England Look to Fine-Tune Ahead of T20 World Cup
After recording a series win in New Zealand last month, the England Women’s side believe they still have more to offer as they prepare for their multi-format clash against Pakistan. England convincingly beat New Zealand 4-1 in the five-match T20I series in April, with Maia Bouchier emerging as a formidable opening batter with scores of 43 not out, 71, and 91.
However, Heather Knight’s team struggled to score runs during the ODI leg of the tour but still managed to win the three-match series 3-1. Crucially, the tour highlighted areas for improvement, and with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh – live on Sky Sports – only five months away, England will use this series against Pakistan to fine-tune their style before heading to the sub-continent.
“If we’re honest, we didn’t play our best in that one-day series, and we actually learned a lot from it,” said Knight speaking to Sky Sports News. “We had some really good performances from Amy Jones and Charlie Dean at the back end, and they got us out of a few sticky situations. We’ve hardly played any one-day cricket, and it exposed us to that tempo we need to go at as a batting group.”
With the T20 World Cup on the horizon, it’s a key focus for England, who are looking to nail down their approach and hopefully entertain the expected good crowds, including some Pakistan supporters, during the upcoming series.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has already sold over 75,000 tickets for the Pakistan series and upcoming New Zealand tour, more than what was sold this time last year, which included an Ashes tour.
Earlier this year, the ECB announced the creation of a three-tiered domestic competition structure and a shift in the ownership model underpinning the women’s professional game. The plan will see the current eight women’s Regional teams evolve to become ‘Tier 1 Clubs’, each owned, governed, and operated by an individual First Class County (FCC) or Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
Skipper Knight supported this move, saying it was “a really good move” for the women’s game and the next stage of development. “The clubs that have got it will hopefully see the benefit of having the women’s team there,” she added.
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