The 24-year-old Charlie Dean feels that England is in a far better place to upset Australia in the upcoming Ashes 2025.
The Bowling all-rounder who was picked in the Ashes squad said that do not carry the scars of the group who failed to win a game on their last trip to Australia in 2022.
Heather Knight-led side has landed in Sydney Cricket Ground about their chances in the multi-format series following their run in last year’s drawn Ashes on home soil.
Australia is determined to claim a dominating Ashes win after surrendering a six-point lead on that tour, while England are desperate to get their hands on the trophy after surrendering it almost a decade ago.
“Going back to the last Ashes trip, I was really fresh based on the international scene, and I think I was quite daunted by the prospect of the Aussies,” Dean told reporters on Friday.
Game on! England are heading into the Ashes with confidence following improved performances recently #Ashes
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“This time around, I feel like a few more of us are a bit more experienced. We’ve lost a few players, but then a lot of us (younger players) have got some games under our belt.
“It feels like we don’t have as many scars in the group from games in previous (Ashes) and we’re coming through with a bit more of a fresh attitude towards the challenge that the Aussies bring.
“There’s maybe a good sense of the group and the home Ashes summer has really brought some positive feelings around the Ashes and what we can do,” said Charlie Dean.
The 2022 series which played in a Covid bubble ahead of the ODI World Cup in New Zealand saw Australia claim a comfortable win in the opening T20I, before the next two T20 games were washed out.
The Canberra test ended in a draw, and Australia swept the ODIs to take the series 12-4. It followed a similarly home Ashes for England in 2019 where their only win came from T20.
Dean said it was ‘dangerous’ to daydream about how it would feel to finally reclaim the trophy, but said England were far better placed than they had been on their 2022 campaign.
“We played for a month-and-a-half and I don’t think we won a game, so it was a tough tour,” said Charlie Dean.
“I think that home Ashes summer (in 2023) was really big for us in terms of getting some white-ball results.
“We didn’t come away with an Ashes win, but it felt like we did a lot of hard work and a lot of the momentum was with us in that series and hopefully that’s something that we can replicate.
“We’re very aware that playing in the Aussies’ backyard is going to be a challenge but I think we’re up to it.
“We feel that we’re closing the gap in our way, they’ve been so dominant over the past 10 years.
“But we also know that when the Aussies get poked it only spurs them on to do greater things … hopefully we can come at them with the same attitude and energy that we did back at home.”
The 24 year old spinner has become a core member of England’s Xls and last month claimed an ODI hat-trick against South Africa.
She will join the world’s top-ranked white-ball spinner, left arm Sophie Ecclestone and leg-spinner Sarah Glenn who has likewise grown in stature since Ashes 2022.
“It’s going to be a big part of the series, trying to get as much from the surface as possible,” Dean said of England’s spinners.
“I think if we can control the middle phase of the game like we have done in the past in the white-ball (formats), then we should be in the game.
“Really looking forward to it, we’ve got the best spinner in the world in Eccles, so partnering with her is always makes my life easy,” concluded Charlie Dean.
The series consists of three ODIs, three T20Is and a four day test match. The Ashes 2025 schedule starts with ODI leg begins on January 12 at North Sydney Oval.
