England's decade-long quest to bring Women's Ashes home

A lot has changed in the decade since England's women last held the Ashes trophy.

There have been six different prime ministers in the UK, Brexit, a global pandemic and three Olympic Games, and women's cricket is now unrecognisable from the days when professionalism was embryonic.

England and Australia are now leading the way with professional set-ups at both international and domestic level, which usually results in gripping contests between the two, but it's this year's hosts who have the bragging rights in terms of silverware.

Alyssa Healy's world-dominating side hold the 50-over World Cup, the Ashes since 2014 and only last year relinquished their T20 crown for the first time since 2018. They are arguably sport's most successful and dominant team in recent years.

England's trophy cabinet looks very different, having not won a World Cup since the triumph at Lord's in 2017.

But the home Ashes series in 2023 was drawn overall when Australia were strong favourites, and Heather Knight's side dominated the white-ball leg with two series wins, an achievement very few teams have managed.

The disappointment in the Australian camp when they were presented the Ashes trophy by default because of the draw was visible, which will give England a huge boost and sets up an intriguing contest between the sides ranked numbers one and two in the world.

"It is guaranteed to be exciting – both teams are probably the most equal they have been for the past 15 years in terms of talent and potential," said ex-England bowler Alex Hartley.

"Last time, England proved they are as good as Australia which we weren't expecting."

Here's everything you need to know as England attempt to bring the urn home, starting with Sunday's first one-day international (23:30 GMT, Saturday).

The series consists of three one-day internationals, three T20s and concludes with a day-night Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with each white-ball game worth two points and the Test match worth four.

That presents the prospect of a compelling series in terms of how both teams approach the Test if the series is still alive, or if one team needs to force a result in order to win the overall points tally.

It is also a particularly gruelling schedule, the shortest ever in terms of days, with the teams having to contend with the geographical challenge of navigating Australia during a short turnaround between matches.

"There's no doubt it's tough but it's the same for both teams," said England captain Knight.

"We're going to have to be really smart about trying to refresh quickly after games physically and also mentally - we pretty much jump on the plane the next day and then play again.

"We're just going to have to roll with it and I think momentum is going to be key. So if we can start really well and get a little bit of momentum, I think it's going to be really hard to wrestle it back for the other team."

There is live ball-by-ball radio commentary of every match via BBC Sounds, the BBC Sport website and app and on 5 Sports Extra, alongside live text commentary and video clips on the website and app.

England's Lauren Filer was a breakthrough star of the 2023 Test match, in which she was an unexpected pick by head coach Jon Lewis, but her raw pace caught Australia off guard, including dismissals of star all-rounder Ellyse Perry in both innings.

Since then, she has featured regularly in all three formats and while she may not be top of any wicket-taking charts, it is that pace which provides Knight with an invaluable weapon.

On bouncier pitches during December's tour of South Africa, Filer regularly topped 75mph and had the opposing batters hopping around the crease, being knocked over by bouncers, and stumps uprooted from the ground.

She is likely to be presented with similar conditions down under.

Filer can be expensive at times because she is given a simple task by the England management: bowl as fast as she can with the aim of taking wickets, and Knight is prepared to sacrifice some runs for that purpose.

"She bowls a hell of a lot of wicket-taking balls - facing her in the nets is not a very pleasant experience!" said Knight.

"It's a part of the captaincy I love doing, looking after those bowlers and trying to give them the tools to show off their skills and thrive. I'm really excited to see how they go because bowling out here as a fast bowler can be really fun."

For Australia, 23-year-old all-rounder Annabel Sutherland has enjoyed a stellar year where she has thrived under greater responsibility with both bat and ball.

Sutherland batted as low as number eight for Australia in the recent T20 World Cup, which is testament to their enviable strength in depth, as she proved with a match-winning century from that position during the 2023 Test at Trent Bridge.

She comes into the series in sparkling form, having scored centuries against both India and New Zealand while also taking 4-39 and 3-39 against the same opponents.

Sutherland is a versatile batter, capable of capitalising on a platform provided by Australia's stellar top order, but equally able to rescue them if a few early wickets fall.

Alongside batters Georgia Voll and Phoebe Litchfield and quick bowler Darcie Brown, Sutherland forms the core of an exciting yet ominous future for Australia.

Both teams were bruised from their surprise exits from the T20 World Cup. Twinned with the drawn series in 2023, the narrative is already a gripping one before a ball has even been bowled.

"Both teams have a point to prove - England will be desperate to win the Ashes back and Australia will be desperate to A, keep them and B, win them," former England seamer Anya Shrubsole told BBC World Service's Stumped podcast.

"I've definitely seen a few things about how it felt bittersweet for Australia in 2023 in England when it was a drawn series. When you put all of that together, plus two high-quality teams, we could be in for a cracker."

Shrubsole highlighted England's spin attack of Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn as one of the team's biggest strengths, and suggested Australia's lack of pace-bowling depth could be an area for England to target.

"I would look at the two seam bowling attacks. Megan Schutt has been outstanding for Australia for years, but beyond that it could be an area where England target them with the bat," Shrubsole added.

"But the same goes for Australia, especially with the cloud over Kate Cross' fitness because Lauren Bell and Filer are both very exciting but they can be a touch inconsistent. Both teams' spin departments are outstanding."

England's biggest challenge, though, is likely come from the mental aspect of the game as opposed to individual skill.

They crumbled under pressure during the T20 World Cup and struggled without Knight's guidance, and holding your nerve against the world's best and in the heat of Australia is immensely difficult.

It is an unforgiving schedule in an unforgiving place to play cricket, but England say they have learned from their World Cup experience.

If they can put that right when it matters most, Knight could have one precious urn-inspired trophy - one that has evaded her throughout her eight years of captaincy - beside her on the flight home.