The Ashes: England and Australia gear up for epic battle against Ashes with in-game streaks
Venue: The Ageas Bowl, Southampton Date: 16 July Time: 11.00am BTCoverage: Ball by Ball Test Match Special Commentary on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio 5 Live and the Website and App, where there will be live text commentary and in - play video clips (UK only). Highlights on iPlayer and Red Button. Ashes based series after Australia took the lead with a 6-0 lead.
Knight and England were perhaps among the only ones to believe it.
Captain says team will 'fly' after overcoming psychological hurdle of securing victory on the board against the world champions, which they did in the second T20 at The Oval.
But England don't just steal.
They're soaring, and in a fascinating twist, it's Australia that succumbs to the pressure .
There was a feeling after England's 2-1 win in the T20 leg that they had already done enough, that they had exceeded expectations and that now normality would resume in the 50+ format.
After all, that's Australia's strength: they are world champions, and the England had yet to beat her in the format since 2017.
And by a fitting coincidence, that victory came in Bristol, also where Knight's side reached parity with Australia with a tense two-wicket win.
England still face a difficult task, having to win their two remaining games (or one, if the other is tied or eliminated), while a single win allows England Australia, current title holders, to retain the trophy.
But despite the hype, England keep feet on the ground.
" We do not take them lightly, they are not at all child's play," said England batsman Tammy Beaumont.
"But we play good cricket. We took them on.
"We always thought we could beat them, but in the past we probably wouldn't have thought we could achieve it after a 6-0 loss."
England's aggressive style of play provided much of the thrill throughout the series , sparked by Lauren Filer's raw pace in the Test match and sped up by Alice Capsey and Danni Wyatt's hard hitting with the white ball.
And there's plenty to improve too: England lost five chances at Bristol and missed one stumping, and finished up chasing at least 40 more than needed.
But throughout it all Knight remained calm, Sophie Ecclestone was world class and pretty worrying for Australia, Nat Sciver-Brunt has not really fired yet.
The world's best preparation for the unknownPerhaps the most intriguing part of it all. ..
Knight and England were perhaps among the only ones to believe it.
Captain says team will 'fly' after overcoming psychological hurdle of securing victory on the board against the world champions, which they did in the second T20 at The Oval.
But England don't just steal.
They're soaring, and in a fascinating twist, it's Australia that succumbs to the pressure .
There was a feeling after England's 2-1 win in the T20 leg that they had already done enough, that they had exceeded expectations and that now normality would resume in the 50+ format.
After all, that's Australia's strength: they are world champions, and the England had yet to beat her in the format since 2017.
And by a fitting coincidence, that victory came in Bristol, also where Knight's side reached parity with Australia with a tense two-wicket win.
England still face a difficult task, having to win their two remaining games (or one, if the other is tied or eliminated), while a single win allows England Australia, current title holders, to retain the trophy.
But despite the hype, England keep feet on the ground.
" We do not take them lightly, they are not at all child's play," said England batsman Tammy Beaumont.
"But we play good cricket. We took them on.
"We always thought we could beat them, but in the past we probably wouldn't have thought we could achieve it after a 6-0 loss."
England's aggressive style of play provided much of the thrill throughout the series , sparked by Lauren Filer's raw pace in the Test match and sped up by Alice Capsey and Danni Wyatt's hard hitting with the white ball.
And there's plenty to improve too: England lost five chances at Bristol and missed one stumping, and finished up chasing at least 40 more than needed.
But throughout it all Knight remained calm, Sophie Ecclestone was world class and pretty worrying for Australia, Nat Sciver-Brunt has not really fired yet.
The world's best preparation for the unknownPerhaps the most intriguing part of it all. ..
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