Sky Sports activities’ Nasser Hussain appears to be like forward to the 2024 Girls’s T20 World Cup, assessing England’s possibilities of ending their 15-year await a second title and defending champions Australia’s hopes of a seventh title.
How does England really feel concerning the World Cup?
They’ve a really robust group, younger and skilled.
Clearly, they hope to enhance no less than one step from final 12 months once they have been eradicated by hosts South Africa within the semi-finals.
I mentioned the World Cup and England are undoubtedly extra attacking – they’ve been since Jon Lewis has been supervisor… and it looks as if it is develop into extra pure for them.
They’ve good spin choices, which I feel is required in girls’s cricket, and for the situations within the UAE, Sharjah and Dubai are the 2 venues.
The sport is a doubleheader and I came upon that on the Males’s T20 World Cup within the UAE [in 2022]because of the dew, it’s extremely pitch dependent, which implies you are likely to pitch first after which chase it below the lights.
With the bat, Alice Capsi is again to her finest. It regarded like she nearly suffered from second season syndrome final 12 months – individuals prepare you a bit and you must cope with being the sort of famous person that everybody in English cricket is speaking about.
In addition to Capsey, you’ve got the expertise of Danny Wyatt and Nat Seaver-Brent, and skipper Heather Knight can be in wonderful type. She scored an unbelievable century to elevate the London Spirit trophy at Lord’s.
I at all times suppose it is necessary for a captain to play properly. If you concentrate on individuals traditionally like Meg Lanning, when she captained Australia, you have been main from the entrance.
Talking of Australia, England have gained large confidence after beating Australia within the white-ball match of final 12 months’s multi-match Ashes sequence – and Australia are nonetheless the group to beat.
What do you consider the lineup they selected?
They’ve these three prime quality spin choices.
Sophie Ecclestone remains to be the primary bowler on the planet on this format, after which you’ve got Sarah Glenn and Charlie Dean… these three are completely excellent.
Additionally they have one other rotation choice on the group, Lindsay Smith. She’s a wonderful choice, giving England one other spin choice within the powerplay – she’s completely good in lots of, bowls economically and has the potential to take wickets.
The one factor I’ve to say is, how typically do they draft 4 spinners and have her be part of the group?
They left Lauren Filer – the tall, quick pitcher – off the group, which might be my decide as a result of I at all times like to choose guys who’re going to play on the group individuals.
You have obtained three spinners and if the ball does spin, you are at all times going to get Kapusi, who’s going to hit some balls off spin.
Will Australia’s dominance proceed?
For Australia, the expectation is to win. This is similar for any Australian group competing in a World Cup, whether or not it is a males’s or girls’s World Cup.
This isn’t a “we get to the finals and our opponent performs properly” state of affairs. That will not occur.
I keep in mind final 12 months in South Africa, once they received the ultimate, I mentioned in my report: “That is the very best cricket group we have ever seen – male or feminine”.
I feel Tammy Beaumont mentioned that given the wins and dominance they’ve had during the last decade or so – the Commonwealth Video games, the 50-over World Cup, T20 cricket and the Ashes, it is most likely the very best ever One of the best group in sports activities.
No matter format, they’re serial winners.
That mentioned, I feel they do miss Meg Lanning. I feel her outcomes have dipped barely since she retired due to her significance to the group, the best way she leads and the best way she bats.
That is Alyssa Healy’s first main occasion on the helm. She has to give attention to conserving, opening up the batting and captaining, so her secret is having the ability to separate all of that and do it properly.
She’s a great participant, so I feel if Healy can have a great sport, that can go a good distance in serving to Australia win – as a result of when she beneficial properties confidence, that can trickle right down to the group.
What do you concentrate on the prospects for different groups?
I’ll nonetheless take note of the final 4 semi-finals, England, South Africa, India and Australia. They’re the 4 highly effective ones.
However there aren’t any easy video games. Different groups even have some particular person expertise, like Hayley Matthews for the West Indies.
I can even be keeping track of what’s going on in Sri Lanka, Chamari Athapaththu and a few of the younger ladies are bettering exponentially within the group.
I additionally seen that within the Pakistan group, they began attempting to be extra aggressive, particularly with the bat.
I’ve at all times felt that the Pakistan girls’s group are superb with the ball and on the sector, however if you happen to rating greater than 140 or 150 towards them, they battle to match it with the bat.
In opposition to South Africa not too long ago, I seen they have been getting lots of outcomes, which instructed me there was an actual change of their mentality. Will probably be attention-grabbing to see how they do it.
Is it straightforward to attract the England group?
Group A appears to be like barely tougher, however what you may’t afford is to enter the sport with the mentality of “we’re within the straightforward group” and begin wanting ahead to the semifinals.
I am positive Heather and the group and head coach John Lewis do not suppose that in any respect as a result of if you happen to try this you would be in hassle within the Championship.
You’ll be able to lose a match very simply, particularly in T20, the shorter the format, it solely takes one participant to create an absolute blind spot with the bat or ball and you may counter it very properly.
Then, if you happen to lose a sport, it all of a sudden does not look that straightforward to your group as a result of each sport after that turns into a must-win.
Watch each match of Girls’s T20 World Cup 2024 sky sports activities dwellThe competitors begins with the opening match between Bangladesh and Scotland in Sharjah on Thursday, October 3, and ends with the ultimate in Dubai on Sunday, October 20.