Elyse Villani says England have 'nothing to lose' in T20I series, Aussies still have lot to achieve despite retaining Ashes

Melbourne: Australia’s Elyse Villani feels that her team still has a lot to achieve despite retaining the Ashes.

“If we only retain the Ashes and don’t win it outright, that’ll be really disappointing for us, so we know we’ve still got a lot to achieve,” Cricket.com.au quoted Villani as saying.

Australia women whitewashed England in a three-match ODI series to have a six-point lead over the hosts. And after the Test match ended in a draw, both the teams were awarded two points each and consequently the visitors retained the Ashes as the points tally stands at 8-2.

However, the three-match T20I series is yet to be played in the ongoing multi-format Ashes series.

Villani stated that the English side does not have anything to lose, therefore, she is expecting England to come at them with full force.

“The T20 series is a series within the Ashes series and we want to come here and win all three parts of the tour. England have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain so they’ll come out pretty hard and with a point to prove,” she said.

Villani did not feature in the ODI series and Test match but will play the T20I series.

Villani expressed excitement and said: “I’m excited about getting into the T20Is. It’s always a massive challenge playing there in front of their home crowd, but the girls have been in outstanding form leading into this first T20 so hopefully, we can continue that.”

The first T20I match between Australia and England will be played on 26 July.