The “rammed” schedule of the Women’s Ashes includes such a congested fixture list that England and Australia’s players have not been awarded adequate time to prepare for matches.

The two sides play seven games, including a four-day Test match, in just 22 days as Heather Knight’s side look to win their first Ashes since 2013-14. The Ashes has always been the focal point of any England side, and the profile of the women’s game has steadily increased in recent years to such an extent that it was awarded the first-ever day-night Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the 2025 series. It will be a historic occasion.

No women’s side have played a Test there since 1949, but there is a risk that the schedule of the Ashes series will have taken its toll on players before the toss is done at the MCG.

“The schedule is pretty rammed,” Jon Lewis, England’s head coach, acknowledged. “I don’t think it’s ideal travelling on a plane the next day [after a game] and then playing the day after. I think it’s something that will be really hard and something we’ve got to think about.”

England have tried to mitigate the impact of the schedule by selecting a large squad with options in almost every position. “I don’t think you’ll see – from either side – consistent selection across the board,” Lewis said.

The Ashes schedule might not be ideal for Lewis and the players, but it is a symptom of the expansion of the women’s game, with the series almost shoehorned between Christmas and the Women’s ­Premier League.

There is no red-ball (or in this case pink-ball) warm-up, with the Test taking place at the end of the series for the first time since the multi-format points-based system was introduced. Lewis has called for an introduction of domestic multi-day cricket in England to allow players to better prepare for when they are handed a maiden Test cap, but with women’s cricket having undergone its third revolution in eight years, with still no red-ball cricket, that is unlikely to happen.

The Ashes will pit Australia, who have dominated women’s cricket for the past decade, against an ­England side who have impressed in bilateral series while falling short in the major tournaments, such as the recent T20 World Cup. Lewis believes England are “a better team” than when they came back to draw the Ashes at home in 2023, despite losing the Test at the start of the series.

The England hierarchy have placed trust in an experienced core of players, making just four additions to the squad since the last series: Freya Kemp, Linsey Smith (T20 squad only), wicketkeeper Bess Heath (T20 and Test) and Ryana MacDonald-Gay (Test). Knight will continue to lead the side as she has done in every series since taking over the captaincy from Charlotte Edwards in 2016.

England Women ODI squad

Heather Knight (captain), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge

England Women IT20 squad

Heather Knight (captain), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Linsey Smith, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge

England Women Test squad

Heather Knight (captain), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge