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The England women’s cricket team is set to play a grueling game across multiple formats series in Australia with barely any breathing room, all thanks to next year’s Indian Women’s Premier League (WPL).
In just three weeks’ time, England and Australia will face each other in three ODIs, three T20s and a demanding four-day Test match as part of the much-anticipated Women’s Ashes 2025 series.
So crowded schedule is causing controversy, with England Women’s head coach Jon Lewis expressing his frustration at the lack of space between matches for the upcoming Women’s Ashes 2025 in Australia.
Jon Lewis expresses concern over crowded Women’s Ashes 2025 schedule due to WPL 2025.
The reason for this condensed schedule is the upcoming Women’s Premier League 2025 (WPL 2025) in India, which has forced Cricket Australia (CA) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to compress the Women’s Ashes 2025 series.
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The five-match multi-format series between Australia Women and England Women will be played in multiple cities from January 12 in Sydney. However, there is only a four-day gap between the third T20 and the next four-day pink-ball Test in Melbourne, which has irked the England coach as he feels the women players will face a big challenge.
England coach Jon Lewis has stressed that the Women’s Ashes 2025 schedule is not ideal, saying both he and the players would prefer more time between the white-ball matches and the one-off Test match. Despite demands for more flexibility, the schedule remains tight, which will test players’ physical endurance and mental toughness.
No flexibility due to WPL and Christmas: England Women’s squad
The Guardian quoted Jon Lewis as saying: “My preference would be for there to be more space between games, and that would also be with the players. I’m pretty sure we would have asked for more space between the white ball (matches) and the Test match, but the schedule is back to how it was. It won’t be easy. The layout is quite packed, close to each other. There is no flexibility because of the WPL and Christmas.”
Meanwhile, the Women’s Premier League 2025 (WPL2025) will start on February 21, but the players will have to arrive in India earlier for preparations and media commitments. Six players from the England Women’s Ashes team will take part in the five-team WPL 2025 tournament in February and March next year.
Six England players from the Ashes squad are taking part in WPL 2025
These England players are Alice Capsey, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone and Dani Gibson, who will play at the WPL 2025. Namely, the ECB has already announced the squad for the upcoming Women’s Ashes 2025, with Heather Knight , Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Maia Bouchier, Lauren Bell, Ryana MacDonald-Gay and Bess Heath.
The much-awaited Women’s Ashes 2025 will begin with the first ODI starting on January 11 at the North Sydney Oval in Sydney. The second ODI will be held on January 13 at the Junction Oval in Melbourne and the final ODI on January 16 at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.
After the ODI series, England and Australia will face each other in the T20I series. The first T20I will be played on January 20 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, followed by the second T20I on January 23 at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. The final T20I will be held at the Adelaide Oval on January 25. The one-off Test match will be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from February 2.
