Speaking in the run-up to Sunday’s first T20I against world runners-up South Africa in east London, Wyatt-Hodge insisted England had not “become a bad team in eight overs”, after a performance plagued by errors in the field. It allowed West Indies’ Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph to quickly advance to their fifties, en route to a place in the semi-finals at England’s expense.
England’s poor performance sparked an unprecedented reaction in the media, most notably from former World Cup winner Alex Hartley, who questioned the players’ physical level, a point that was roundly rejected last week by their coach. in chief, Jon Lewis. However, Wyatt-Hodge acknowledged that greater scrutiny was an inevitable consequence of the growth of women’s football.
“That’s part of the game now, isn’t it?” she said. “We try hard, people can say what they want, but the only thing that matters is in our circle, and we all work very hard every day in training and in games. We want to continue improving individually and as a team. And people have the right to say whatever you want about this group. That’s fine. We know what’s going on, so that’s all that matters.
“We have played some exceptional cricket over the last few years, and we also played some excellent cricket throughout the World Cup,” he added. “And now we’re all here in South Africa and we’re really excited to get started. We just want to concentrate on playing that kind of swashbuckling cricket that we’ve been playing over the last few years, and just enjoying it.” “.
South Africa defeated the West Indies in their semi-final, before losing to New Zealand in their second consecutive appearance in the T20 World Cup final. Wyatt-Hodge acknowledged that they would present another tough challenge for her team, even though they decided to rest two senior players, Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka, at this early juncture of their multi-format series.
“We’re going to sit back and see what they do, but they have some outstanding players on their team, like Chloe Tryon, Sune Luus, Laura Wolvaardt. “It’s a very challenging team to play against. But it’s always a lot of fun to come here and play against them. on their terms. We are very excited to get started.”
“Filer’s bowling has really improved over the last year,” Wyatt-Hodge said. “It’s very scary to face her in the nets, and especially here, the deliveries are quite fast and bouncy. So it will be difficult to face her here. She has been working very hard, and if she gets the opportunity, I will help her.” “I’m sure he’s eager to get started.”
The timing of the series and multi-format nature means England will surely have one eye on their Ashes tour of Australia in January. But Wyatt-Hodge recognized the importance of the tour in its own right, especially given the need to recover from his recent disappointments.
“This is a huge series for us, leading up to The Ashes as well. “We want to go out and show our skills and show everyone how good we are.
“We’ve had some meetings, there are always ways we can improve,” he added. “Personally, I have things to work on, like many other girls, so we want to keep striving to be better and better.
Even though I’m 33, I still feel like one of the young people, I feel like I’m 23. I just want to have fun, but also, when I’m in it, I’m in it and I’m focused. I just want to keep working hard and hope that young people see people like me, Heather. [Knight]Amy [Jones]Nat [Sciver-Brunt] wanting to continue improving and working hard. “We want to inspire them to do what we’re doing, too.”
The tour will conclude with a one-off Test match in Bloemfontein, starting on December 15, and although Wyatt-Hodge insisted he is “just playing what’s in front of me”, he admitted the prospect of adding a third Test to his tally was a tempting one. .
“We don’t really play much, so every time I get picked in a trial team, it’s a really special feeling,” he said. “Making my Test debut in the Ashes Test a couple of years ago was one of the best days I’ve had in my cricket career. It’s different, a Test match is. We all really enjoy the challenge. It’s very different “So having a Test match here against South Africa will be great preparation for the Ashes.”
