MacDonald-Gay, the 20-year-old bowler, has played two ODIs and one T20I after making her international debut on England’s tour of Ireland in September.
Although Lauren Bell took the match prize against South Africa for her four wickets in each innings, MacDonald-Gay arguably made critical breakthroughs in the first innings, when she struck twice with the old ball: first, to break the position of 99 runs from Kapp with Sune Luus, and then dismissing the dangerous Nadine de Klerk for a duck.
“It’s incredibly difficult,” he said. “You have to draw on your knowledge of cricket and your understanding of the person. Ryana has real steel in her character. At times she seems really unflappable and is very logical in the way she thinks about a cricket match. She is able to see a task and go and do it.
“I’ve been involved in professional cricket for over 30 years, so you’re backing up your understanding of what you think cricketers can do. You’re putting your finger up in the air a bit, I’m not going to lie, like “We did with Lauren Filer in the Ashes Test last year, but what I would say is that Ryana, over time, will have the tools to play all formats and be a very good competitor for England.”
The hundred was Bouchier’s second in professional cricket, both of which came for England. Despite taking a duck in the second innings in Bloemfontein, Lewis said the confidence boost she will have received from that experience will stand her in good stead across all formats in Australia.
“It’s really important to Maia,” Lewis said. “She’s been scoring some really big match-winning scores over this last period, so it’s great for her confidence. “It was fascinating to see how she prepared for a Test match, she’d never played a multi-day game before, and it was a really special day. for her and her family when she got a hundred there in the first innings.
“She came down to earth with a knock in the second innings but, again, it’s a brilliant apprenticeship for her, understanding the ebbs and flows of Test cricket and the different roles you have to play throughout the game. “She’s a player of really talented cricketer and I’m very hopeful that she can go to Australia and score some winning runs.”
England will travel to Sydney on January 2 and play a warm-up match against the Governor General’s XI on January 9 ahead of the multi-format Ashes series, which consists of three ODIs and three T20s, worth two points each, and a four-day tournament. Try it, it’s worth four points.
Lewis added: “We have named balanced squads for this Ashes series, with a good mix of youth and experience. Ashes series are always special. We want to get there, play our way and we are all excited about the challenges ahead.”
Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart will host the ODIs starting January 12 before the T20Is in Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide. The day-night Test at the MCG will close the multi-format series for the first time since its introduction in 2015.
During the last Ashes, in England in 2023, Australia won the Test match, which opened the series at Trent Bridge, before England triumphed in both white-ball formats, resulting in an overall eight-way draw.
England Women’s ODI Team: 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 T20I 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’s Test Team: 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
Women’s Ashes 2025 schedule (UK dates and times)
CommBank Women’s Ashes ODI Series
January 11: North Sydney Oval, Sydney (11.30pm) January 13: Junction Oval, Melbourne (11.05pm) January 16: Bellerive Oval, Hobart (11.05pm)
CommBank Ashes IT20 Series for Women
January 20: SCG, Sydney (8:40 a.m.) January 23: Manuka Oval, Canberra (8:40 a.m.) January 25: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (8:10 a.m.)
CommBank Women’s Ashes Test Match
January 30-February 2: MCG, Melbourne (3.30am)
