- England’s Women’s T20 World Cup campaign gets underway in South Africa.
- Heather Knight believes England can beat anyone on their day at the World Cup.
- Group B also features India, Pakistan, and Ireland.
Before the Women’s T20 World Cup kicked off in South Africa, England captain Heather Knight said that her team was eager for success because they wanted to win the trophy again and thought they could beat anyone on their day.
On February 11 in Paarl, England’s Women’s T20 World Cup campaign gets underway against the 2016 World Champions West Indies as part of Group B, which also included matches against India, Pakistan, and Ireland.
The right-handed batter also praised England’s depth in the format and believed that the experience gained by younger players in the team last summer was a good sign for the team’s future.
“We enjoyed the West Indies tour and it’s been great to see so many players putting up their hands, vying for selection and taking on-board how we want to play our cricket. Last summer we had a few players out, myself included, and while that was tough from a performance point of view it was quite valuable in terms of exposing some of our younger players and giving them the opportunity to showcase their skill on the big stage,” she said.
“That’s led to a group of younger players coming to the fore and that’s an exciting sign for our future. The likes of Charlie Dean, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey and Maia Bouchier have their first shot at an ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which we know they’ll relish,” she added.
The T20 World Cup in South Africa is also England’s first big competition under Jon Lewis as its head coach, and Heather believes he has clarified the team’s strategy for the game’s shortest format.
He was involved with both the England Men’s white-ball team under Eoin Morgan and, more recently, the England Men’s Test team under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, and he’s seen first-hand the positivity that can be created when you’re able to successfully shift a team’s mindset and embrace walking towards the danger. That’s our aim,” she added.
