England should take positives after World T20 final loss to Australia but big decisions to be made before Ashes Cricket News

Taking the positives is perhaps a difficult task when you have just been dispatched by your oldest rivals in your home T20 World Cup final.

But that is exactly what England should do.

Yes, it’s now nine consecutive defeats for the team against Australia – four T20Is, as many ODIs and a solitary Test match.

However, it doesn’t feel like the 2025 Ashes, a series that has seen seven of those nine defeats and a team lacking confidence and prone to fielding errors fold 16-0 at points.

England will understand only when the dust settles.

Charlotte Edwards – a consistent winner as a player and as a coach in domestic and franchise cricket alike – eliminated (most of) the fielding mistakes and restored faith.

He also believes that England have given the supporters back.

England building for Ashes attack in 2027

The next biggest trophy in the women’s game is getting back, as it has eluded them for so long.

Since the T20 and ODI World Cup double in 2009, when Edwards was captain, England have won just one global trophy despite appearing in six finals – the 2017 50-over World Cup on home soil. They did not win an Ashes series for over a decade.

This is because, barring their own shortcomings, Australia – a side of standards in women’s cricket and a side of standards across the sport.

The Southern Stars have recorded four comprehensive Ashes wins from the last six – the other two series draws – while they have inflicted each of the five white-ball final defeats England have suffered in the past 14 years.

You can pick the hole in England’s penalty shootout in this final – Timid with the batLoose with the ball – but Australia’s seven-wicket haul was largely short of saying they were a class apart.

None have their bowling options and batting depth, although at Lord’s top-order lynchpins Beth Mooney and Phoebe Lichfield broke the back of the short chase with a riotous 100-run stand off just 67 deliveries.

Sunday’s results suggest the gap between Australia and England remains huge, although it has certainly narrowed from the absolute chasm 18 months ago. Now a head coach addicted to winning will plan how to close it further and hopefully eradicate it completely in time for the 2027 home Ashes.

What now for England veterans?

Edwards, who is adamant England’s “time will come”, has the tools but also some big decisions to make, with question marks surrounding the futures of veterans Danny Watt-Hodge, Heather Knight and Amy Jones due to age and/or form.

Wyatt-Hedge (35) had a great World Cup – leading run scorer with 302 runs including a hundred and two fifties – while Knight (35) had a decent one. England would probably not have made the showpiece at Lord’s had it not been for Knight’s half-century and 133-run partnership with Nat Syver-Brant in the semi-final against South Africa.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Jones was not as dominant. He opened with a 38-ball 53 against Sri Lanka, but then ended dramatically, managing just 42 in six innings with a double-figure score – a 17-run knock against New Zealand.

As Jack Crawley and James Vince did in their day with the England men, Jones plays some great shots but often lacks meaningful contributions. His glovework remains excellent, yet his place at the top of the order should be far from secure

If England win this T20 World Cup, it could be the perfect stage and venue for Watt-Hodge, Knight and Jones.

Their absence means the trio can now look to the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka next February and the Ashes series later that year. But if they aren’t in his plans, Edwards will be ruthless enough to wield the axe. Just ask Kate Cross.

England have the nucleus of a great team for next year – batter Alice Capsey, all-rounders Freya Kemp and Danielle Gibson, spinners Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean, pacer Lauren Bell.

Add in Bell’s fellow pacers Issey Wong and Lauren Filler and teenage spin talent Tilly Curtin-Coleman – all part of the World Cup squad but unused – and perhaps batting talents such as Davina Perrin, Charis Pavelli and Jodie Greycock and a wider squad will emerge. Leg-spinner Sarah Glenn, still only 26, is hopeful of a comeback.

Sciver-Brunt hopes he hasn’t played his last World Cup game

England will want captain Cyver-Brant – still far and away their most important player – to be there to stitch everything together, and the 33-year-old said after the defeat at Lord’s that he hoped it would not be his final World Cup appearance. There is a T20 World Cup in 2028 and a 50-over edition next year.

But if Ben Stokes’ recent international retirement has taught us anything, it’s that you can never be sure when a leader’s time is up.

Battling a calf injury and with young son Theo now in tow, who knows how long Cyver-Brant has been gone? He should enjoy his time with England.

At least they know they have a natural successor as captain in Dean, whose firm composure and bowling change stood out when he took over this summer.

Whoever leads England into the Ashes, the aim will be a simple one: victory.

You can only take positives from defeat so long.

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