Footer Sarah Glenn has said England will focus on themselves and their aggressive brand of cricket at the Women’s T20 World Cup but admits it’s a “pivotal moment” for the team.
Since Jon Lewis was appointed in November, England have seemed to be more aggressive with bat and ball.
This lead to England smashing 246-7 in a warm-up against South Africa on Monday.
“We have a very good chance,” said Glenn, 23, ahead of their opener against the West Indies on Saturday.
“We’ve always had the right mindset in terms of what we wanted to achieve, which is to inspire and entertain everyone, but the difference now is that we’re putting everything together.
“We always had the belief that we could beat any team. We were always close to breaking that, but I think the difference now is that it’s all up to us.
“In the past, we may have looked for what we should do against certain players or opponents, but now we stick to our strengths and just trust the process of really aggressive cricket play.
“It’s exciting and I think it can make a difference. It’s a really crucial moment for us.”
“We would like to reflect men”
England enter the tournament having beaten the West Indies 5-0 in the format in December, before a 17-point victory in their first warm-up match against South Africa.
They ran 67-0 in the first four overs, drawing comparisons to the aggressive style England men adopt in red-and-white-ball cricket.
“Obviously we’re cricket ‘badgers’, always trying to watch cricket. We’ve seen the men create a philosophy of trying to play aggressively and that was quite inspiring to watch, especially in the test matches,” Glenn said.
“It was really interesting to see how they played and there were a few of us who thought ‘we’d like to play that style of cricket’.
“It’s always been in us and Lewi really brings that out of us and part of the process is believing that we can do it.
“As long as we can keep pushing for it, and if English cricket can all have the same mindset, like men and women, I think we can create something really special.”
“It’s special to be a three”
Lewis introduced off-spinner Charlie Dean to the T20 side and the 22-year-old has taken 14 wickets in five matches since.
This has led to increased competition for a spot on the team, with Dean competing with Glenn and left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone, who are ranked fourth and first in the world respectively.
They sometimes played as a trio in the West Indies and Glenn says it’s “great” that Dean, who had become a regular member of the 50+ team under Lisa Keightley, is pushing to be included.
“The three of us are so different in the way we play and attack,” Glenn said.
“Jon likes to see us do that. It’s something pretty special to have as a threesome.
“There are so many options for Heather and Lewi. It’s really good for us to challenge ourselves and strengthen ourselves.”
Ecclestone played as a striker in the warm-up against South Africa, with England nursing a minor injury ahead of potentially six games in three weeks.
If Ecclestone were to miss at any stage, Glenn would become England’s most experienced spinner, having played 41 T20 internationals.
“That’s what we’ve developed as a team, being able to fill everyone’s roles if we need to,” added Glenn.
“Not just to use it if the option isn’t there, but to be able to use it if the option is there, so Heather has a wide range of options on the pitch.
“As a team we do it very well, but I have that in mind so I’m ready. I’ve tried to do that in the past too to always be ready.”
