MacDonald-Gay, a 20-year-old seam bowler, has played two ODIs and one T20I since making his international debut on the tour of Ireland in September.
Lauren Bell took the prize against South Africa with four wickets in each innings, but MacDonald-Gay struck twice with the old ball to provide the vital breakthrough in the first innings. Sune Luus dismissed the dangerous Nadine de Klerk for a duck.
“It’s incredibly difficult,” he said. “You have to have knowledge of cricket and understanding of people. Ryana has a strength to her character. She seems unflappable at times and is very logical in the way she thinks about the game of cricket. She gets the job done. Go ahead and do it.
“I’ve been playing professional cricket for over 30 years. It really supports my understanding of what we think cricketers are capable of. You’re putting your finger in the air a little bit. I’m not going to lie. , in the Ashes Test last year. Like Lauren Filer did, but what I’m saying is Ryana will have the tools to play all formats in time and will be a really good contender in the UK.”
The hundred was Bouchier’s second in professional cricket, both coming to England. Despite making a duck in the second innings in Bloemfontein, Lewis said the confidence he would gain from the experience would serve him well in every match for Australia.
“This is really important to Maia,” Lewis said. “She scored some really big match-winning scores for us in the last period, so her confidence is great. It will be interesting to see how she prepares for a Test match having never played a game for several days before. It was a special day for her and her family as she scored a hundred in her first innings there.
“She came down to earth with a shock in the second innings, but it’s a great lesson for her to understand the ebb and flow of Test cricket and the different roles she has to play throughout the game. She’s a really talented cricketer. . And I really hope she can go to Australia and score enough points to win the game.”
England will travel to Sydney on January 2 to play a warm-up match against the Governor-General’s XI on January 9, ahead of a multi-format Ashes series comprising three ODIs and three T20s (two points each). This test is worth 4 points.
Lewis added: “We have named a balanced squad for the Ashes series, with a good mix of youth and experience. Ashes series are always special, we can’t wait to get there and play our way and we are all excited for the challenges ahead.”
Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart are scheduled to host ODIs from January 12 before T20Is in Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide. MCG’s day/night test will mark the conclusion of the multi-format series for the first time since its introduction in 2015.
During the last Ashes played in England in 2023, Australia won the Test match to open the series at Trent Bridge, after which England won both white-ball formats to take the match to eight draws overall.
England Women’s ODI Squad: Heather Knight (Captain), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Busier, Alice Capsie, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Feiler, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Nat Cyber-Brunt. , Danny Wyatt-Hodge
England Women’s T20I squad: Heather Knight (Captain), Lauren Bell, Maia Busier, Alice Capsie, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Beth Heath, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Lindsey Smith, Nat Cyber-Brunt, Danny Wyatt-Hodge
England Women’s Test Team: Heather Knight (Captain), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Busier, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Beth Heath, Amy Jones, Ryanna McDonald-Gay, Nat Cyber -Brunt, Danny Wyatt-Hodge
2025 Women’s Ashes fixtures (UK dates and times)
CommBank Women’s Ashes ODI Series
January 11: North Sydney Oval, Sydney (11.30pm) January 13: Junction Oval, Melbourne (11.05pm) January 16: Bellerive Oval, Hobart (11.05pm)
CommBank Women’s Re IT20 Series
January 20: SCG, Sydney (8.40am) January 23: Manuka Oval, Canberra (8.40am) January 25: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (8.10am)
Combank Women’s Ashes Test Match
January 30 – February 2: Melbourne MCG (3.30am)
