England captain Heather Knight called for her side to show “killer instinct” ahead of their defence of the Cricket World Cup.
They will enter the event on the back of a disappointing Ashes defeat to Australia.
The team succumbed to a 12-4 defeat Down Under and as they prepare for their first match at this year’s world cup, Knight wants her side to show a ruthless streak that was lacking last time out.
"I don't think we quite had that killer instinct to get over the line,” the skipper told Sky Sports.
"We competed with Australia at times and, looking back, I think the Test match took a lot more out of the team, mentally more than physically, than we realised at the time.
"It was quite hard to come back from that and I don't think the final two ODIs were a reflection of us as a side and how we wanted to approach our cricket.
“We wanted to go at Australia and be aggressive but we then went away from that a little bit.
"We have had some really good chats about intent and how we are going to punch out scores in the World Cup. It's going to be an all-round effort from the batting unit.”
The tournament begins tonight with hosts New Zealand taking on the West Indies.
The current champions will have the opportunity to exact revenge on rivals Australia when they clash at Seddon Park in Hamilton in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The Aussies have won an astounding 31 of their last 33 one-day internationals, but Knight is relishing the challenge.
"I don't think playing Australia first is a bad thing,” the all-rounder added.
"It gives us a chance to try and show what we didn't quite show in The Ashes and have that killer instinct. I genuinely believe we have the skill to beat them in that game.
"Australia have earned the tag of favourites. They have been the outstanding team over the last five years. We will certainly go under the radar a little bit but there is a confidence that we can be successful.”
England have won the world cup four times and their epic victory over India in the final of the previous tournament in 2017 is arguably their greatest.
With first-time finalists India 191-3 in the 43rd over chasing 229, they went on to lose seven wickets for 28 runs - Anya Shrubsole with five of them plus a run out - as England earned a nine-run success in front of a raucous crowd at Lord’s.
Five years on, the team now more experienced, Knight hopes herself and the team's more experienced players will help to guide the youngsters who will be participating in their first world cup.
"We were a very young, fresh-looking side back in 2017. We didn't have that experience. We hadn't played some of the best teams in the world. We didn't really know how we were going to go," she added.
"Now we are pretty established as players and have added a little bit of youth as well, which is nice. There will be nerves, perhaps more so from the experienced players as you have the expectation and know what it's about.
"For the younger players, I think it is about encouraging them to do what they have done so well, encouraging them to embrace their first World Cups. I think it's important we don't change things just because it is a huge tournament.”
