After being dumped out of the World Cup, the Australia squad gathered to watch their semi-final loss to India.

Meg Lanning's team drew a line in the sand after being battered, bruised and without a world title in any format in their trophy cabinet. They knew they were good, but not good enough.

It slapped us in the face at that moment.

We had to do something different in order to win most games.

It was the catalyst for how we approach our cricket on and off the field.

Lanning spoke on a grey Monday, the day after she got her hands on the 50-over World Cup. They are now holders of both the World Cup and the Ashes.

The crowning glory of the best sports team on the planet was their record-breaking final victory over England.

There is no shame in losing to a force like that. If anyone could have beaten the Aussies, it would be like asking if anyone could have beat Bolt or Comaneci.

The opposition can be too good.

England has had a winter that has met expectations. Before the World Cup began, most would have predicted a runners-up spot for them, since they lost the Ashes series they were not favored to win.

The devil is in the details. The wheels came off after the exertions of a Test that they could have won but nearly lost.

Six straight one-day international defeats, including three at the World Cup that almost resulted in a humiliating group-stage exit which would have probably resulted in jobs coming under threat, were the aftermath.

England will return home this week after a tour that lasted more than 100 days. The next chance for players to test themselves against Australia is the Commonwealth Games Twenty20 tournament, which is four weeks away.

Australia are unlikely to get worse, that's the unfortunate truth for England and the rest of the world. England needs to get better if the gap is going to be closed.

It will have to be in runs, catches and dismissals, but also in things like match awareness and decision-making.

Ensuring players are better prepared when they step up will be achieved by a stronger domestic set-up in England.

The new structure, including more players on professional contracts, is only two years old and has already been lived out. It will take time for the England team to see the benefits.

The England squad is likely to see a lot of upheaval in the coming months and years.

England had seven players over the age of 30 at the World Cup. Even though the next 50-over tournament is three years away, 36-year-old pace bowler Katherine Brunt will surely not be there and it seems unlikely her long-time new-ball partner Anya Shrubsole will make it either.

Replacements for openers Tammy and Danni may have to be found, while Lauren and Georgia are not in the World Cup squad.

The core is promising to build on. It is hard to believe that the World Cup's leading bowler is only 22 years old. She could have a career like that of an all-time great with Charlie Dean. Sarah Glenn is in her early 20s.

Sophia Dunkley should become a bedrock of England's batting, hopefully joined by Alice Capsey and Maia Bouchier. Lauren Bell and Issy Wong are fast-bowling prospects.

Heather Knight is the captain of the team.

After the final defeat, Knight doubled down on her decision to field first, despite seeing her team chase leather as Australia racked up 356-5.

Knight does not make many mistakes. Her level-headed leadership was a big factor in England turning their three opening defeats into a five- match winning run at the World Cup.

If she wants to keep the captaincy, she should, with the support of NatSciver, who will still be at her peak at the World Cup.

Women's cricket is about to embark on a new schedule. There will be global events in the next nine years. The Big Bash in Australia and The Hundred in England are about to be joined by leagues in the Caribbean and Pakistan.

England have a number of Tests against teams such as India and South Africa.

The national team needs to be driven forward by enough players in domestic cricket.

In Australia there are 120 women playing professional cricket for at least part of the year, compared to 70 in England.

Without that depth, Australia would have had to deal with injuries to Georgia Wareham, and to a lesser extent, to Tayla Vlaeminck, at the World Cup. The group-stage exit would probably not have been averted if England had suffered similar losses.

When the number of elite female cricketers in the country totalled no more than 20 there was a drive to improve that might not have been there.

There are a group of talented young players, a strong captain who hopefully still has more to give and a domestic set-up that should grow in both size and quality.

They have to use the memory of Australia celebrating with the World Cup in the Christchurch night as motivation to not let it happen again.

It should be England's slap in the face that Lanning uses.

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