We don't want to be pushovers anymore,: Tammy Beaumont ahead of England's 2nd Ashes ODI against Australia
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head of her side's 2nd ODI of the multi-format Ashes series against Australia, England batter Tammy Beaumont said her side does not want to be pushovers anymore.
England will take on Australia at Southampton in the second ODI. The series is level at 6 points each. Australia secured a 6-0 lead by winning the one-off Test in Nottingham worth four points and the first T20I, which gave them two points. England fought back to even the scoreline with win in two T20Is to seal the series and a record-breaking victory in first ODI. England must seal wins in the final two ODIs to secure the Ashes which has been held by Australia since 2015 in women's cricket.
"It is really important," Beaumont on her team's never-say-die attitude as quoted by ESPNCricinfo,
"You are seeing that with the men's Ashes as well, they have gone two-nil down, but we do not want to be pushovers anymore," she added.
"That is probably why this series has been so captivating to everyone. I am a massive cricket badger, but I feel like Ashes fever is everywhere for both the men and the women and it is great to see. British culture has always loved an underdog so I think it has probably helped that we are taking on such a great team in Australia. I personally love that feeling of trying to overcome a bit of difficulty," she said.
Beaumont's score of 208 runs in the Nottingham Test gave her side a chance at victory, but Ashleigh Gardner's eight-wicket haul helped Aussies seal a win. Beaumont was overlooked for T20I series and had lost her T20I spot last summer. England won two T20Is by having Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley at the top of the order.
The batter returned to the side in first ODI, setting the tone for a record run-chase of 264 runs with her 47 in 42 balls. Skipper Heather Knight (75*) and number 10 Kate Cross's precious 19* run cameo helped England reach victory.
"I just feel like there is such great trust in everyone at every situation," Beaumont said.
"At Bristol the other day (in first ODI), there was no doubt in my mind that Kate Cross could bat like that. Every single one of us on the sideline felt completely at ease knowing that Kate had the skills to do it. Everybody just backs each other's abilities and their decision-making. It is a great feeling to have," said the batter.
That was not always the case against a formidable Aussie side, which went into Bristol ODI unbeaten in their last 15 50-over matches.
"In the past, if we has lost the first two Ashes games, maybe would not have had that belief as much. So from our way of looking at it, externally to them, we have kind of got that belief and a little bit of taking that aura away," she said.
For Aussie spin bowling all-rounder Jess Jonassen, there is no sense of panic since her team has an easier task, to win one out of remaining two matches to retain the Ashes.
"Definitely not," Jonassen said on if there was any panic within Aussie camp.
"This side has won a lot of games of cricket over a number of years and the fact that the last three have not really gone our way is no cause to panic." "The scores are level. We have not played our best cricket, which is probably the thing that we are focusing on the most. England still need to win two, but equally, we are trying to win the last two as well. There is two high-quality sides and if you are not on on any given day, then the opposition is going to take the game away from you."
"Even though the losses we have had have been really, really tight and really close, we feel that it has been our own undoing in a way, that we have been a bit sloppy in certain areas and lacked a little bit of discipline at times in terms of extras, misfields...," she added.
But Jonassen said the positive is that improving on these aforementioned aspects is in their control.
✔️ We don't want to be pushovers anymore,: Tammy Beaumont ahead of England's 2nd Ashes ODI against Australia
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