“I’m probably thinking more about the 50-over stuff and prepping for that World Cup in 18 months time.” Kate Cross sets her eyes on ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025.
The England Women’s team led by skipper Heather Knight is currently hosting the Pakistan Women’s team led by skipper Nida Dar for a three-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series. The home side whitewashed the visitors, Pakistan (3-0) in the three-match T20I series.
The recently concluded T20I series was crucial in terms of finding the best playing combination for their respective sides. England look much more settled in terms of their combinations, while Pakistan have a lot of work to do, considering the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup that is set to be hosted by Bangladesh in October, is just around the corner.
The Heather Knight-led side clinched the first ODI comfortably, while defending the target of 244, they managed to restrict Pakistan on 206/9, thus clinching the game by 37 runs. England gave away as many as 40 extras in the 1st ODI. The 2nd ODI of the series was washed out courtesy of persistent rains after Pakistan skipper Nida Dar won the toss and opted to bat first. Shortly, all the sides will begin to announce their respective squads for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.
There is a battle of spots, especially in the pace bowling department as far as England are concerned. The 32-year-old medium pacer Kate Cross seems to have dropped down in the pecking order, with the emergence of the likes of Lauren Bell, and Lauren Filer, especially in the T20I format.
“So the priority is T20 cricket at the moment for us, but for me, I’m probably thinking more about the 50-over stuff and prepping for that World Cup in 18 months’ time. That might be different for Alice Capsey and Lauren Bell, so it’s exciting that we’ve got all this stuff on in the calendar and so much to look forward to. But in terms of this series, it’s really important to be able to practice with the mindset that we want to take into that (50-over) World Cup.” Kate Cross speaks about shifting her focus towards the preparations for the ODI World Cup.
The England Women’s team led by skipper Heather Knight, after the conclusion of the ongoing series against Pakistan will host New Zealand led by skipper Sophie Devine for a three-match ODI series followed by a five-match T20I series. The bilateral series will commence on 26th June 2024 and will conclude on 17th July 2024.
“There’s always something around the corner. We’ve got South Africa this winter, we’ve got an Ashes just after in January, and then we’ve got the 50-over World Cup next year as well. So you always feel like you’re constantly building for something. And underlying all of that are the basic skills that we’re trying to top up all the time.” The England pacer Kate Cross speaks about the packed international calender ahead for England.
(Quotes sourced from Espncricinfo)