Edwards admits award surprise

England Women’s captain Charlotte Edwards has admitted she was almost speechless after being named ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year.

Edwards captured the coveted title at the glittering LG ICC awards ceremony in Dubai and, having arrived back in Britain, told ECBtv she was delighted with the accolade.

“I looked a bit surprised! It was an unbelievable feeling. To have the sort of year we have had as a team and to win this award is just really special,” she said.

“I knew Claire Taylor and myself were in with a good chance but I didn’t know what the stats were, I was just happy to be there and to know that I have contributed to a good year for England.

“To finally get to the awards ceremony and to win it has topped off a magnificent year for us, I’m really chuffed.”

Edwards’ troops have revelled in a host of success over the course of this summer after retaining the Ashes on Australian soil, a feat which the 28-year-old rates above their subsequent unbeaten exploits against West Indies, South Africa and India.

“I’ve been saying it didn’t get any better than that, but after going the whole summer unbeaten and then winning this award it does seem like a long time ago that we won the Ashes.

“That is still the highlight for me though!”

Edwards is delighted with the current crop of players and points to the mix of youth and experience within the team as a defining factor in their success.

“Its definitely the best England side I’ve played in. The blend of youth and experience we have is fantastic and I just think we gel really together as a group.

“There are some really, really talented group of players in this group and it is really exciting to be captain of them and to lead them out every time.”

“Just to win those amount of games on the run is really great for the team and they deserve every success they get because we work so hard.

“Playing at Lord’s was definitely the highlight this summer. The girls had their brilliant partnership and Katherine (Brunt) got five wickets, so just to do so well again at the home of cricket is really special.”

Edwards is now relishing the next six months as England travel to the scene of their initial triumph Down Under for the World Cup, a tournament her side go into having been firmly installed as favourites.

“Next year is unbelievable. The six months we have from March onwards is going to be absolutely fantastic and I’m always using it in my team talks because it so going to be a special year.

“The next six months it’s all to play for and we are going into it with a really, really good chance. I thought the World Cup might come a year too early but it might be the right timing so I’m really excited.”

With the ICC World Twenty20 also taking place in England next summer alongside the men’s competition Edwards knows her side have a golden opportunity to snare both crowns should they emulate the form they have shown over this summer.

“To win both of them would be unbelievable but the World Cup comes first and hopefully on March 22 at Sydney I’ll be able to lift the trophy.”

Raj, David and Sharma rested from Challengers

International players Mithali Raj, Jaya Sharma and Neetu David have opted out of the tournament to work on their fitness at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. The season-opening Challenger Trophy, which features three teams and includes probables for the Australia tour, is scheduled between September 21-24 in Ahmedabad.

“I have some niggling injuries to deal with,” Raj told Cricinfo. “I didn’t want to aggravate them before the tour of Australia so I have come to the NCA to be monitored by the experts here.”

Raj, who led India in their 4-0 defeat in the ODIs in England earlier this month, said the team will not just have to work harder but also alter their preparations for the Australia series. Sharma, nursing a shoulder injury from before the England tour, is also undergoing rehabilitation. With Raj out, Jhulan Goswami, India’s vice-captain, will lead the India Seniors side, which includes spinners Priyanka Roy and Pujare Seema and batsman Asha Rawat.

Among those hopeful to catch the selectors’ eye is offspinner Nooshin Al Khadeer, overlooked for the Asia Cup and the series in England, who will play under Rumeli Dhar in the India A side. “I honestly don’t know why I was not picked for the earlier tours but right now I am concentrating on the Challenger games after training for three weeks with my bowling coach. This break has made me mentally stronger.”

Nooshin, who needs four wickets to become the third Indian woman to cross 100 wickets in ODIs, said the Australian tour would be tough despite the hosts losing Cathryn Fitzpatrick to retirement last year. “They have very talented young bowlers like Ellyse Perry and the Blackwell sisters are doing well with the bat as well. Last time we toured Australia, we lost the Test and ODI series and after this year’s defeat in England, everyone has to prove their place in the squad.”

Karuna Jain, Anjum Chopra and Preeti Dimri, who weren’t part of the England tour, get a chance to impress the selectors and are part of the India B side captained by Amita Sharma.

India Senior: Jhulan Goswami (capt), Anagha Deshpande (wk), Monica Sumra, Asha Rawat, Priyanka Roy, Pujare Seema, Gouher Sultana, Apurva Kokil, Shweta Jadhav, VR Vanitha, Anureet Kaur, Lalita Sharma, Swaroopa Kadam

India A: Rumeli Dhar (capt), Sulakshna Naik (wk), Tihirush Kamini, Hemlata Kala, Diana David, Nooshin Al Khadeer, Shashi Malik, Niranjana Nagarajan, Pallavi Bharadwaj, Sindhu Ashok, Reema Malhotra, Nitu Jaiswal, Neha Majhi

India B: Amita Sharma (capt), Karuna Jain (wk), Gurdeep Kaur, Poonam Raut, Anjum Chopra, Devika Palshikar, Rajeshwari Goel, Priti Dimri, Snehal Pradhan, Latika Kumari, Amrita Shinde, Harmanpreet Kaur, Archana Das

Raj blames poor preparation for defeat

Mithali Raj, the India women’s captain, has said poor preparation was the reason for India’s 4-0 defeat in England. Raj, who top-scored in the five-match series, said the English pitches were good to bat on and she was unable to explain why the other batsmen folded meekly.

“The girls probably prepared in the same way as they did for the Asia Cup [which India won in May],” Raj told the Hindustan Times. “They were not challenged in the Asia Cup as the other teams were not up to the mark. The fielders too, several of them making their debut, were not tested.”

Raj said the unfamiliar conditions in England posed a challenge to the young side. “Now they know what to expect from stronger teams like England and Australia.” Raj, who scored 162 runs at 81 from five matches, said the England bowlers were not penetrative but, unlike the Indians, they were disciplined.

“England were a much improved side since we played them in the Quadrangular in 2007,” she said, adding that runs had come easily to her because of the way she played. “I read the opponents, know which bowlers to pick, go through their records and study how to get runs off them. The preparations give me an insight.”

India are scheduled to tour Australia in October and Raj said the team will regroup before the series to work on the problems. “We need to work on our opening partnership so the middle order isn’t pressurised. Australia are not tough but they have been in fine nick this season. Once you are in a good run, whatever you do tends to work.”

A look at 11 ways to improve women’s cricket

In the last decade, women’s cricket has had an extreme makeover so dramatic that even American TV producers would be interested. Skills have improved out of sight, but the problem is, public perception has lagged behind, with little or no awareness of the women’s game. That’s not the players’ fault, as better promotion, among other things, is needed. Cricinfo looks at XI ways to get the best out of women’s cricket.

Pay the players
The game is in its best state ever but still mostly relies on the dedication of amateurs. It needs to wake up to the fact that it risks shedding its best players, unless, like the ECB, it begins to pay.

Johmari Logtenberg, South Africa’s out-and-out star, recently decided to be a mug no more, and was the first in what could be a long line of refuseniks when she said she would not “play for charity”, and blindly took up golf instead. Australia’s Ellyse Perry could be next, lured by lucrative soccer.

Payment may be a bit of a prospective panning – tickets to women’s matches are often free and the game is hardly marketed – but the likes of Perry and Co need to be retained while the game is worth watching, before they strike gold elsewhere. And we’re not talking grand wading wads like in the men’s game.

Payment of sorts already happens in some countries, but it is not enough in most for players to live on, leaving them in part-time temping limbo, unless they find exceptionally sympathetic employers. A full focus on cricket would improve the players’ skills and open up a new market with fresh new enjoyable talent. The ECB has already taken this leap of faith by announcing ten central contracts.

Change the kit
The skills are there but before heavy marketing is undertaken, the kits must be as sleek as the players they grace. Women’s cricket was given a strong identity when the skirts were ditched in the 90s and the men’s one-day kits were brought in. But while the uniform has given the women a mental lift, as they feel part of a true international set-up, with proper sponsor logos and the like, they are unflattering. Some trousers even have a men’s fly.

While it may rankle with the feminists, more flattering kit (perhaps sleeveless, collarless tops a la tennis players) could possibly help attract a larger audience. Making the clothes more feminine – as in tennis, netball, and even golf, which have seen upsurges in spectator levels – wouldn’t even take too much tweaking. Designers should tailor the tops to women’s actual shapes, rather than drowning them, and their attractiveness, in men’s uniforms.

Promotion
This is vital, now the game is worth sharing. Cricket Australia had the right idea, designing a poster that mixed in the women with the men, but unfortunately it was nowhere to be seen. Channel 9 put on highlights of the recent women’s Twenty20 – a giant leap for womankind, and at no extra cost, as the cameras and the rest of the infrastructure were already in place – but the plugs for that game during the men’s Tests talked only of the India men. Joined-up thinking and taking the game seriously are needed.

More curtain raisers
The boards and ICC deserve a tick here: having the women play curtain raisers at men’s games has already heightened awareness and is starting to entice a new audience. The women’s game just needs one chance to get in front of new people to hook them.

The World Twenty20 is the best news the game has had in a long time and having the women play the middle game of three on a day would, if the proposal is approved, be a huge boon as the spectators are captive already.

The game can’t compete with the power of the men’s, but there is finesse on offer. The other benefits are a safe, family-friendly environment, a welcoming atmosphere, and better access to ever-obliging players.

Linked tours
So the Ashes clashes with the men’s Ashes as happened in 2005. When England won, it was big for the women’s game as media outlets took interest in a parallel unfolding – though, admittedly, some people thought the players on the women’s bus were the wives.

Play ODIs the day before the main game, and have World Cups before the men’s or immediately after, so the infrastructure is in place already and the media attention is there (as with the Paralympics, for example).

Attract more women spectators
To borrow another idea from netball, the women’s game needs to have women’s support as well. From a long-term point of view, get more girls involved in the sport from an early age. Get them to matches, but also get them to play at an earlier age by sending coaches into school and making the recruitment girls-focused.

Mixed showcase cricket
The men have plenty of demands on their time, so recently retired non-IPL players could be used, or men’s domestic players. This already happens to some extent, but a lack of promotion means small crowds.

On another point, some would argue that getting the top women playing men’s cricket as a matter of course would help break down the barriers and show many men that women can play. That could weaken the women’s game, though. And facing balls which turn much more or arrive much faster, with a bounce you wouldn’t get in the women’s game, may not be so beneficial.

More academy link-ups
Some joined-up thinking around the world would not go amiss. The England game has had female players joining county academies, which has improved psychology and fitness. Academies have a drawback, though, because women are taught to play like men, and this is where the next point comes in …

Coaching and handbooks specifically for the women’s game
… as recommended by England’s coach Peter Moores, who has coached plenty of women’s cricket, including Sussex seniors. He believes, for example, that female batsmen usually play squarer than the men because there’s less power, and that female players – many of whom come from hockey – should use more bottom hand in their shots. Manuals and practices could be tailored for their game.

Uniform Powerplays
Powerplays need to be standard throughout all cricket, even at the lowliest club level. This has helped the England women get on par with the other top countries, who were hitting out and over the top already as a matter of course. Also, adopting free-hits for front-foot no-balls (as in Australian women’s club cricket) would discourage bowlers from bowling no-balls, while encouraging attacking play.

The English game can also learn from its sisters in using coloured kits at county level – as with Australia, New Zealand and India state levels – to help get them used to playing the white ball, as in the all-important ODIs.

Play more games at smaller venues
This worked very well last year with the Twenty20s at Bath. Ditch international and bigger country grounds and go back to the clubs. So if a club has a women’s section or is setting one up, play an international there: it will encourage local participation and the club will do far more to promote it than the ECB, for example, ever will. Also, more people are likely to turn up as they don’t get international men’s cricket. Once the game has grown, international venues can be reinstated with – hopefully – fuller crowds.

You’ve come a long way

Nishi Narayanan – On their first tour of England, the Indian women adjusted to the culture shock, washed their own clothes, and fought their own battles.

Imagine Test cricketers, on an international tour as recently as two decades ago, staying at the homes of fans. Shubhangi Kulkarni and the rest of India’s women’s squad did, when they went on their first tour of England in 1986.

Today the Indian women, led by Mithali Raj, kick off their five-ODI series in England. The 16-day tour includes a Twenty20 too. Their practice routine includes swimming, shuttle runs, volleyball and the like. On tours, they stay in hotels and get a daily allowance; each player has a respectable kit. Things were rather different back on the first tour.

The series, over a month long, was India’s first full tour, with three Tests and three ODIs. The players, when not billeted, stayed in dormitories, college hostels, and at times hotels. “Some of us had been to England on a private tour in 1978,” says Shanta Rangaswamy, the allrounder, who now returns to England for the first time since 1986, as the Indian coach. “But this was our first trip as the Indian team, and it was quite an experience.”

There was plenty to get used to, especially for the vegetarians in the squad. “They had a tough time surviving on bread and cheese or salad,” says Kulkarni, who is now the convenor of the BCCI’s women’s committee. “Today we encourage our players to try local cuisine, and I know that before their last tour to India the England players ate curries and Indian food to get acclimatised for their trip here. But at that time we hadn’t thought of doing something similar and nor was Indian food easily available for us on the tour.”

Help was at hand, though, in the shape of fans who had the players stay over at their homes. “We had been told we would be expected to cook our food and wash our clothes when we toured abroad,” Kulkarni says. “But this elderly couple not only got their Indian friends to cook for us, they also washed and ironed our cricket-wear in between games.”

Of course, comparing generations is not a healthy exercise, and changes over a period of 22 years are not news. However, if these pioneering women hadn’t played the way they did – often selling souvenirs and collecting funds to finance their matches – even today’s players may have found themselves knocking on the doors of friendly English folk for food and lodging.

“If we had played badly in our early games, women’s cricket wouldn’t have picked up at all in India, just like women’s football failed to,” says Rangaswamy. Since 1986, there have been six bilateral series between the two sides.

The pitches on the first tour were bouncy but good to bat and bowl on. The three Tests were drawn and India lost all five one-dayers, but some individual performances stood out for the tourists. Opener Sandhya Agarwal set a world record with her 190 in the third Test in Worcester, which followed her 132 in the second Test in Blackpool. “The 1986 tour was Agarwal’s series,” says Rangaswamy. “She frustrated the England players with her slow batting, but performed incredibly well for us.”

India were under severe pressure to not lose any of the Tests, given that there were reports that the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) had told the players they would lose all their funding if they lost a Test. In the light of those reports, India’s complaints about sunlight reflecting off the windshields of cars parked outside the ground were seen as desperate delaying tactics to save the first Test in Wetherby. England were doing well in a chase of 254 runs, and eventually fell short by 25, with five wickets in hand.

Rangaswamy and Kulkarni deny India used delaying tactics. “There was no such mandate from the association,” says Kulkarni, India’s second-highest scorer in the Test series. “We were criticised for our slow over-rate, but the thing was, we weren’t accustomed to the cold, nor had we played any four-day cricket on our domestic circuit.

“The sun was indeed reflecting off the windshields, and by the time we had a car moved, the sun had shifted position.” Cathy Mowat, the England chairman, criticised the team for its tactics, but Kulkarni maintains things never got ugly.

Kulkarni’s most memorable moment of the tour was her maiden century, in Wetherby. “It was the context that made my century special,” she says. “We had collapsed to 114 for 7, and I batted with Minoti Desai and Manimala Singhal, who were making their Test debuts. Minoti got a half-century and Manimala scored 40-odd in our partnership as we rebuilt the innings. It was a determined effort from all of us.”

Away from the field, the players spent their time watching the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, visiting local fairs in Blackpool, and attending the men’s Test match at Lord’s. “Dilip Vengsarkar had scored a century and some of us made the trip there to watch one day of the match,” says Rangaswamy. Clive Lloyd dropped by to watch the women play as well. “Sunil Gavaskar also wrote positively about us in his column,” says Kulkarni.

Overall it was an ordinary tour, leaning towards the dull side, but it made sure women’s cricket wouldn’t peter out in India. The WCAI didn’t organise any series between 1986 and the 1993 World Cup, and India toured England for their next bilateral series only in 1999. However, the Indian women’s game had survived to enter the new millennium, and the BCCI’s fold, with the promise of better things to come. 

 

Australia Announce Dates For 2009 World Cup

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket Australia (CA) announced the match schedule and venues for the 2009 ICC Women’s World Cup today, with Sydney, Canberra, and regional NSW to host the top eight nations in women’s cricket next March.

The 25-match tournament will be played at six venues in Sydney, Canberra, Newcastle and Bowral from 7-22 March. Australia and India are the tournament’s top two seeds, with New Zealand and England viewed as the other two main chances for the title.

As the tournament’s top-ranked team, the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars have been placed in Group A along with New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa. Group B contains India, England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars will open their World Cup defence with a Trans Tasman clash against New Zealand on 8 March at North Sydney Oval before completing their Group A commitments with matches against South Africa and West Indies in Newcastle and Drummoyne.

Providing they make it through their Group matches to the Super Sixes stage, the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars will play three more matches before the final and playoff matches.

“Hosting the World Cup is a fantastic opportunity for Cricket Australia and Cricket New South Wales and we can’t wait to welcome the world’s cricket community to Australia next March,” Cricket Australia CEO, James Sutherland, said.

“With the generous support provided by the NSW Government, the 2009 ICC Women’s World Cup will set a new benchmark for the promotion and staging of women’s cricket.

“It’s an exciting time for women’s cricket in Australia, with the recent announcement of increased support for our elite players and CA’s Females in Cricket Strategy helping to engage more females across all levels of the game.”

Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars captain, Karen Rolton, who scored a match-winning 107 not out in the 2005 World Cup final to help Australia to victory, said the players can’t wait to defend their crown on home soil.

“The players are excited at the chance to play at home. The quality of cricket has improved a lot since the last World Cup and there are a number of teams now that will be a serious threat next March,” she said.

“There have been a lot of changes on and off the field over the past two years, with new players and coaches coming into the group. However I know the girls are training hard to make sure we’re as ready as possible to defend the World Cup.”

New Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars coach, Richard McInnes, who only started in the role on Tuesday, is aware of the challenges that await his team.

“Even though we’re the defending champions, there are only a handful of players remaining in the squad from the last World Cup, so we’re starting from a low experience level in this type of cricket,” he said.

“The fact the standard of cricket has improved worldwide over the last three or four years in terms of professionalism and performance means that we will have to lift accordingly to be successful.

“The teams that reach the final will play seven matches in 16 days, so it will be vitally important we prepare well. We’ve got series against India and New Zealand in the lead-up to make sure we enter the tournament ready for our title defence.”

Next year’s World Cup will be the first played under the auspices of the ICC and the ninth overall. Australia is the defending champion and have claimed women’s cricket’s ultimate prize on five occasions, including a 1988 victory in Melbourne.

Cricket New South Wales won the right to host the ICC Women’s World Cup after a tender process last year.

ICC Women’s World Cup Match Schedule

Group A – Group B
Australia – India
New Zealand – England
West Indies – Sri Lanka
South Africa – Pakistan

# – Stage: Date Team 1 v Team 2 Venue

1 – B: Sat 7 Mar India v Pakistan Bowral
2 – B: Sat 7 Mar England v Sri Lanka Canberra
3 – A: Sun 8 Mar Australia v New Zealand North Sydney
4 – A: Sun 8 Mar West Indies v South Africa Newcastle
5 – B: Mon 9 Mar Sri Lanka v Pakistan Canberra
6 – B: Tue 10 Mar India v England North Sydney
7 – A: Tue 10 Mar New Zealand v West Indies Bankstown
8 – A: Tue 10 Mar Australia v South Africa Newcastle
9 – B: Thu 12 Mar England v Pakistan North Sydney
10 – B: Thu 12 Mar India v Sri Lanka Bankstown
11 – A: Thu 12 Mar Australia v West Indies Drummoyne
12 – A: Thu 12 Mar New Zealand v South Africa Bowral
13 – 7th Place: Sat 14 Mar 4th Group A v 4th Group B North Sydney *
14 – Super 6: Sat 14 Mar Australia v India North Sydney
15 – Super 6: Sat 14 Mar New Zealand v England Bankstown
16 – Super 6: Sat 14 Mar West Indies v Sri Lanka Drummoyne
17 – Super 6: Mon 16 Mar Australia v Sri Lanka Bankstown
18 – Super 6: Tue 17 Mar New Zealand v India North Sydney
19 – Super 6: Tue 17 Mar West Indies v England Drummoyne
20 – Super 6: Thu 19 Mar Australia v England North Sydney
21 – Super 6: Thu 19 Mar West Indies v India Bankstown
22 – Super 6: Thu 19 Mar New Zealand v Sri Lanka Drummoyne
23 – 3rd Place: Sat 21 Mar 3rd v 4th Bankstown
24 – 5th Place: Sat 21 Mar 5th v 6th Drummoyne
25 – Final: Sun 22 Mar 1st v 2nd North Sydney

Note: Provided they qualify, the top three-ranked teams in each Group will retain their classification through to the Super Sixes stage, regardless of their finishing position. If the fourth-ranked teams in each Group (Pakistan and South Africa) qualify for the Super Sixes stage, they will assume the classification of the team they replace. For example, if South Africa qualifies at the expense of West Indies, it will follow the fixtures for the West Indies.
* North Sydney Oval No.2

Venues
North Sydney – North Sydney Oval
Newcastle – No.1 Sports Ground
Bankstown – Bankstown Oval
Bowral – Bradman Oval
Drummoyne – Drummoyne Oval
Canberra – Manuka Oval

Brighton call on experience

Brighton & Hove will be hoping their vast array of England internationals will help them overcome Tytherington in the Premier League Final on Sunday.

The competition, which pitches the Premier League South champions against their Northern counterparts, will take place at Welbeck Colliery. The 50-over match will start at 12pm.

Brighton boast a huge collection of England stars including Sarah Taylor, Katherine Brunt and Holly Colvin.

There is second final being played that day with Plympton and Pershore doing battle for the Knockout Cup which is 40 overs per side.

More on the final to follow………

Record-breaker Taylor lives the dream

A Lord’s centurion and now the youngest women’s player to pass 1,000 runs in one-day cricket – Sarah Taylor is certainly enjoying a summer to remember.

The 19-year-old reached the latest landmark in yesterday’s 10-wicket hammering of India at Taunton, tucking away a single to reach the required 16 runs she needed to eclipse the previous record – held by India skipper Mithali Raj, who was 21 years and a week when she brought up the feat.

“I was aware of it at the start of the India series,” Taylor told ecb.co.uk.

“It was on my mind and it was making me nervous. I was relieved to get there. I did not celebrate but it was a proud moment for me. Caroline Atkins said ‘well done’ as she knew what it meant to me, but I knew I still had a job to do. I wanted to get the record and then press on.”

The wicketkeeper was true to her word, focusing on the team’s goal to finish unbeaten on 75 and help England go 2-0 up in the five-match series.

“My main aim was to see the team through,” said Taylor, who averages an impressive 42 in one-day cricket. “Once I got to 16 I could think about the match. It made me more relaxed.”

If Taylor continues clocking up the runs at this rate she might end up with more records than her local HMV store.

A firm fixture in the side with 34 ODI caps, it is not inconceivable that the dashing batter could end up overhauling the record tally of 4,844 one-day runs held by Australia’s Belinda Clark.

While statisticians might be getting excited by that prospect, Taylor is completely unfazed at the thought and is concentrating solely on scoring runs for England.

“It’s not a target of mine at the moment,” she insisted. “I want to keep playing as I am. There are always things you learn and I am going to keep working hard.

“I’m focusing on finishing the season well. It’s been one of the most exciting summers I’ve been involved in – Lord’s, winning against South Africa, winning the Twenty20 and playing against India.”

Scoring a hundred at Lord’s is often the highlight of any cricketer’s career and Taylor is no different. Her moment at the home of cricket came against South Africa on Friday August 8 when, after England had won the toss, she and Atkins smashed centuries as the pair put on a record 268 for the first wicket.

Taylor, whose early hero was Graham Thorpe, eventually finished on 129 which was the second ODI century of her career.

“That was one of the highlights of my career,” she said. “I felt shock and amazement when I got to my hundred. It’s the sort of thing you dream about but never think you will actually do.

“I want to do it again. I want to beat that and do something special.”

It would take a brave person to bet against her.

Brunt relishes successful comeback

Katherine Brunt, the England fast bowler, capped off a remarkable comeback from a career-threatening back injury to win the Player-of-the-Series award after the 4-0 victory against India.

“It just hit me at that moment,” Brunt told ecb.co.uk. “All the hard times I’ve had with injuries and being left out of tours. To come back when I didn’t think I would. All the months of hard work had paid off.”

Brent was sidelined for 15 months after sustaining a prolapsed disc, which nearly jeopardised her career as a fast bowler. However, she took six wickets at 11.33 against India, which followed a five-for against South Africa at Lord’s earlier in the summer. Her 5 for 24 are the best figures by an England bowler at the venue.

“I’ve got my confidence back now,” she said. “In the last three games I have started to bend my back and put the effort in. Coming back from injury, I found the summer pretty gruelling. I think I have picked up every niggle in my lower body but my back has been fine. It’s annoying as it prevents me from firing on all cylinders. I’m getting fitter and stronger though.”

Brunt’s comeback coincided with an amazing run for her team, who have remained unbeaten through the summer – 16 matches, 13 wins and three no-results. “Beating the West Indies was a brilliant start,” she said. “The way we played set us up for the rest of the summer.

“The highlight of the South Africa series was winning at Lord’s. We all had a lot of people come to the match and I think everyone who came was impressed with how we played. It was the perfect game.

“If you are going to have the perfect game then where better to do it than Lord’s?”

India were expected to provide a stiffer challenge, and even Brent was surprised by their poor performance. “I did not expect us to beat India 4-0. They are second in the world but did not get close to us. We have improved more than any other team in the last two years.”

It wasn’t a great series for India, though, and Jhulan Goswami, their strike bowler, blamed the team’s batsmen. “The bowlers need some runs on the board to defend. If they don’t put up some runs how can we expect to win matches? Our top order was a failure,” Goswami, India’s vice-captain, told PTI. “Perhaps we could not acclimatise ourselves in the cold and wet conditions in England. We also missed the injured Rumeli Dhar. Her experience would have played a crucial role.

“But we must not complain about such factors especially at the international level. You have ups and downs and it is the same for all sportspersons,” she said. “We went to England with our fourth successive triumph in Asia Cup. But there we were totally caught on the wrong foot.”

Goswami, though, was optimistic of an improved showing in the upcoming series against Australia. “Hopefully, we’ll learn from this one-sided loss by taking the positives into account and regroup ahead of the Australia series next month,” she said. “The series is very crucial as a good result will give us confidence ahead of the World Cup [in Australia next year].”

Women to feature in SCG double-header

Australia will stage a women’s and men’s Twenty20 international double-header again this season after successfully trialling the concept last summer. This year’s version will feature a pair of Australia-New Zealand games at the SCG on February 15, the final day of the home international campaign for Ricky Ponting’s men.

In February, the Australia and England women played a Twenty20 match at the MCG as a curtain-raiser for the men’s Australia-India game (see Australia v England Highlights and pic below), which attracted an enormous crowd of 84,041. This season’s game will be the last international match for Australia’s women before they defend their World Cup title in Sydney.

Richard McInnes, the Australia women’s coach, said the SCG encounter would be the ideal preparation. “The match will give the team a valuable opportunity to play on a big stage in a high pressure environment ahead of the World Cup and World Twenty20 which will be played in June next year,” McInnes said.

“After the reception they received at the MCG earlier this year, the players are excited at the prospect of playing in front of a large crowd in Sydney. However we have a lot of hard work to do before then, starting with a tough series against India, a team we expect will be one of the main dangers at the World Cup.”

The Australia women begin their international season with a six-match series against India in Sydney and Canberra starting on October 28. Following the domestic season, the team heads to New Zealand for the Rose Bowl Series, before the Twenty20 international at the SCG.