England star Wong eyes Ashes glory and makes daring Australia "golden era" claim
Issy Wong has the Ashes in her sights and reckons it could be the perfect time to take on an Australia side that might not be as good as it used to be.
The Aussies have held onto the Ashes for the last eight years and four series, and they arrive in the UK this summer fresh from a third successive T20 World Cup win. But 20-year-old fast bowler Wong is itching to get at them and find out whether their period of greatest in the game might just be coming to an end.
“I think it’s a pretty good time to play them you know, just quietly,” said Wong. “They are undoubtedly, in my opinion, one of the greatest sports teams in history, of any sport, of any gender.
“Their record over the last 10 years is absolutely outrageous. But they're kind of…it feels like that golden era they've had is (in question).
“You've got Rach Haynes retiring, Meg Lanning stepping away, and coming back in ridiculous form, but there's a lot of new faces in that group that are unbelievably talented but haven't necessarily played the biggest part for them over the last couple of years.
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"So I think it's a really good time to actually go at them and say, ‘right, you are the best team in history, but you've a couple of new faces in here and let's see if you're as good as you were five years ago’.
Issy Wong set the WPL alight with the first hat-trick of the tournament (Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)“I think it's a great time to play them. I've never played them though.” Wong is right, she hasn’t played against them for England and in fact narrowly missed out on selection for that World Cup in South Africa where Heather Knight’s side were beaten in the semi-finals.
But the Birmingham Phoenix bowler has played with and against lots of the Aussies in both the Hundred and the inaugural women’s version of the Indian Premier League, the WPL.
And it was there following the World Cup that she shone brightly, taking the first hat-trick in the tournament before capturing 3-42 in the final for the victorious Mumbai Indians.
Wong's Mumbai Indians team-mate Nat Sciver-Brunt will be crucial to England's Ashes hopes (Getty Images)Those are the performances on the biggest stages that should see her play a full part in England’s Ashes campaign this summer.
“The landscape is changing,” she added. “The more franchise stuff, is actually going to even out the playing field on an international level because people are playing against each other a lot more.
“In my opinion it is a great time for me to play them, and I’m my biggest fan, but then I think I should be playing up front for Liverpool but I don’t think Jurgen Klopp will see it the same way.
The Aussie Women won the T20 World Cup again in February (Getty Images)“You never know what you're gonna get involved in really, but I think the Ashes is going to be amazing because it’s the two best teams in women's cricket going up against each other in every format.
“I'm playing every game of regional cricket that I can until hopefully the Ashes starts and a big part of getting better is playing, and I feel like I’m evolving. It feels like the women's game especially is only going one way and I can't wait.”
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