England's Sophie Ecclestone on controversial Jonny Bairstow dismissal in men's second Ashes Test defeat at Lord's: "Personally, I wouldn't want to win games like that"; watch the second IT20 of Women's Ashes series, live on Sky Sports Cricket, Wednesday from 5.30pm
Wednesday 5 July 2023 15:28, UK
Sophie Ecclestone says England are "really confident" going into the first of five must-win white-ball games against Australia if they are to regain the Ashes.
Having lost the one-off Test match at Trent Bridge by 89 runs, followed by a final-over defeat in the first T20 international in front of a record crowd at Edgbaston, England currently trail 6-0 in the multi-format series.
Ecclestone, the No 1-ranked IT20 and ODI bowler in the world, is confident, however, that England are closing the gap on the all-conquering Australians - the current 50-over World Cup holders and three-time reigning T20 World Cup champions.
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"We're really not far away [from Australia]," Ecclestone told reporters ahead of Wednesday's second IT20 at The Oval. "Obviously they're a great team, but we're competing with them a lot.
"We know what we need to do and I know the girls are up for it. We're really confident going into [Wednesday]. Hopefully we can pull it off and put on a big show in front of a big crowd.
Ecclestone added: "We know it's going to be a really hard task to beat the Aussies five out of five.
"But we're just trying to look ahead to [Wednesday]. We've got a game of cricket to play and we've got to take it one win at a time."
The crowds have been absolutely amazing. Edgbaston was the loudest crowd I’ve ever had in the UK, so hopefully it continues. Going out in front of 20,000 people and inspiring the next generation, it makes everything worth it.
With the Women's Ashes running concurrently with the men's, Ecclestone was asked for her thought on the controversial dismissal of Jonny Bairstow in England's second Test defeat at Lord's on Sunday.
Bairstow was out stumped by Alex Carey, caught wandering out of his crease at the end of a Cameron Green over, with the third umpire upholding Australia's appeal as the ball was not deemed 'dead'.
Asked on the parallels between Bairstow's dismissal and the 'Mankad' of Charlie Dean by India in an ODI at Lord's last summer, Ecclestone said: "It's not ideal. Personally, I wouldn't want to win games like that.
"You obviously don't want it to happen again, but I think both sides [England and Australia] are more professional than to do that ourselves."
Talking further on Bairstow's dismissal, Ecclestone said, "I think Alyssa (Healy) is more of a pro to not do that", in reference to the Australia Women's wicketkeeper and captain.
She added: "I think there's always spice in Ashes games, no matter what. Playing against the Aussies is such a big contest.
"It has been quite feisty on the sly. Obviously I know a few of the Aussies, so I definitely want to get one up on them. Hopefully that's the case [on Wednesday]."
Australian all-rounder Ash Gardner, who was named Player of the Match for her 12 wickets in their series-opening Test win at Trent Bridge, has labelled Ecclestone as England's "biggest threat".
"She's not number one [in ODIs and IT20s] for no reason," Gardner told reporters. "We know that she's probably going to be our biggest threat from their bowlers.
"She thrives off taking wickets so, as a team, it's about hopefully limiting her wicket-taking opportunities.
"We know that we need to be pretty clinical against her. If we play the right shots and pick the right times to go after her, we're going to come out on the better end of it."
As for Australia's hopes of having the Ashes all wrapped up before the three-match ODI series, Gardner added: "We know that England are likely to come out and be quite fired up, both the men and the women. They need to win games of cricket, that's pretty clear.
"We want to retain the Ashes first and foremost, and if that happens tomorrow night [at The Oval], then fantastic. And if we can be in a good position at Lord's to win it outright, that's certainly something we want to do.
"We don't want to lose a game. We don't strive to lose any games while we're over here. We know what lies ahead and I'm just looking forward to the challenge."
The second IT20 of the Women's Ashes is live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 5.30pm on Wednesday. Also stream on NOW TV.
