Alyssa Healy and Heather Knight in the women's Ashes

This women's Ashes series could be another show-stopper between two sides with huge points to prove.

Australia feel at their most beatable in recent memory, while still producing prodigious talent from their domestic depth to sustain the names which took them to the top of the world game. Since their success in the white-ball part of the 2023 series, England haven’t found consistency, but the emergence of a young and dynamic fast-bowling attack has given them a new dimension which they have never had in Australia before.

But all of this potential risks being hampered by a whistle-stop schedule, with the whole series set to take place inside three weeks.

England arrived in Australia four days into the New Year, and less than 10 days before the start of the series in Sydney. It’s been possible to squeeze in one 50-over warm-up match in that timeframe before the first ODI kicks off in Sydney. From then on out, it will be a helter skelter race to the Test match in Melbourne. The highest-profile bilateral series in women’s international cricket has been crammed into a 22-day period, with 10 of those being playing days.

The ODI and T20I series will each take place over a six-day period, but there will be five internal flights eating up time in that window. After the final T20I finishes late at night in Adelaide, both teams will have five days to switch their mindset from white-ball mode to red for a marquee Test match at the MCG, with no time for a warm-up match. So tight is the schedule that there is no time to reach as far as Perth or Brisbane, with games held exclusively in Australia’s south-eastern corner.

England head coach Jon Lewis has been the loudest voice of concern over the Ashes schedule. “I’m pretty sure we would have requested more space between the white ball [games] and the Test match,” he said in December. “It will be tough for players to play all the games. I don’t think you’ll see consistent selection across the board from either side.”

It’s not unusual for multi-format international series to be condensed in this way. As competition for grounds with domestic tournaments and men’s international series continues to intensify, the limits on what’s possible, or advisable, to ask teams to play is being tested. In England’s recent series in South Africa, there were only four days between the final ODI and the start of the Test match - although every white-ball game had at least two non-match days in between.

The extent to which the Ashes has been squashed, however, feels counter-productive. This is the only series which operates under a points system, where there will be an overall winner and loser. It’s also the most marketable women’s bilateral series in the world.

Last time out in 2023 saw all of that come together, where the points on offer provided real jeopardy, the games were marketed properly and the cricket on the field delivered to boil into a spectacular finish.

There were complications with the scheduling for that series too. The ECB’s marketing strategy hinged on the ‘Ashes to Ashes’ campaign with the men’s and women’s competitions staged simultaneously. The Test match, held first of the three formats, was squeezed into the gap between the first and second men’s Tests. Five days later, the T20I series began, but with a gap of four days between the first and second matches which started England’s comeback.

In total, an extra week of time was found for that series, with even the cross-capital trip from The Oval to Lord’s in between the last two T20Is getting a three-day break. Questions still arose. Why was the final Ashes match being played in Taunton on a Tuesday evening meaning the players’ only option for celebrating their success was a budget chain hotel bar? And why was the Test match played first given that if England lost that match then the destination of the trophy would already be all but decided?

Nevertheless, the overarching time period given to the series felt right. It gave the contest room to breathe, room for rivalries to simmer and momentum to be built. The players had time to recover, to clear their heads and take to the field refreshed. It allowed the conditions for a contest for the ages to play out. The schedule for the 2025 edition risks diminishing that.

There are real concerns over players keeping their fitness for the entirety of the series, particularly with an eye to the Test match at the end. England in particular have a fast-bowling unit coming into the series with injuries; boarding an internal flight straight after an international game with an eye to play one the next day won’t be feasible across the timeframe. Neither side will likely be able to play their desired XI for the entirety of the contest.

Scheduling is one of the toughest jobs in world cricket. The particular challenges that face Australia - fewer top flight international stadiums, tired pitches at the end of BBL action - are significant. But, ensuring the best conditions are available for Australia’s all-conquering women’s side, bringing people into stadiums with the hope of seeing them bash the English yet again, should be afforded its space.

Both of these teams have unfinished business. Australia have experienced their least dominant patch in a decade over the last 18 months. Following a draw that felt more like an England win in the last Ashes, they were knocked out of the T20 World Cup before the final for the first time since 2009. England are also still smarting after their own T20 World Cup defeat, and will be keen not only to jolt their stagnated progress into gear, but to continue where they left off in 2023. It’s a shame those narratives, and the many others this series will see, have been given such little time to play out.

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