England need some honest reflection as failed ‘Jon-Ball’ all but ends Ashes hopes | Raf Nicholson
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Heather Knight must cut out excuses and follow Australia’s lead before plotting an unlikely series comeback in the T20s. The only time I ever saw Meg Lanning cry was immediately after the 2017 World Cup semi-final. Australia had been unexpectedly gut-punched by Harmanpreet Kaur, sent packing from a tournament they were favourites to win. Lanning was trying to make sense of it all, and was so upset you could hear her voice breaking.
![[Sophie Ecclestone preparing to bowl during the third women's ODI match between Australia and England.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/98d3dfa7366de2a8ae94b7b61e6ed9d1340a9667/0_100_3000_1800/master/3000.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
What happened after that is well-documented: Lanning went away determined never to experience defeat again. She built a ruthless dynasty which won her the next four World Cups, Commonwealth Games gold and every single Ashes series. Fast forward seven years to October 2024 and Australia were once again knocked out in a World Cup semi-final, this time by South Africa. Their response so far has mirrored 2017: they have regrouped, pulled out dominant ODI series wins against India and New Zealand and are now 6-0 up in an Ashes series. In the past week, they have dug deep to defend 180, and were last seen in Hobart on Friday notching up more than 300 runs, following record performances from their No 6 Ash Gardner and No 8 Georgia Wareham.
Compare that with England’s response to some recent high-profile defeats of their own – and there are plenty to choose from. Just over a year ago, they experienced their worst Test result in a generation, losing to India by 347 runs. In October they were unexpectedly booted out of the T20 World Cup by West Indies after completely losing their heads in the field. Now here they are on the verge of a Women’s Ashes defeat after squandering what should have been a winning position in the second ODI in Melbourne.
