Dubai: England captain Charlotte Edwards will be competing in her fifth successive ICC Women\u2019s World Cup when her side takes to the field on 2 February to begin its title defence of the trophy it won in 2009 in Australia.
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The defending champion will play Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium on 2 February and will later face West Indies and hosts India in Group A in its bid to make the Super Sixes section of the tournament that is being played in Mumbai between 31 January and 17 February.\n<\/p>\n
Edwards admitted that the ICC Women\u2019s World Cup was the pinnacle of many player careers, saying: \u201cFor me, the ICC Women\u2019s World Cup is the pinnacle of our careers. When I first started playing, the 50-over format was the only World Cup. This is what we are judged on.
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\u201cAs international cricketers, this is the ultimate prize. The ICC Women\u2019s World Cup is the ultimate, no doubt about it, I have been very fortunate to play in many World Cups.\u201d
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England has won the ICC Women\u2019s World Cup three times, most recently in Sydney in 2009 when Edwards led the side to defeat New Zealand by four wickets. She believes there is no added pressure going into the event as current champions: \u201cThe current England team is used to high expectations being placed on them. Since 2009, this expectation is something we\u2019ve had to deal with, something that has spurred us on and we relish it.
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\u201cWe see the World Cup as a real challenge. Playing and winning in India will be the biggest challenge we\u2019ve been up against in recent times, hence the reason for training so hard. We have all been fortunate to play a lot in India recently, which certainly helps. It\u2019s a World Cup, it only comes around every 4 years, so this is a really exciting challenge for the team.\u201d
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Looking ahead to the tournament in Mumbai, the all-rounder and ICC Women\u2019s Cricketer of the Year 2008 feels England have the experience and ability to do well in India: \u201cExperience of big games, of World Cups, is something we\u2019ve definitely got in our group. We\u2019ve got a lot of strength in depth, which is very important.
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\u201cKnowing the conditions will be key, and a lot of our girls have experienced Indian conditions more than once. This experience stands you in good stead and helps with preparation.\u201d
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Edwards admits that losing the ICC Women\u2019s World Twenty20 final to Australia in October last year in Sri Lanka was a tough blow but one the side is using to motivate itself even more for the World Cup.
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\u201cFirst and foremost, our performance at the ICC World Twenty20 was a fantastic achievement. It\u2019s bitterly disappointing that we didn\u2019t win, so it\u2019s been really nice for us to have the immediate focus on the ICC Women\u2019s World Cup, as well as a bit of a break.
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\u201cIt\u2019s been a long summer, and we spent a long time preparing for the World Twenty20. It\u2019s good to be back in training, we\u2019re all really enjoying it. It\u2019s out of season here, so we\u2019re doing lots of indoor training. We\u2019ll also be going to India early to prepare for the World Cup. We\u2019re all very excited, and the disappointment from the World Twenty20 has given us an extra edge in preparation to defend our title.\u201d
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The Kent batter is excited to be going to India for the event, even though the team has a particularly tough group. Edwards admitted: \u201cFor me, India is one of the greatest places to play cricket. Cricket is a religion in India, and I\u2019ve been lucky enough to play there numerous times. My first World Cup was in India, and this will be my fifth. I saw the World Cup in 1996 played in Eden Gardens in front of 80,000 people.
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\u201cThe biggest challenge for any cricketer is to play in India and succeed, so it will be the greatest achievement if we could do so.\u201d
With regards to her group, Edwards said: \u201cWe\u2019re in a tough group and we know it, but we will prepare ourselves accordingly.
\u201cIndia is a team that is very good in its own conditions; we\u2019ve never won an ODI series out there. Players to watch include Mithali Raj without a doubt, she has be a supreme batter for India over many years. Goswami leads their attack, she may be best bowler in the world. And India has great spinners, they are a team against which you have to play your best.
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\u201cSri Lanka is coming off a good tournament in the ICC World Twenty20 in their own conditions. Sub-continent conditions really suit them as a team. We haven\u2019t played them much, but we know they are a tough team.
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\u201cThe West Indies has got some of the best players in the world on their team. In the past, it\u2019s not a team that we\u2019ve done particularly well against. Players like Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin are \u2018x factor\u2019 players who can win a game of cricket on their own.\u201d
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Finally looking at her own side, Edwards believes the ICC Women\u2019s Twenty20 International Cricketer of the Year 2012, Sarah Taylor, will be a key player for the tournament alongside Katherine Brunt, who is currently ranked number one in the Reliance ICC Women\u2019s Player Rankings for ODI bowlers.
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\u201cI think Sarah Taylor is obviously one of the best players in the world. It goes without saying that she will be a key player for us. Katherine Brunt as an opening bowler is someone we always look to, and who has a really good record in ODI cricket, leading the attack. Getting wickets up front is key, and she has all the skills to do that,\u201d said Edwards.
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She added: \u201cHolly Colvin has been around the team for a number of years, and she had a good ICC World Twenty20. Being a left arm spinner, she has that extra edge, and we\u2019ll expect big things from her. Strength and depth will be vital; the best team will have strength and depth to win. We\u2019ve got them, and hopefully many of our players will flourish at the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dubai: England captain Charlotte Edwards will be competing in her fifth successive ICC Women\u2019s World Cup when her side takes to the field on 2 February to begin its title defence of the trophy it won in 2009 in Australia.
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The defending champion will play Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium on 2 February and will later face West Indies and hosts India in Group A in its bid to make the Super Sixes section of the tournament that is being played in Mumbai between 31 January and 17 February.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-isn-front-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n