England captain Heather Knight has called on her team to be “braver with the bat” after suffering back-to-back defeats in the Women's Ashes.
Australia lost the second one-day international in Melbourne by 21 runs, meaning they took a 4-0 lead in the multi-match series.
Sophie Ecclestone's 4 for 35 and Alice Capsey's 3 for 22 saw England beat Australia by 180 while the hosts managed 131 for 2 The score beat Australia, but Kim Garth's 3 for 37 and leg-spinner Alana King's 4 for 25 saw England bowled out.
“It's frustrating, I feel like it's just there waiting to be taken away,” Knight told BBC Sport.
“Sophie and Alice bowled really well. The wickets cost us. We need to be a little braver with the bat.
“Amy [Jones, who made 47 not out] Very helpful in keeping us in the game. She tries to face most balls and look for boundaries where possible.
“It's obviously frustrating. Amy got us close, but unfortunately not close enough. We just have to do better in some areas.
Need to reorganize
Capsie admits England need to regroup quickly ahead of Thursday's next game as they recover from a larger deficit to draw the final series of 2023.
“We were down by four, but last time we were down by six. We have more time to regroup and get better,” Capsi said.
“It's not the best start to our campaign, but at the same time, we've seen what we can do so far. It only takes one collaboration to get us through this, but we can't.
Australia is happy
Australia captain Alyssa Healy was pleased with her team's performance.
“A great game of cricket,” Healy told BBC Sport. “Our girls worked really hard to understand it as deeply as possible.
“I think it's one of the best wins I've ever been a part of. I think I said I'd rather lose the game in the 35th inning down eight runs than try to knock them out than knock them out. It's brought to the 49th inning, so it's a bit ridiculous!
“I thought our bowlers did a really good job of keeping the wicket on the line all day long, even at the back end after Lauren Bell was dismissed. We did a really good job of creating pressure and taking chances. We finished. Got a job.
“But we keep going. There's still a lot of games left in the Ashes series. We keep going to Hobart and hopefully have a fuller showcase. We're still unbeaten at Junction Oval, which is fantastic.
Read more: England lose second consecutive Ashes one-day international series
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