England bowler Kate Cross revealed her side’s eagerness to create Ashes memories at Trent Bridge, ahead of a momentous encounter with Australia in their first five-day Test Match on home soil.
Both camps held their first pre-match press conferences at Trent Bridge on Tuesday, with the opening day commencing on Thursday 22 June.
Several moments etched into Ashes folklore have unfolded on the hallowed Trent Bridge turf - the epic England run-chase of 2005 and Stuart Broad’s mesmerising 8-15 in 2015, to name a couple - something which Cross said has inspired her team-mates to follow suit.
“There have been so many great Ashes memories in the past for the men’s side here,” Cross said, “hopefully we can make our own memories this week as well.”
The England stalwart has been a regular face since making her Three Lions debut nearly 10 years go in Barbados, but the highly-anticipated LV = Insurance Women’s Ashes Test Match will be just her seventh competitive red-ball appearance on the international stage.
To Cross and the home camp, Test Matches are moments to savour: “It’s always so special when we get to play in whites. We’re getting more Test Matches now, and we’re so excited to get going on Thursday.
“The men’s game at Edgbaston has got us chomping at the bit and raring to go.”
The first men’s Test in Birmingham, won in dramatic circumstances by the visitors on Tuesday, set a high bar for the standard of red-ball entertainment, but Cross was confident that the women’s Test would provide an equally dazzling five days.
“[Jon Lewis] coming in and bringing a new philosophy of how we want to play has been really exciting,” she said, “we’re all trying to buy into that as best as we can.
“It’s been exciting for us to learn the red-ball game as we play whilst also trying to play in the right way to entertain people.
“We’ve got a really exciting squad with new members who are bringing a lot of energy - we’ve got some girls who have never played red-ball cricket, which makes this an incredible place to be.”
A record women’s Test crowd in England is expected to descend upon Trent Bridge between Thursday and Monday, a testament to the growth of women's sport in recent years, according to Cross.
“The fact that we’ve sold so many tickets speaks volumes about how people really want to come and watch us play against Australia,” she added.
“We’ve had a lot of draws and rain-affected games,” Cross said, “that fifth day would have been so important in those Test Matches which we have played.
“It’s better to have it and not need it, rather than need it and not have it; the fifth day should guarantee a result come Monday.”
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