Yorkshire Women's Cricket Association Pathways to Cricket Excellence

How did it feel to touch down in Australia?

It was a relief if I’m honest because I’m not a fan of flying! I was excited to finally be able to get stuck into some outdoor cricket too.

What is the squad schedule up to the start of the World Cup?

Lots of training and three warm-up matches against New South Wales Breakers, Batesy, our former coach’s new team, Australia and the West Indies. We had one day off where me and a couple of the girls went to Darling Harbour and enjoyed a glorious cup of Lindt hot chocolate. It was predominantly a rest day, so we chilled out and relaxed for most of it.

Who do you room with? What is your and their worst habit?

The management pick our room mates so you always end up with your closest friends on tour. We all get on really well anyway so it’s never a problem. It’s great to be able to have someone to talk to if you’ve got a problem or if you’ve had a good or bad day.

What is the biggest home luxury you miss when being away on tour?

My Mum’s Sunday roast and my weekend blowouts with my brother Austin as well as my Xbox.

Give a brief description of training, morale in the camp, the atmosphere in the build-up etc.

Morale is really high as we head into this World Cup. We’re confident that we can go quite far but also won’t underestimate the opposition. We’ve worked hard on our fitness and can’t wait to put it into practise.

In training we have net sessions focussed on perfecting techniques or working on our game plans. We’ve also had some middle practice and have worked hard on our fielding. We’re all really excited about the tournament and can’t wait for it to get started.

With the World Cup about to start describe how you feel?

I just really want it to start now. We’re all fully prepared and can’t wait to put into practise all the hard work that we have been doing in the lead up to the competition.

What if any routines do you have to help you prepare physically and mentally for such a tournament?

I always try to get eight hours sleep before a game and make sure I recover well in the pool the day before. On the morning of the game I prepare mentally by visualising past performances and try to feel confident to get myself in the zone.

England’s warm-up games showed mixed results but showed lots of positive signs for the tournament to come:

v New South Wales Breakers – England Won by 6 wickets
v Australia – England Lost by 25 Runs
v West Indies – England Won by 116 runs

Follow this link to YouTube to see Katherine's views on her England teammates www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGObLaOSIjU

Previous editions of Brunty's Blog can be read here...

Tournament Build-up

Watch out for the next instalment of ‘Brunty’s World Cup Blog’ at points throughout the tournament, and don’t forget if you have a question for Katherine you can email katherinebrunt@yorkshirewca.co.uk and a lucky few will get their questions answered via this website.