Women's Ashes: England & Australia both in buoyant mood before decisive ODIs

England and Australia are both buoyant heading into the key Women's Ashes one-day internationals after their thrilling final-ball draw in the one-off Test

After the intense finale to a match both sides came so close to winning, the players have had some time off before the three ODIs that will decide the multi-format series.

The first ODI is in Canberra on Thursday, followed by two matches in Melbourne, on Sunday and Tuesday.

«We've had a couple of quiet days as a group,» said Australian captain Meg Lanning

«There was a lot of discussion on Sunday night, particularly about that last hour.

»But the overwhelming feeling was that it was a pretty resilient fightback from the group to get back into a position to draw the Test, and we could have won it at the end there.

«Both sides fought extremely hard and it turned out to be one of the best Test matches ever.»

England captain Heather Knight had a similar outlook, with a bit more disappointment at the way her side's promising chase fell short.

«We were in a great position to win it, and at the end it felt a little bit like a loss,» she said.

«But the way we went at that chase showed some real character from the girls, that we can do that, and that we want to go at the Australians. I'm so pleased that the girls put themselves out there.

»There was quite a lot of emotion flying around. We released that by having some time together. We had a couple of days off and then we had a debrief today.

«I've learned in my career that if you don't park a game like that, it can be detrimental to the next one.»

With that done, there is no time left to think during this rammed series schedule, as the teams have to clear the Ashes with enough time left to quarantine before entering New Zealand for the