England's quest to reclaim the Women's Ashes is about to resume.
They haven't beaten Australia since 2014, with the five series since seeing three wins from the Southern Stars and two draws.
England were beaten 12-4 on points in 2019 and 2022, but there was a reduction in the difference on home ground in 2023. In fact, there was no deficit at all, and the teams finished 8-8.
The tourists won the Test match at Trent Bridge, but England then triumphed in four of the six white-ball matches, with two T20 wins and as many ODI wins, leading to a deadlock.
It meant Australia retained the trophy, but left England believing they would come close to returning at some point, with their next chance coming in January.
Heather Knight's side warmed up for the toughest task in women's cricket with a successful tour of South Africasweeping away the T20 series 3-0, winning the ODI leg 2-1 and then beating the Proteas for just 64 to clinch a massive one-off Test victory.
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Watch highlights as England beat South Africa by 286 runs in Bloemfontein to win the one-off Test in three days
So here are a few things to note before that Ashes bid…
Filler brings the fire
Fast bowler Lauren Filer did not play in the white-ball matches against Australia in 2023, but played on her international Test debut, taking two wickets in each innings, including Ellyse Perry twice.
When we call Filer a fast bowler, we mean it.
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Lauren Filer showed her speed by bowling Tazmin Brits and Suna Luus early in the second ODI against South Africa
Fast at over 70mph, she is such a dangerous weapon for England, as South Africa's batsmen discovered recently when she smashed them across the body and helmet, made them flail short balls and detonated their stumps.
With the bowling rockets of Filer, the swing of Loren Bell, the consistency of Kate Cross (if fit after Spam) and Nat Sciver-Brunt and the threats of Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn, England look set to have an attack that can continuously test Australia across the three formats .
The knight returns to form – but what if she's gone?
Knight has been around for a long time, so a few low scores won't worry her too much, but rounding off the trip to South Africa with a Test-match 90 was a nice coda after only making double figures twice in three innings. white ball matches.
There were no long-term effects from the calf injury that forced her to sit out England's tournament-ending defeat to the West Indies at the T20 World Cup in October, but coach Jon Lewis might be wise to consider what he would do if his captain absent.
England captain Heather Knight scored 90 in one Test against South Africa
Like when she wasn't there for West Indies' World Cup chase, her wheels fell off. England looked rudderless without their leader as five catches fell in Dubai.
Lewis, who even took to the pitch with a drink to try to restore order, later spoke of the players who “wandered off” and “looked deflated” as his side slumped to a disheartening exit from the group stage.
He backed vice-captain Sciver-Brunt to do a “really good job” if she has to stop again, but you can imagine Australia licking their lips if England have to field a team without Knight.
Should Beaumont be in the Ashes T20 squad?
The chances of Tammy Beaumont upsetting the opening combo of Danni Wyatt-Hodge-Maia Bouchier in T20Is look slim after South Africa's 3-0 loss, although Bouchier was unable to go beyond 35 in that series as Wyatt-Hodge hit two fifties .
But perhaps she deserves at least a place in the wider squad, having accepted England's request to increase her strike rate in T20s after being initially dropped from the format in 2022. In her five T20I innings since then, she has gone to the ball well.
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Watch highlights from Tammy Beaumont's 65 not out for England in the third ODI of the series against South Africa
Beaumont, 33, was not involved in the T20 side in South Africa but played in the virtual T20 in the series-deciding third ODI after rain and lightning reduced England's chase to 23 overs.
She blasted 65 not out from 46 balls, hit 10 fours and displayed her usual smooth footwork that unsettles the bowlers, helping England reach a revised target of 152 with four overs to spare.
Sciver-Brunt the best in the world?
While the debate rages on over who is the best men's Test batsman in the world, Joe Root and Harry Brook – and New Zealand's Kane Williamson thinks 'don't forget about me' – England's Sciver-Brunt was He was named the best all-rounder in all formats in the women's game by teammate Ecclestone. It's hard to argue.
Her batting, as it often does, came to the fore in South Africa, with back-to-back T20 half-centuries against the Proteas taking her to three consecutive fifties in the format after she also crossed the milestone against the West Indies at the World Cup in the UAE.
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Watch all seven of Sciver-Brunt's boundaries as her 59 off 54 balls lead England to victory over South Africa in the opening T20 international
She was quiet in the ODI series as two ducks sandwiched 20, but returned to form in the Test match with a 96-ball century, the fastest ever seen in women's Test cricket, hitting her first ball down the ground for four and adding 17 further boundaries before which, unfortunately, escaped on the side of the non-striker, recovering.
How Sciver-Brunt's bats against Australia could go a long way in deciding whether England win back The Ashes or not.
She averages over 62 against the Southern Stars in ODIs and has scored four centuries in her last five 50-plus innings – two in the 2022 World Cup and two in the 2023 Ashes – although it has been 10 knocks since last crossed 50 against Alyssa Healy's side in T20 internationals.
A Test ton at the MCG in the series conclusion wouldn't go amiss either, with Sciver-Brunt posting three red-ball half-centuries against Australia in six games but yet to reach triple figures.