Women's Ashes 2025: Tammy Beaumont and Ash Gardner call for more Tests
2025-01-08
Category: sports

England batter Tammy Beaumont and Australia all-rounder Ash Gardner have called for more Test matches to be included in the Women's Ashes. The current multi-format series, which has been in place since 2013, consists of three one-day internationals, three T20s and a one-off Test. All of the white-ball matches are worth two points each and the Test, which is played last, is worth four - which could see one team knowing that a draw would be enough to seal the series and the other needing to force a victory. "I'd love to see three matches of each format," said Beaumont, who is on her third tour of Australia. "The best thing about the Ashes is the narrative and the rivalries that build over a period of time. "That's what you love about being an opener, trying to get one up on a bowler and Test cricket allows for that more often. I love pulling the whites on whenever we get the opportunity, so I'll always want to play more of it."For the second consecutive year, England do not have a home Test scheduled this summer but will face India in the first women's Test at Lord's in 2026. 
Women's Tests are played infrequently - England captain Heather Knight is their most capped player with 13 since 2011 - and Australia's Gardner said that the one-off Test can sometimes feel like "a formality". "From a workload point of view, it would be tricky to fit it in with our busy summers but I would love to see three of each," said Gardner, who was player of the series in the 2023 Ashes after taking 23 wickets with her off-spin. "Our two teams match up really well, we've had some really good matches against England in white-ball cricket. It would be cool to see that over a Test series because sometimes the one-off match can feel like a bit of a novelty."The 2023 Ashes started with a five-day Test at Trent Bridge, which Australia won to take a 4-0 lead before England fought back with brilliant white-ball series wins and finished the series 8-8. The upcoming series sees the Test revert to four days in a day-night match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting on 30 January. England need to win the series outright in order to regain the Ashes for the first time in a decade, and a draw would be enough for Australia to keep hold of the trophy. "Coming to Australia and taking them on is one of the hardest things you can do in either men's or women's cricket," Beaumont added."So if we can come out on top, I think it would be a career highlight for a lot of us and we are confident of that." 