Paul Shaw talks about England's Ashes defence, which has begun exceptionally
England Women’s chief Paul Shaw has urged his troops to try and complete an Ashes triumph as quickly as possible.
Charlotte Edwards’ side have performed exceptionally Down Under, winning the sole Test and first one-day international.
As a result, England sit on the verge of retaining the Ashes, requiring just one win in the remaining five games - the first of which is tomorrow.
Head of England Women’s Performance Shaw is understandably delighted with that situation and hopes they can finish the job as soon as possible.
“I think it is a fantastic position to be in; we’re delighted,” he told ecb.co.uk. “I am not going to say it is unexpected but it is very pleasing.
“When you’re playing Australia, the ODI and Twenty20 world champions, you know it is going to be a massive challenge.
“There is still a long way to go and we know it’s a tough road ahead. The sooner we can pick up those two points, the better.
“We are on a bit of a run and I think it is very important that we keep that up. Our preparation is very much focussed on the next game and nothing more than that.
“We want to get them as soon as possible and, if we do, we’ll look to win every game after that. There will be no dead rubbers.”
While many on the outside expect England to seal the deal imminently, Shaw is not about to underestimate Australia.
He added: “In the two games we’ve been involved in, both the Test at Perth and ODI at the MCG, Australia played some great cricket.
“We showed a lot of fight, determination and character to come through both of those games. Both were pretty tight so, from that perspective, it has been tough so far and I wouldn’t expect anything else.
“Putting myself in Australia’s shoes, they have no option but to win the next game and we must be ready for that.
“If we can get the points, it would be a fantastic achievement. There are not many teams that win in Australia.”
Should England secure the remaining two points, Shaw is under no illusions about the scale of their feat.
“It would be right up there,” he said. “If you look at the men’s and women’s game over the last few years, there very few teams have been successful in Australia.
“It is a tough environment both on and off the field. If we can pull off the achievement, it would be absolutely wonderful.”