The Ashes 2010 countdown: 12 days...

Not just the blokes England's women cricketers are also heading on an Ashes tour. But first they are in Sri Lanka for five matches, with the first game tomorrow. England stalwart and 2009 Wisden Cricketer of the Year Claire Taylor has previewed the tours for the Guardian . Playing Australia in Australia is a hard tour; they're so competitive and never give an inch. Their supporters expect high standards from their teams and everyone has an opinion. We've found that success in Australia has a couple of key ingredients; it goes without saying that you need skilled players and you need those skilled players to be in good nick and injury free. But the magic ingredient that can make a good side great and a poor side better is team spirit. It was an important part of our success in 2008 and 2009 and came from a collective desire to do well, a respect for one another and it manifested itself in a real "team before self" attitude, both on and off the pitch. I'm jealous of the men; that they get to play five matches and really test themselves under the scrutiny of thousands of spectators and millions of viewers. We'll get a taste of that when we play our two televised Twenty20 matches at Adelaide and the MCG as curtain raisers for the men's matches. The England women tour dates are as follows: England Women v Sri Lanka Women (9th-23rd November) One Day International matches Sunday, November 14, Oval-P.Sara, Colombo Tuesday November 16, Oval-P.Sara, Colombo Twenty20 Series Friday November 19, NCC, Colombo Sunday November 21, NCC, Colombo Monday November 22, NCC, Colombo Australia England Women v Australia Women, (28th December-January 26th 2011) One Day International Series Wednesday, 5 January, 1st ODI Perth Friday, 7 January, 2nd ODI Perth Sunday, 9 January, 3rd ODI Perth Twenty20 Series Wednesday, 12 January, 1st T20 Adelaide Oval* Friday 14 January, 2nd T20 Melbourne MCG* Sunday, 16 January, 3rd T20, Canberra Monday, 17 January, 4th T20, Canberra Tuesday, 18 January, 5th T20, Canberra Ashes Test Saturday 22-Tuesday 25, January, Sydney Bankstown *These matches will be played directly before England v Australia (men) 1st and 2nd International Twenty20 matches. The captains Strauss v Ponting All Out Cricket has been analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the rival captains, utilising some Hawkeye technology to assess their batting form as well as their captaincy. Adelaide Latest score from England v South Australia . Updates Further Ashes coverage, including match reports, will be posted here through the day. You can keep up to date with those via Twitter . Please comment and/or leave links to other interesting Ashes coverage below the line. Or email [email protected] .