England captain Heather Knight believes her side’s attacking display in last week’s thrilling Women’s Ashes Test will give them “real confidence” going into the deciding ODIs.
England trail the home side 6-4 in the multi-format series, having lost the opening T20 before two washouts and the drawn Test all saw the points shared.
The tourists were set a daunting 257 for victory from just 48 overs on the fourth and final day of the Test in Canberra but were well on track to knock off the runs, needing 45 off the final 60 balls with seven wickets in hand.
However, they collapsed to 244 for nine and switched tactics to focus on saving the match rather than trying to win it, with tailenders Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone seeing out the final 13 balls.
The result keeps the series alive heading into the three ODIs, which are each worth two points, but a drawn series would see Australia retain the Ashes, meaning Knight’s side will most likely have to win all three games.
"I think it’s shown that we can fight back and, when we do, go hard at them and put them under pressure and really create a few cracks," she said of coming so close to victory in Canberra.
"I think it gives us a real confidence, particularly in that second innings. It really was like a one-day chase in 48 overs.
"All of the top five also found a little bit of nick. We haven’t had a huge amount of time in the middle, with the weather and the preparation, so that’s a really good sign of something."
