The Women's T20 World Cup was due to be held in Bangladesh but has been moved to the UAE due to civil unrest; The competition will take place from October 3 to 20, with all games live on Sky Sports
Tuesday 24 September 2024 06:06, UK
Kate Cross believes England can beat any team on their best day and is confident in the "young and exciting" squad ahead of the T20 World Cup in October.
England completed a dominant home summer, securing clean sweeps over Pakistan and New Zealand respectively in a multi-format white-ball series.
They were met with some resistance during their tour of Ireland, where Cross captained England for the first time, and drew the T20 series 1-1 but won the one-day leg 2-1.
Wicketkeeper-batter Bess Heath and all-rounder Freya Kemp have both been included in the World Cup squad alongside Danielle Gibson, who stepped up to the full 15-player squad after being a travelling reserve when England reached the semi-finals in South Africa last year.
"England, on their best day, can beat any team," said senior seamer Cross on Sky Sports News.
"I think the Ashes that we had last summer was a really good display of what we look like when we’re at our best.
"It's a young and exciting team that's gone out there and we're going to wish them the best from a very cold, wet England.
"The girls have been out there in the UAE for about 10 days now so they've had a brilliant preparation.
"There's still a few games and days before the first game but I'm sure they'll go into it full of confidence."
Opening batter Tammy Beaumont and Cross, who was part of the team in South Africa, are among those who have missed out on selection, although head coach Jon Lewis insisted the door remained open for anyone not included.
England have opted for a blend of youth and experience in their squad as they target their first trophy since the inaugural edition in 2009.
"I think we've got such great senior players in the team," added Beaumont.
"You look at Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amy Jones, I think they're really consistent and play the way that the team wants to play, and that allows the young players to go out there, express themselves and take the game on.
"Someone like Sophie Ecclestone too, she is a massive senior player having featured so many times and is the number one [T20] bowler in the world."
Linsey Smith, who returned to the England team earlier this year, forms part of the spin bowling attack for the team alongside Ecclestone.
England are currently taking part in a pre-World Cup training camp in Abu Dhabi which runs from September 13-24.
The tournament, which has been moved to the UAE from Bangladesh due to political unrest, gets under way for England against Bangladesh on October 5 in a warm-up match, with Knight's side facing South Africa, Scotland and the West Indies in Group B as well.
The tournament will offer a record amount of prize money totalling £6m with the champions winning £1.77m - more than double the previous award for 2023 champions Australia (£756,335).
The losing finalists will walk away with £884,911, while each of the 10 participating teams are assured of £85,088.
Australia have dominated the World Cup scene and are aiming for their third straight and seventh overall.
Following the World Cup, England will travel to South Africa to play in three ODIs and T20s and one Test as they prepare for the Ashes in 2025.
"It's always difficult going away to any kind of tour and winning abroad," added Cross.
"We know we've got some challenges ahead and the preparation for a Test match is always a little bit different as well, especially from a bowling point of view but it's something that we love and thrive off. We want to do more of it.
"It's something that we're looking forward to and me and Tammy, have got a little bit more time to prepare than the girls that are out in the UAE at the minute."
England will play two warm-up matches against Bangladesh and South Africa respectively before facing Scotland in their opener, live on Sky Sports.
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