England captain Heather Knight has so far delivered on her promise to play this summer's Ashes series with a smile, despite a frustrating last-over loss in Sunday's series opener in Brisbane.
Set 229 for victory in the one-day international, Australia stuttered in their chase until a late partnership between Alex Blackwell and Ash Gardner saw the hosts home with five balls and two wickets to spare.
Australian wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy did her best to ruffle Knight's feathers last week, saying she planned to "bring the bitch back" this summer.
Knight dismissed that threat on Ashes eve and said her team would let their cricket do the talking after winning the World Cup and rising to top spot in the rankings earlier this year.
Speaking after the loss, the English captain admitted they missed a chance with bat and ball to draw first blood in the multi-format series.
But she was noticeably upbeat in defeat and not panicking ahead of back-to-back one-day internationals in Coffs Harbour.
"Well we lost the first game of the World Cup (but went on to win)," Knight said.
"One thing about this team, we're a resilient bunch and we'll get ourself up for the next game.
"We were a little bit off the pace and a few things need to be ironed out."
When asked, Knight said she didn't notice a difference in intent from Australian teams she'd played in the past.
Defending Ashes champions Australia took two points away from Brisbane, with two more ODIs, a Test and three Twenty20 internationals to play.
Four points are awarded for a Test win, two for a Test draw and two for a short format victory.
Blackwell, Australian vice-captain and player of the match in Brisbane, said the tight win was a sign of things to come.
"We know how hard-fought this is going to be, so to get our noses in front really important, but (there's) a long way to go," she said.
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