London, Aug 14: England head coach Charlotte Edwards insists her side’s recent T20 and ODI series defeats to India are not a “reality check” ahead of next month’s 50-over Women’s World Cup.
England, who began the summer with a dominant win over a depleted West Indies in Edwards’ first series in charge, went down 3-2 in the T20Is and 2-1 in the ODIs against World Cup co-hosts India.
The team was without senior batter Heather Knight, while captain Nat Sciver-Brunt missed the final two T20Is due to injury. Questions again arose over England’s fielding and ability to deliver under pressure.
“We were massively challenged and that’s how we want women’s cricket to be,” Edwards told the BBC Stumped podcast. “It wasn’t a reality check. We know we can beat India. If we play our best, we can beat any team in the World Cup.”
The eight-team tournament, to be held from 30 September to 2 November, will see each side play each other once before the top four progress to the semi-finals. Sri Lanka will share hosting duties with India as part of the ICC’s neutral-venue arrangements for fixtures involving India and Pakistan.
Edwards, who replaced Jon Lewis in April after England’s disastrous 16-0 Ashes whitewash and early T20 World Cup exit, has pledged to change perceptions about the team’s mentality and standards. She has focused on fitness and fielding, areas heavily criticised after the Ashes.
“Sometimes I get frustrated because we can drop one catch and we’re labelled a bad fielding team, even if we’ve fielded well otherwise,” she said. “I’m confident we can get to a place where people talk really positively about our fielding.” (Agencies)
