Yorkshire Women's Cricket Association Pathways to Cricket Excellence

In order to progress to the Super Six stage England first had to make it through the qualifying round taking on Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan.

We beat Sri Lanka by 100 runs down at Manuka Oval in Canberra. I was rested for the opening game but we set ourselves a target of 300 to get on a good wicket with a short boundary. However we made 277 with a great 101 from Claire Taylor. Even though I wasn’t playing it was nice to sit back and watch a brilliant display of batting. In reply the Sri Lankans showed a lot of guts and determination and we were disappointed to not keep them below 100 runs. We had them all out for 177 so took two points through to the next game but we still knew we were well below the standard of what we are capable of.

England: 277-5 ( 50.0 overs )
Sri Lanka: 177-7 ( 50.0 overs )
England Women beat Sri Lanka Women by 100 runs
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Going into the game against India we knew we couldn’t be complacent given our recent 4-0 win against them last summer. They fielded some new players, so there was a little of the unknown about them, but we were still confident. The fact that it was our first game live on TV meant that we wanted to make our mark and show what a good side we are. Lottie won the toss and opted to bowl first. Isa and I put on a good opening partnership with Isa taking two early wickets to dismiss the openers and I felt I was unlucky as I had several chances go against me. However in the middle of the innings Holly bowled a great spell of spin bowling and took 3-22. The Indians finished on 169 and in reply we knocked off the runs only losing one wicket. Claire Taylor and Caroline Atkins both made 69 to see us home.

England: 172-1 ( 38.4 overs )
India: 169 ( 48.4 overs )
England Women beat India Women by 9 wickets
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Before this game Pakistan were a bit of an unknown quantity to us. Having lost to India by a reasonable margin we felt really confident going into the game but still didn’t want to underestimate their grit and determination. Three of our bowlers were rested – Isa Guha, Nicky Shaw and Jenny Gunn. So a lot was placed on mine and Anya Shrubsole’s shoulders. We lost the toss and they elected to bat first. We made a good start keeping the run rate very low and then in the middle Holly Colvin and Laura Marsh began a twenty over spell of bowling in which Laura took career best figures of 5-15. They made 78 from 39 overs. In reply we lost two wickets before Lottie saw us home to take another two points.

England: 82-2 ( 23.1 overs )
Pakistan: 78 all out ( 39.5 overs )
England Women beat Pakistan Women by 8 wickets
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We finished the group stages having won all three of our matches.

Off the field...

Off the field we have spent quite a lot of time in Starbucks sampling their New York caramel cheesecake which is delicious! We have been up to Circular Quay to check out the Opera House and Harbour Bridge and have been down to Darling Harbour and eaten at the many restaurants down there. Our schedule over here is fairly full on and we are training or playing nearly every day. We train down at Waverley Oval which is really near Bondi Beach so we had a recovery session in the sea on one of the days!

After training I do tend to try and rest as much as I can, bowling does take its toll on the body. I always make sure I recover well the day before a game so that I know that I have prepared as well as I can.

We now go into the Super Six stage of the tournament with a game against New Zealand, our toughest challenge yet.

Follow this link to YouTube to see Katherine's views on her England teammates www.youtube.com

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

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.