Meg Lanning wants a more steady diet of Test cricket

Their next assignment is the Ashes tour of England, which includes a solitary Test, and captain Meg Lanning wants red-ball cricket to be incorporated more regularly into the international schedule to help them prepare.

"The conditions are slightly different [in England]. The ball swings more over there, particularly the new ball. We are playing a Test match, which is something which we don't do often," Lanning said on the Whateley show on SEN Radio.

"That presents another challenge to us, just in terms of training and preparation. Hopefully, we can be ready for that. We obviously want to win that Test match. It's not the be all and end all of the series, but it does play a big part. We'd love to play more Test matches.

"Unfortunately, one game every two years is difficult to prepare for and play well. But we enjoy playing them, so, hopefully, there's a few more down the track. Putting on the Baggy Green is a very special moment for our group. We always look forward to that opportunity. It's an exciting prospect."

Australia will take on England in the Ashes, comprising three one-day internationals, one Test and three Twenty20 Internationals, in July. They will then return home for the first-ever standalone Women's Big Bash League, which Lanning believes is a step in the right direction.

The Women's National Cricket League will follow next, before Australia host the ICC Women's Twenty20 World Cup in 2020. "The amount of cricket we're playing, both domestically and internationally, has certainly increased," Lanning said.

"Once we get away in June to the Ashes, we don't really stop until April next year. That's become the new norm, and being able to deal with that is something we're going to look at. We're really excited about the amount of cricket we've got coming up."

Australia will undergo pre-season training in Brisbane before heading to England in June. Lanning believes it will give her the opportunity to identify the areas she needs to work on ahead of a busy summer.

"I probably do a lot more batting in the nets in pre-season," she said. "Once I get into the season, it's more about the feel and getting myself ready. In the pre-season, you identify a couple of things you want to work on specifically, and you've got the time to do that, which you don't get during the season. I will hit a fair bit over the next few games to prepare."