Aussies set sights on heaping more Ashes pain on Poms

Australian stalwart Beth Mooney is demanding her ruthless teammates drive England into utter Ashes obliteration.

And Mooney believes the magnitude of the pink-ball MCG Test, starting on Thursday, is just the challenge Australia’s rampant women’s cricketers require.

Australia pounded the Poms in 3-0 sweeps in both the T20 series and 50-over fixtures, with the Ashes well won ahead of the one-off, four-day Test in Melbourne.

“The Test match is going to offer a different challenge for both teams across that four-day period,” Mooney said.

“But certainly we won’t be wanting to let England back into the series at all.

“The ruthless nature of this group is that we want to compete and really drive it home.

“England will have a bit to think about obviously, the next few days, and I’m sure they’ll come out really hard and want to get a Test match win – as we will as well.”

The Australians hold a perfect 12-0 lead in an Ashes series decided on a points system – two for a white-ball win, four for a Test victory.

“It’s going to be awesome, we obviously don’t get to pull on the baggy green too often,” Mooney said after her sterling unbeaten 94 in Australia’s 72-run T20 win at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.

“The pink ball behaves a little bit differently so that will create some challenges.

“I’m just really looking forward to the spectacle of the game, to be honest.

“We’re pumped that we’re 12-nil up but it certainly would have been nice if we played the Test match while the series was still on the line, maybe earlier in the series. But that wasn’t to be.

“There’s a lot of people that are very close to me that are flying down to watch and be part of hopefully something really special with this Australian team.

“On an individual front and as a group, it has come at a great time for us to basically just show off our skills and really enjoy playing the four-day game.”

Mooney will keep wicket in the Test with captain Alyssa Healy, who missed the T20 series because of a foot injury, returning as a specialist batter.

Star allrounder Ashleigh Gardner, sidelined from the T20 series because of a calf strain, is also tipped for a Test return.

England captain Heather Knight was left deflated, admitting: “I am trying not to cry … I am gutted. It has been a disappointing tour.

“I am frustrated and it was not a great performance. We felt it was a total we could chase, but the early wickets cost us and we were not able to get any sort of momentum.”

But England’s beleaguered coach Jon Lewis believes the massive MCG occasion will be just the tonic for his winless tourists.

“We have got a really resilient group of players who are really excited about the opportunity to play Test cricket under lights at the MCG,” Lewis said.

“It’s an occasion that in women’s cricket hasn’t happened before.

“And I don’t feel like we will need to work hard with the players to get them in the space where they want to go and attack that game.

“When they wake up Thursday morning and they understand there is a Test match in front of them, they’ll be incredibly excited.”