England Women begin what will be their busiest international summer on Thursday at Leicester with the first of three ODIs against West Indies – a series that will serve as the warmup for the season’s main event, the multi-format women’s Ashes series beginning on 2 July.
Heather Knight, the captain, says her side are raring to go and are keen to play a part in English cricket’s biggest ever summer, as the men’s team seek to emulate Knight & co’s achievement two summers ago and win a World Cup on home soil.
“It’ll be a very exciting summer – for us and for the game in general,” Knight said. “We’re desperate to try and be successful, and play a part in that. It’s hard not to have one eye on the Ashes and look ahead – that’s always such a massive event in our calendar – but we’ve got to make sure we remain focused and start the summer well.”
Her side are starting out with a near-full complement of players, with Sophie Ecclestone and Jenny Gunn back in the squad having missed the recent tour to Sri Lanka. The wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor also returns having sat out much of the domestic season with a hip injury.
That contrasts with the situation faced by West Indies, who will be without the mighty muscle of the all-rounder Deandra Dottin, missing having recently undergone shoulder surgery. Dottin played a crucial role in her side’s shock four-wicket win against England in the group stage of last year’s World Twenty20 – the last time the two sides faced each other.
On recent form this England side should have no difficulties. They go into the match on a 10-game winning streak which they achieved in the subcontinent over the winter. More importantly, there are crucial ICC Women’s Championship points at stake: England need two more wins to achieve their goal of automatic qualification for the 2021 World Cup, while a clean sweep would mean they overtake the leaders, Australia.
However West Indies – currently placed seventh in the Championship – will be keen to steal some points for themselves. The visitors are fresh from whitewashing Ireland 3-0 in a T20 series, with the opener, Hayley Matthews, in fine form, having hit an unbeaten century in the most recent of those encounters.
“They’re a team we know very well,” Knight said. “I’ve played with Hayley at the Hobart Hurricanes and I’ve also played with [the captain] Stafanie Taylor at Western Storm. I’ve got to know how they work, identified potential weaknesses, but I guess the same works for those two in terms of my game.
“West Indies will be a big test so we’ll need to be at our best, but we’re confident about what we can bring to the table.”