England go into the clash in Canberra looking to become the first England team to win a Test match Down Under this winter after the men crashed to a 4-0 series defeat.

Knight's team are 4-2 behind in the multi-format series after Australia won the opening T20 and the subsequent two were washed out, leaving the points shared and the visitors needing to avoid defeat to keep their hopes of regaining the Ashes alive.

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After two rain-affected matches already - and an ominous forecast for Canberra - captain Knight urged her team to be aggressive in their approach.

"It's been nice to get down to Canberra, it's obviously been a bit of a rush for both teams, two days of prep for a Test match is quite short," the England captain said.

"But the players have been having a long bit in the nets today and yesterday and are feeling really good and excited, it's always special to pull on the whites and play a Test match for England and we're really pumped for that.

"[We're also] obviously desperate to win the game and put ourselves in a really good position to win the series."

The Test match is worth four points in the multi-format series and England have to avoid defeat to remain in with a chance of winning back the coveted trophy.

The last four women's Test matches have all ended in draws, while England have not won a Test since their last victory over Australia - in the 2013-14 Ashes - but Knight is confident her side can force a result in the only Test of the series.

She added: "We want to go out and be aggressive and force the game forward but we have to earn the right to do that.

"Whether we bat by scoring big first-innings runs or whether we bowl, we can be really disciplined and not try and hunt for wickets, but obviously when you're trying to take wickets, sometimes you're searching.

"But we've spoken about that as a side and have a really clear plan for how we want to force this Test match."

While a draw would keep Australia ahead going into the ODIs, a format in which they have been dominant in recent years, skipper Meg Lanning insists her side will be going all out to retain the trophy with victory in the four-day game.

"We're coming here to win. There's no doubt about that," she told reporters. "That's all we've spoken about over the past few days is coming here and how can we best set up a victory.

"England are coming to do the same thing. So it's certainly not going to be easy, and we're going to have to sort of grind it out through certain periods of the game, but that's the way we're approaching it."

Mooney set for remarkable return to boost Australia

Australia opener Beth Mooney is still on a liquid diet after surgery on a broken jaw but is expected to be fit to play on Thursday.

Mooney broke her jaw in two places when she was hit by a cricket ball in the nets ahead of the series, but, after little more than a week on the sidelines, the 28-year-old looks set to return to her place at the top of the Australian batting order.

"Beth Mooney so far has passed everything that she's needed to. Assuming she gets through training today like we expect her to she'll be available and she'll be playing," Lanning said.

"It's pretty incredible, right from the moment she got hit, and to come back to international cricket around a week after having jaw surgery, it's inspirational for the group and she's been really positive around everyone.

"She looks really good in the nets and in the field as well and she's confident she'll have no issues moving forward."

Lanning opened alongside Alyssa Healy in the first match in the absence of Mooney and hit an unbeaten 64, but she is likely to return to her usual No 3 position in the Test.

She added: "She [Mooney] has been passed fit to play, so from a medical perspective that's all good. It was around her comfort levels and her confidence levels getting back into it after getting hit, she's had no issues at all.

"Once she was cleared and she's confident and ready to go there was no issues about bringing her back in.

"She's only on a liquid diet at the moment which doesn't sound like a lot of fun or variety, so I think the physio, doctor and dietician have been coming up with some meal plans for her to make sure she's getting enough energy.

"With the Test match and the longer format you need to have that over a long period of time, but they've done a great job and so far so good."