But Australia’s batting has been poor. They were bowled out inside 50 overs in two of their last three ODIs and in the first ODI against England they lost six wickets chasing just 205 and were lucky not to lose more.
King said the batsmen would talk about adjusting their methods ahead of the third ODI in Hobart on Friday.
“I think it’s probably just trying to adjust to the conditions better and find a way to score in difficult situations,” he said after the second ODI. “They have some world class bowlers – [Sophie] Ecclestone is the No. 1 bowler in the world at the moment – so I’m trying to find ways to stay positive against him and even [Lauren] Filer on top. You know he’s got raw pace and aggression, so there’s no doubt there will be some conversation between now and next in Hobart. But I’m sure we’ll adapt as quickly as possible.”
Australia has been successful in adjusting to the ball in both the matches so far. They have been shocked by the amount of spin at both North Sydney Oval and Junction Oval in Melbourne, and King and Gardner have flourished as a result.
“I’m really excited about the fact that there’s a little bit of bounce and spin to it, as well as a lot of buy-in,” King said. “I’ll stick to my strengths and he’s still bowling very well, snatching it out of his hands, and getting as much as I can off the wicket. It’s just finding my pace, but also The important thing is to find out my height.”
“I’m grateful and very fortunate every time I get a chance to wear the jersey. I love it, and I love this group, and I feel like I can help this group win and give us a good season.” I’ll do anything to get in the conditions. And if that includes bowling some tough overs, I’m more than happy to do that for the captain and do what’s best for the team.”
alana king
In the second game, King’s control of length was impeccable throughout the spell. His delivery was a perfect legbreak to edge past Danny Wyatt-Hodge. It went into the leg stump, spun sharply past Wyatt-Hodge’s front-foot defence, and reached the top of off. Wyatt-Hodge looked completely surprised during King and Australia’s celebration. But even King wasn’t sure how much it had changed.
“I haven’t actually seen it, so I’ll let you know when I see it a couple of times,” King said. “He’s a very dangerous player, so to see him back early was pretty special.”
King has been in great form after barely bowling in the first four ODIs played this summer. King bowled just 13.1 overs in the three-match series against India in December, taking four wickets at an average of 17.50 and a strike rate of 19.75.
But in his last three ODIs, he has bowled 26 overs with figures of 3 for 34, 2 for 35 and 4 for 25. He has not played a T20 match since the 2023 World Cup final, with Georgia Wareham being Australia’s preferred legspinner in that format. It would be surprising if King is not selected for the T20Is against England in this series and he is certainly willing to put his hand up.
“I feel grateful and privileged every time I get a chance to wear the jersey,” King said. “I absolutely love it, and I love this group, and I think I’ll do anything to help this group win and get us in good situations. And if he’s throwing some tough overs , so I’d be very happy to do that for the captain and do what’s best for the team, so I absolutely love playing for Australia, and there’s no doubt I love the Ashes too.”
Alex Malcolm is associate editor at ESPNcricinfo
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