England’s attempts to regain the Women’s Ashes and defend their 50-over World Cup title during the same winter trip to the southern hemisphere have already taken in a series of logistical challenges, with head coach Lisa Keightley admitting that there are “lots of parts of the jigsaw” still to piece together ahead of the T20I leg starting later this week.

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“I wouldn’t say we’ve started that well, to be totally honest,” Keightley said. “We’re trying to get up to speed as best we can.

Ashes was rearranged earlier this month

The schedule for the Ashes was rearranged earlier this month. The T20Is moved forward in order to accommodate the quarantine requirements for getting into New Zealand for the World Cup. This begins on March 4. That has left England with just eight days of preparation, with patchy weather in Canberra affecting the squad’s ability to train and off-field concerns adding to the list of distractions.

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“We’ve got two good trainings prepped over the next couple of days. So I’m confident when we get to that first T20 they’ll be in a better place than what they are now and we’ll do our best to go 2-0 up.”

Having originally planned for the one-off Test in Canberra to be the series opener. Keightley said that adapting mentally would be the key to getting off to a good start in the T20Is. England will also hope early success can help “dim the flame” of Australian expectation. After the men completed a thumping 4-0 victory in their version of the Ashes at the weekend.

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“I know Australia is very excited about winning. The Ashes and we’ve got to turn it around and try and dim the flame, so to speak, and get a few wins on the board and put them under pressure, and get into our Ashes as quick as we can.

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