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Heather Knight believes England can gain “real confidence” from their performance in the only women’s Ashes Test as they enter the must-win one-day internationals.
The visitors are aiming for a 257-man goal from the 48 rounds to clinch the title at the Manuka Oval on the fourth and final day, and when they need 45 over the last 60 balls, They have 7 wickets on hand.
Meglanin’s Australia fought back and became favourites as England trailed 9-244, but Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone managed to save in the final 13 goals draw.
England captain Knight believes the exciting conclusion is great for the sport.
“When you have a game like this, it’s great for the whole game, not just for Test cricket, but for the women’s game in general,” the 31-year-old said.
The draw meant Australia went 6-4 into the final three ODIs of the multi-format series, winning their first T20 before the ensuing two eliminations.
With a two-point win in the ODI, England need to win all three to secure a return to the ashes, and Knight believes her team can draw from the fighting spirit shown in the red-ball game.
“I think it shows that we can fight back, and when we fight back, we’re going to work hard against them and put them under pressure and really create some rifts,” she said.
“I think it gave us real confidence, especially in the second inning. It was really like a one-day chase in 48 games.
“All the top five also found a little gap. We didn’t have a lot of time among us because of the weather and preparations, so that’s a really good sign.”
England looked set to have a full squad to serve the ODI and they passed the test unscathed.
Lanning wants both sides to start on the front foot as they look to ease early tension in Canberra’s only day and night ODI.
“I think they’re going to attack us very hard and we’ll do the same, but if we can get used to the game well early on and ease the nerves a little bit,” the Australia captain said.
“Both teams will have[nerves]but if we can get used to our jobs as quickly as possible, we feel we can gain some momentum and hopefully put them under pressure.”
She added: “We are very happy with our ODI game now. We feel it is in a good position but we need to make sure we do our best to beat England.”
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