Women’s World Cup: Heather Knight says England fearless before title defense but Australia are favourites | cricket news
The Women’s World Cup, from March 4th, will take place in New Zealand
Captain Heather Knight is confident that England will have the resilience to defend their title at the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand, but admits Australia are really the favourites.
England opened their campaign against Australia on March 5 in Hamilton, live on Sky Sports, with the Ashes victors losing just one game in one international match since 2018.
Knight, who led England to victory at home in the 2017 World Cup, saw his side lose in the Ashes multiform series 12-4, including defeats in all three of their matchday matches, as they failed to win a match on the ring.
“I think five years is a very long time in international cricket and obviously Australia have been the top team all that time and naturally they are the favourites,” she said.
“I don’t think it is [being defending champions] It weighs on our shoulders. I think the tournament we had in 2017 will give a lot of players confidence in their ability to deal with the ups and downs of the tournament and know how to succeed in the World Cup.
“We will try to learn from that and are not too concerned about clearly naming the title holder.”
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England captain Heather Knight has responded to a ruling allowing backroom staff to serve as emergency defenders at the Women’s World Cup
Knight is excited about the ability within the 15-member squad for the championship under Australian head coach Lisa Keatley, with six other winners from the successful 2017 campaign as well.
England, who enjoyed a successful run with hosts New Zealand last winter, will play friendly matches against Bangladesh and South Africa before the tournament kicks off on March 4.
“Of course, the team develops in the World Cup cycles,” she added.
“I think the last couple of years with Lisa coming in, and the changes we’ve had as a bowling unit, we’ve really tried to be a little bit more aggressive, a little bit more offensive, looking to take some wickets in particular up front and through this middle stage.
“You are just trying to collect your players who will succeed during these five years of preparing for the World Cup. In the last two years before the World Cup, you were really trying to reach the peak at that time.”
England team
Heather Knight (hat), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Bront, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Tash Farrant, Amy Jones, Emma Lamb, Nat Skever (vice captain), Anya Shropsol, Lauren Winfield-Hill Danny White
Travel reserves: Lauren Bell, Maddie Villiers
England calendar
Mar 5 – Australia (Hamilton)
March 9 – West Indies (Duniden)
March 14 – South Africa (Mount Maunganui)
March 16 – India (Mount Maunganui)
March 20 – New Zealand (Auckland)
March 24 – Pakistan (Christchurch)
March 25 – Bangladesh (Wellington)
Watch the Women’s Cricket World Cup on Sky Sports live from Friday 4 March. Coverage of the opening tournament – which hosts New Zealand against the West Indies – begins at 12:30am on Sky Sports Cricket. The England-Australia match starts at 12:30am on Saturday 5 March.
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