Head coach Charlotte Edwards has made getting more red-ball cricket into her England side a priority following their Test thrashing by India as they build towards the home Ashes in 2027.
England were hammered by 270 runs in the inaugural women’s Test at Lord’s – a result that continued a winless run in home Tests that stretches back to 2005.
Edwards took over from Jon Lewis following the team’s 16-0 Ashes drubbing in Australia in early 2025, which included an innings defeat in the sole Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
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Victory in the four-day fixture in the multi-format Ashes series is worth four points, up from the two on offer for each of the six white-ball games.
Edwards told Sky Sports: “India play a lot of domestic three or four-day cricket and I think that has an impact.
“This is a format our players aren’t exposed to – and that’s something we will need to upskill them in.
“We have to see that as a priority. With an Ashes Test worth four points, that is a large chunk, so a lot of attention over the next eight or nine months will be on four-day skills.”
Edwards: I would love to see more Test cricket played
Edwards continued: “That’s my job ahead of a massive Ashes Test match that we have to be ready for and better prepared for. This has highlighted to me that we have to improve in areas.
“I am really excited about this winter and working with a larger group of players to expose them to as much four-day cricket as we can and hopefully accelerate their learning in this format.
“The girls want to play Test cricket and I think it is such an important format for us to learn discipline, technique, the repetition of skill. I would love to see more played.
“We are playing two-day cricket at academy level but these players need to be better prepared so they are not playing their first four-day game in a Test.”
Edwards feels India’s “discipline” is something England can learn from, with the tourists showing her side that you have “got to be on it every single ball”, while she also said her charges need to be better in defence to counteract accurate bowling.
The 46-year-old must also now plan for life without former captain Heather Knight and fellow batter Tammy Beaumont, both of whom retired from international cricket after the Lord’s Test.
Edwards added of the players’ decisions: “I’m not surprised, but it’s still a shock when they say that news.
“Two amazing servants to English women’s cricket, two amazing batters and one amazing leader in Heather.
“They’re going to be sorely missed. But this is a massive opportunity for our younger players now to step into those roles.”
‘A lot of work for England to do’
With England thumped by Australia at Lord’s in the T20 World Cup final five days before the Test against India began, that is now two sobering defeats in a little over a week.
England have lost their last nine matches against Australia across the formats and not won an Ashes series since Edwards captained the side to glory away from home in 2014.
Pundit Ebony Rainford-Brent told Sky Sports: “[Edwards] has to go and do some serious homework.
“She has to work out what her team looks like for the next generation, not just a tournament, now that Tammy and Heather [have retired] and it is the end of an era.
“Are they going to back a left-handed batter in Jodi Grewcock? Is it going to be Emma Lamb? Will they bring in Davin Perrin?
“Those are sorts of questions so they are getting skills up and not only matching teams but surpassing them. That is a lot of work to do.”
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(c) Sky Sports 2026: England need more exposure to red-ball cricket ahead of Ashes following India thrashing, says Charlotte Edwards