Calls for the Women’s Ashes to feature three tests.

Australian and English players have urged for future multi-format Women’s Ashes series to feature three Test matches, although the possibilities of this happening in the next four years are minimal.

The one-off Test, a four-day encounter under floodlights at the MCG, will be contested as the last edition of the Ashes for the first time since its introduction in 2013. A win earns four points, while a draw earns two, therefore one team may be in a position to win the series just by avoiding loss.

Prior to the multi-format concept, the Ashes was decided purely on Test cricket. The last time a series involved more than a single game was in 2005, and Australia allrounder Ashleigh Gardner has led the call for three Tests alongside the three ODIs and three T20Is. “From [the] workload [point of view], it would be quite tough with how busy our summers are, but personally I would love to see three, three, three,” Gardner, who took 8 for 66 in the previous Ashes Tes.

“But, personally, I’d love to play more Test cricket against England. Sometimes playing the one Test feels like a novelty. We definitely had some great white-ball games versus England and other countries across the world, but I believe the way our sides line up would make for a really interesting Test series to see who would win. But I don’t think that will change very soon.”

“Finding space on the calendar is a major difficulty. “What I’d like to see is more countries playing multi-format series more frequently.”