England's Jon Lewis has no plans to quit England women's cricket team despite Women's Ashes disaster

England head coach Jon Lewis has said he has no intention of resigning despite a disastrous Women's Ashes tour in which England have lost five of their five games so far, adding that he position is not controversial.

“I don't know if I need to defend my position,” he said. “I don't hire myself. I'm very happy with the job I'm doing. I'm going to continue to try and develop this cricket team as hard as I can until someone tells me this is not the right time for you to do that anymore.

He added that he felt he continued to enjoy the full confidence of the England and Wales Cricket Board. “I'm very excited about the future of this team and I feel like I'm the right person to coach this team,” he said.

The ECB has confirmed that a comprehensive post-series review will take place after the Ashes ends on February 2. Any decision to oust Lewis is likely to require the approval of a full meeting of the ECB's main board before his current contacts are concluded, which is understood to last until at least November.

This review will no doubt also include an assessment of captain Heather Knight, who led England for almost nine years without winning an Ashes series. Lewis declined to make any guarantees about her future. “After the visit, we will take some time to reflect [on her role]we will further consider what is right for the team,” he said.

Lewis, who at times appeared frustrated by the skeptical tone of criticism, has repeatedly said he believed the 10-0 scoreline unfairly reflected the real gap between England and Australia, while rejecting suggestions that the England camp refused to face the scale properly. and the failed nature of the Ashes campaign. “As a team, we're very honest,” he said. “The players are really open to each other.”

He added that he disagreed with Sophie Ecclestone's refusal to give Alex Hartley a TV interview last week – apparently due to Hartley's recent criticism of the team's fitness levels – and Said he didn't learn of Ecclestone's decision until after the fact. “I want her to be interviewed,” he said.

Hartley has since said she felt she had been “cold-shouldered” by England, but Lewis denied a siege mentality had developed in the dressing room. “We have great respect for the media,” he said. “I don't think there's any problem.”

However, he once again strongly denied Hartley's claims that England had fitness problems. He did admit Australia were clearly the fitter team, but oddly seemed to blame that on what he called “cultural differences”, including warmer weather.

“Last Sunday night I was walking from Bondi to Coogee and almost every Australian in the eastern suburbs was in the water, playing surf lifesaver and playing rugby. We have a very small talent pool at the moment and I definitely think Australia is on the move There are advantages in terms of capabilities,” he said.

England will play the final T20 of the series in Adelaide on Saturday before a one-off pink-ball Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground starting on January 30. Australia batsman Grace Harris told the BBC on Thursday that the hosts were aiming for a 16-0 run, but Lewis said England would work hard to prevent them from achieving that.

“I think Grace probably had my work cut out for me,” Lewis said. “When I see her I give her a pat on the back. The players do realize they need to win some cricket. They are working very hard to do that.