Criket: England motivated by 'revenge' against AUS in day-night Test

APD NEWS

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England will be motivated by revenge in the inaugural Women's Ashes day-night Test against Australia, says batter Lauren Winfield.

Australia will retain the Ashes if they win the four-day match at North Sydney Oval starting on Thursday at 03:30 GMT.

"They've got the Ashes. We want the Ashes, so there's an air of revenge," Winfield, 27, told BBC Radio 5 live.

"But it's a very different group now. Although there are some scars, there are a lot of fresh faces as well."

Australia, who lead the multi-format points-based series 4-2 after winning two of the three ODIs, need eight points to retain the Ashes from the 16 on offer.

The Test is worth four points and the three Twenty20s two points apiece.

'More time to get stuck into someone'

All-rounder Nat Sciver expects there to be "a bit more chat" during the Test, the first either side has played since 2015.

The 25-year-old said: "There's obviously a lot more time out there in the middle to get stuck into someone. A Test match against Australia is a very exciting one and will be very hard-fought."

Australia won the most recent Test at Canterbury, when England were criticised for their defensive batting.

"Your intent should be to score first and survive second," said England fast bowler Katherine Brunt.

"At Canterbury, everybody was just trying to survive. Since then, we've tried to be very positive and post big scores. Hopefully we've moved on from that.

"It's really crucial that you don't play a typical, slow innings."

'The pink ball gets smashed up'

England, who have not played a Test since 2015, drew a two-day warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI in Sydney at the weekend.

The Test, which will be played with a pink ball, is the first in the Ashes to take place under lights. The men's side also meet in a day-night fixture in Adelaide on 2 December.

"The pink ball gets smashed up pretty quickly," said 32-year-old Brunt, who took three wickets when England won by 61 runs on their previous tour of Australia in 2014.

"It does offer a nice bit of swing but not for any more than 10 overs.

"It's hard to keep the ball in a good condition, especially in Australia where you play on some really abrasive pitches."

Australia pick five new faces

Australia have named five players uncapped at Test level in their squad - pace bowler Tahlia McGrath, opener Beth Mooney, off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner, leg-spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington and left-arm seamer Lauren Cheatle.

Experienced batter Alex Blackwell and all-rounder Ellyse Perry feature, but leg-spinner Kristen Beams, Australia's leading wicket-taker at this year's World Cup, has been overlooked.

England last week added pace bowler Kate Cross, wicketkeeper Amy Jones and left-arm seamer Tash Farrant, all of whom were playing club cricket in Australia, to their Ashes squad.

(BBC)