teams, but this one's just got something quite special about it."

England meanwhile will return home to lick their wounds, with captain Heather Knight saying she was preparing for a period of soul-searching.

Her nine-year tenure as England captain is likely to come under the microscope, as is the future of coach Jon Lewis, and other senior players who were unable to perform on this tour.

Her team suffered a similar disappointment at the T20 World Cup, failing to make it out of their group after a horror 10 overs in the field in their final round game against West Indies.

Defending 7-141, they were under immediate attack from aggressive Windies opener Quiana Joseph, and wilted under the pressure, dropping her on three occasions.

She made them pay, hitting 52 from 38 deliveries to set up a comfortable chase.

Knight, like Healy, said that result had triggered deep discussion in the England camp around how they could improve.

"We've done a lot of work, post that World Cup in particular, we’ve been pretty honest and pretty open about how we want to do things and what we need to be better at," Knight said.

"We haven't quite shown that yet, we've got a little bit of work to do.

"Our fielding has been poor at times. It is quite a hard thing to pinpoint exactly why at times we've dropped catches."

Unlike Australia, they were unable to implement that on this trip, with their poor fielding remaining firmly in the spotlight, while Knight said their failure to grasp the big moments – something Australia were able to do consistently – in the opening two ODIs in particular had cost them dearly. 

"I think something this Australia team does amazingly well is to really press home their advantage when they're on top and when they're playing well," Knight continued.

"They've played amazingly well. We unfortunately haven't played our best cricket here, and we've got a lot of self-searching and a lot of things to try and get better at when we do play against them next.

"The Australian team probably won the big moments, and I think that's something we need to try and do better, and when we're on top, try and really press home that advantage. That's certainly something we can do better.

"Their bowlers’ execution under pressure has been outstanding at times, their spinners in particular made it really tricky for us."

Quick Lauren Bell was one of the few England players who will depart this week with her reputation enhanced, having taken nine wickets across the series and impressed with her ability to swing the new ball both ways.

"I think Lauren Bell has really come into her own this tour, she's been outstanding," Knight said.

"I've been really proud of how she's gone about things ... the last couple of years, she's really tried to add little bits to her game, tried to be able to move the ball both ways.

"She's been a real trooper for us, I think a real highlight and she's still very young as well."

Commbank Women's Ashes 2025

Australia lead the multi-format series 16-0

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 Method)

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: Australia won by an innings and 122 runs

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 until Feb 2. Learn about the remarkable 90-year history at the Women's Ashes Hub