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No players from Australia and South Africa are in the three squads that will take part in the four-match Women’s T20 Challenge, which will be held in Jaipur from May 6 to 11 on the sidelines of the IPL playoffs.South Africa’s players are unavailable because of their home series against Pakistan, which begins on May 6. The surprise, however, is in the absence of Australia’s cricketers. The world leaders in the women’s game, Australia had fielded the largest overseas contingent in last year’s one-off exhibition match, including stars such as Meg Lanning, Megan Schutt, Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney.Only last month, Cricket Australia’s female high-performance manager Shawn Flegler had told that the board would support Australians participating in any exhibition matches played this year. “It’s a great opportunity for the players, and to see a women’s IPL get off the ground would be a great thing for the game more broadly,” Flegler had said.A report on CA’s website yesterday, headlined “Aussies in frame for women’s IPL games”, suggested the players would take part in the tournament. However, the report also confirmed that Australia’s pre-Ashes camp would begin in Brisbane on May 13, two days after the final of the Jaipur tournament.For the upcoming Indian competition, 39 players, including internationals, have been divided among three teams – Supernovas, Trailblazers, and Velocity. The teams will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj respectively.Some of the top players from England and New Zealand will be present and, unlike last year, when only players from Australia, New Zealand and England made up the overseas contingent, the upcoming edition will feature three West Indians in Stafanie Taylor, Hayley Matthews and Shakera Selman, while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be represented by Chamari Atapattu and Jahanara Alam respectively.Current India women head coach WV Raman has been named the coach of Harmanpreet’s Supernovas, while fielding coach Biju George will be in charge of Mandhana’s Trailblazers. Former India women’s captain Mamatha Maben, who had applied for the India women head coach’s position after the exit of Ramesh Powar last year, will coach Raj’s Velocity.Supernovas: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Anuja Patil, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Mansi Joshi, Poonam Yadav, Priya Punia, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Chamari Atapattu*, Lea Tahuhu*, Sophie Devine*, Natalie Sciver*Trailblazers: Smriti Mandhana (c), Bharti Fulmali, Dayalan Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Harleen Deol, Jasia Akhtar, Jhulan Goswami, R Kalpana (wk), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Suzie Bates*, Sophie Ecclestone*, Shakera Selman*, Stafanie Taylor*Velocity: Mithali Raj (c), Devika Vaidya, Ekta Bisht, Komal Zanzad, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sushma Verma (wk), Sushri Dibyadarshini, Veda Krishnamurthy, Amelia Kerr*, Danielle Wyatt*, Hayley Matthews*, Jahanara Alam*
First IPL match ever, 22-years-old Alzarri Joseph steamed in, bowled the tournament’s top run-scorer David Warner – off an inside edge – with his first delivery, and went on to have a debut beyond all fantasies.In defence of Mumbai Indians’ 136 for 7, which had only been made respectable by Kieron Pollard’s 46 not out off 26 balls, Joseph produced one of the great IPL bowling performances. He claimed 6 for 12, consistently rushing batsmen with his deceptive pace. Those figures broke an IPL record that had stood since the very first season, bettering Sohail Tanvir’s 6 for 14.
Alzarri Joseph’s 6 for 12 are the best bowling figures in the IPL. The previous best was Sohail Tanvir’s 6 for 14 in the inaugural edition in 2008. The previous best on IPL debut was Andrew Tye’s 5 for 17, in 2017.
Sunrisers Hyderabad were dismissed for 96, which is their lowest total. Their previous lowest was 113, also against Mumbai Indians, in 2015
The 40-run defeat was the first loss for Mohammad Nabi in eight IPL matches.
Joseph also became the seventh bowler to take a wicket off the first ball of his debut IPL game, joining a list that includes Wilkin Mota, TP Sudhindra, Ali Murtuza, Amit Singh, Ishant Sharma and Dwaraka Ravi Teja
Joseph became only the second bowler to deliver a wicket-maiden in his first IPL over. Pat Cummins was the only other bowler to achieve this feat.
Despite being posed with a modest target, even if it was on a tricky home pitch, Sunrisers never got themselves moving. They lost their in-form openers inside the first five overs, and although several batsmen got starts, no one could push beyond 20. Joseph and Mumbai continued to take wickets, and the required rate ballooned. When Rashid Khan fell towards the end of the 15th over, with 49 to get off 25 balls and only three wickets left, the match was effectively sealed.2:05
Failed to capitalise on our good start – Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Joseph’s star turnHad Lasith Malinga been available, there is every chance Joseph would still be awaiting his IPL debut, but boy how he grabbed the opportunity. Joseph claimed two wickets off his first two overs, bowling David Warner off his inside edge with his first ever IPL ball, before having Vijay Shankar caught at point off a top edge soon after the Powerplay ended.His two wickets off successive deliveries in the 16th over, definitively swung the game in Mumbai’s direction. He bowled Deepak Hooda with a full, straight delivery, which the batsman inside-edged onto his stumps. Next ball, Rashid Khan was rushed into a pull shot, which the batsman could do no better than top edge – Joseph himself running through to take a simple chance.The final two wickets were almost just a bonus. Bhuvneshwar Kumar had his middle stump pegged back by another full, straight one. Four balls later, No. 10 batsman Siddarth Kaul was caught behind trying to run Joseph to third man.That Kaul wicket concluded the second excellent away result for Mumbai, who in the last two seasons had been infamously slow starters in the IPL. With this victory to follow the one against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday, Mumbai have announced they are once again serious title contenders.Pollard’s manic finishFor so much of Mumbai’s own innings, it seemed as if they would not muster a competitive score. They had been a pathetic 5 for 65 after 12.5 overs – four of their top five batsmen having failed to score at a run-a-ball. Pollard, though, eased himself into his innings, hitting 9 off his first 13 balls, thanks to some good fortune (more on that later), before exploding in the 19th and 20th overs.He walloped the first ball of Siddarth Kaul’s final over over long off, before blasting one into the legside stand two balls later, then muscling another into the stand beyond long on two balls after that. Mumbai made 20 off that Kaul over, then 19 off the final one bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, thanks again to some serious luck for Pollard.Alzarri Joseph wheels away in celebration after completing a five-for•BCCI
Sunrisers’ horror dropsVery rarely does Rashid Khan let a catch slip through his fingers, but he did so today, and wouldn’t you know it, it was Mumbai’s eventual top scorer that he reprieved. Pollard should have been out for 8 off 13 balls had Rashid held a straightforward chance at deep extra cover. He would go on to pummel 37 off 13 balls after the drop.According to ESPNcricinfo’s , the drop cost Sunrisers Hyderabad 21 runs, which very much looks like the difference between the two teams.To make things worse, Mohammad Nabi also dropped Pollard off the penultimate ball of the innings – palming the ball over the boundary to give him six, before Deepak Hooda at long off failed to stop a ball that deflected off his body for four.Mumbai’s support actsAlthough Joseph was easily the visitors’ best bowler, the attack actually put in an excellent performance between them. Jason Behrendorrf claimed 1 for 28 from his four overs, Jasprit Bumrah took 1 for 16 from his three, and Rahul Chahar had struck the first blow, removing Johnny Bairstow in the fourth over of the innings. Chahar finished with figures of 2 for 21, later removing Yousuf Pathan as well.
Australia fast bowler Kane Richardson has been ruled out of the ongoing India tour after failing to recover from an injury sustained at training ahead of the T20I series. Western Australia’s Andrew Tye will replace him for the forthcoming ODI leg of the tour.Richardson is understood to have picked up the injury while batting in the nets in Hyderabad, where Australia trained before the first T20I in Visakhapatnam on February 24. Richardson didn’t play in that game.”Kane reported some left side pain at training prior to the opening T20I in Vizag,” Australia physio David Beakley confirmed. “Unfortunately he has not recovered well enough in order to play a further part in the tour. Kane will return home to continue his rehabilitation, and we (will) monitor his progress over the coming weeks.”Richardson’s injury means Australia have only one reserve bowler on the bench – Nathan Lyon – as they head into the final T20I in Bengaluru with a 1-0 lead.Richardson, who has taken 13 of his 27 ODI wickets against India, was on a comeback trail following a successful BBL season, where he topped the bowling charts with 24 wickets in 14 games for title-winners Melbourne Renegades.He last featured for for the national team during the limited-overs tour of England in 2018 where Australia lost all six matches.Tye also last played an ODI series for Australia during that tour, but featured in the T20I series against India at home in November. He will join the squad along with Shaun Marsh in Hyderabad on Thursday, the venue of the first ODI on March 2.
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has been suspended for four matches after he admitted to making a racist comment at South Africa’s Andile Phehlukwayo during the Durban ODI.Sarfraz will be forced to miss the final two ODIs against South Africa, and then two of the three T20s that follow. The PCB said he will not play the third T20 either, but return home “immediately”. Shoaib Malik will captain in his absence.The ICC release said that Sarfraz will also have to attend “an education programme to promote the understanding and awareness of issues directly relevant to the offence that he has committed”.Remarkably that ICC release was made public half an hour after the world realised that Sarfraz wasn’t playing in the fourth ODI at the Wanderers because Malik turned up for the toss in his place.”We wanted him [Sarfraz], but the incident… we all know what has happened,” Malik said. “I don’t want to comment about it. But they’ve given me this opportunity, and I want to do my best.”Malik later said he only found out he would be captaining the team on the morning of the match. “When we got to the ground, that’s when I came to know I’m captaining the side. It’s a great honour to represent your country as a captain or a player, and whenever the opportunity comes to you should give your best shot. And that’s what I did.”It was actually South Africa captain Faf du Plessis who first indicated that Sarfraz had been handed a four-match ban. “We’ve heard that he’s out for four games,” he said during his toss interview.In Durban, during the second ODI, during Phehlukwayo’s innings, as he got South Africa’s wobbling chase back on track, Sarfraz was heard on the broadcast stump mics saying in Urdu: Translated literally that is: “Hey black guy, where’s your mother sitting today? What [prayer] have you got her to say for you today?”Since then, Sarfraz has apologised twice, the first an apology in the general direction of nobody, but then backed up by a personal one to Phehlukwayo. The day after the match, Sarfraz tweeted that his comments were “not directed towards anyone in particular”. Then, two days ago, Sarfraz tweeted a picture of himself shaking hands with Phehlukwayo, with this caption: “This morning I apologised to Andile Phehlukwayo and he was gracious enough to accept my apology and I hope the people of South Africa also accept my apology.”The punishment came five days after the incident, allowing Sarfraz to play the third ODI in Cape Town. Ahead of that game, du Plessis said his team had forgiven Sarfraz for the comments.ICC CEO David Richardson said Sarfraz’s apology was taken into account when deciding on his penalty. “The ICC has a zero-tolerance policy towards conduct of this nature,” he said. “Sarfraz has promptly admitted the offence, was regretful of his actions and has issued a public apology, so these factors were taken into account when determining an appropriate sanction.”Pakistan do not have a back-up wicketkeeper in their T20 squad, so Mohammad Rizwan, who took the gloves in Johannesburg, will stay on for the T20s.
How the game played outSylhet Sixers climbed out of the bottom of the Bangladesh Premier League points table with a 76-run win over Rajshahi Kings in this season’s first match played in Chattogram. Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Nawaz took three wickets each to headline an excellent Sylhet bowling performance to shoot Rajshahi out for 104 in 18.2 overs.Laurie Evans’ early dismissal rocked Rajshahi, who failed to gain any momentum in their chase of Sylhet’s 180 for 6.Sylhet earlier put up a strong total, mainly because of a 62-run third-wicket stand between Jason Roy and Afif Hossain. Roy, in his first innings for Sylhet, struck four fours and two sixes in his 28-ball 42, while Afif scored 28 in 29 balls. Towards the end, Tanvir slammed four fours in his unbeaten 23 off nine balls.Turning points
Star of the dayThe experienced Tanvir wasn’t the captain for this game, but he delivered a very good all-round performance. First, he blasted 23 in quick time before picking up three wickets.The big missSoft dismissals hurt Rajshahi in their pursuit of 181. First, Mominul Haque’s attempted clip off Taskin Ahmed went straight to short fine-leg, and then Ryan ten Doeschate was bowled off a really short delivery from Alok Kapali.Where the teams standRajshahi are stuck in fifth place with three games remaining, while Sylhet have returned to the sixth spot following the win.
Stumps After rain took away three hours, India nipped out three lower order wickets when play resumed on the fourth day in Sydney. Then, the last-wicket pair of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood held on for an hour before wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav, playing his first Test of the tour, and only his sixth overall, picked his second five-for by removing a stodgy Hazlewood, who could have been out much earlier had Hanuma Vihari held a top-edged slog sweep at midwicket. India quickly enforced the follow-on, Australia’s first at home in 31 years after securing a 322-run lead.Suddenly, the time lost to rain seemed irrelevant. Then, with four minutes before the scheduled tea interval, Jasprit Bumrah bowled a lifter that rapped Marcus Harris on the glove, with all eight light towers at the SCG burning. The blow was partly because Harris misjudged the length and looked to duck away by taking his eyes off the ball.A strong Sunday crowd that had paid good money expected a proper contest were left annoyed, much like Virat Kohli, when they saw the umpires converge to pull out the light meter and the players walked off. Sadly – or much to the relief of the Australian team – they did not return, leaving everyone debating the whys and wherefores of the cricket’s playing conditions.The big picture, however, was the situation left Australia only slightly better than the position they had been in at the start of the day.India’s first-ever series win in Australia is all but sealed. Kohli can lay his hands on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but he will be aching for a 3-1 scoreline. For that, India would need 10 wickets on the final day, but with a forecast similar to Saturday’s and the rule book that calls for play to stop at the slightest hint of rain or play to hinge on a light reading – despite having quality, state-of-the-art floodlights – it seems possible the Sydney Test could end in a draw.Getty Images
The delay at the start of play may have made Kohli’s decision to enforce the follow-on straightforward. With time running out and 14 wickets still to take, he threw the ball to Mohammed Shami and he struck off the third delivery. Pat Cummins, who had shown admirable fight both against pace and spin, got a grubber that beat the bottom to crash into the stumps.Peter Handscomb saw this as an opportunity to score runs and showed authority against Kuldeep, first by sweeping him off a length and then playing a finely-timed short arm jab to the midwicket boundary. At the other end, Shami was properly banging the ball into the pitch and getting it to respond. Handscomb was jumping back into his crease, expecting balls to rear up, only for it to sneak low. This is how he would fall eventually, but to Jasprit Bumrah, who used the age-old tactic of short-short and slightly-full to get his man. Handscomb, playing back to a length ball, only managed to chop on, the ball keeping a touch low again. The lower order was exposed to India’s pace pack under cloudy skies.Kohli quickly brought on his spinners, a move to keep his fast bowlers fresh for when he would eventually enforce the follow on. Kuldeep had a fourth when Lyon was out sweeping to a full toss that drifted away and struck him on the boot, possibly outside the line. Australia had two full reviews, but Lyon saw Starc non-committal in asking him to refer. Lyon obediently walked off. In the commentary box, Ricky Ponting was furious, terming Australia’s move ‘slack and not desperate enough.’The last-wicket pair then had some fun, making India chase deliveries to the boundary through slogs – some well-timed, others miscued – on a slow outfield, where the ball often pulled up short of the boundaries. They batted out 14 overs for 42 before Kuldeep came on to get Hazlewood with a wrong’un.Australia’s openers then had to bat out a mere four overs in the second innings before they went off and spent a better part of a farcical day in the change room even as a frustrated Sunday crowd disapproved of ICC’s rigidity with the rules by switching on the backlights of their mobile phones, as if to say ‘you want more light? Here, take this.’ Unfortunately, they know it would’ve only fallen on deaf ears.
Joe Root, England’s captain, praised his side’s adaptability and game awareness, after they ended a run of 13 overseas winless Tests by sealing a memorable 211-run victory over Sri Lanka on the fourth day in Galle.Having set Sri Lanka an improbable 462 for victory, England sealed the deal in the final session of the day, with their spinners Moeen Ali, Jack Leach and Adil Rashid sharing eight of the ten wickets. However Root praised in particular the impact of Ben Stokes with the ball, and said his contribution had been symptomatic of a side that has found new depths of resolve to overcome alien conditions.”From our position at lunchtime on the first day we’ve been in control of the whole game,” Root told Sky Sports. “And to be as consistent as that throughout a whole Test match, which is something we haven’t always got right in the past, especially away from home, has been really pleasing. We’ve been clear about things, and adapted to the surface all the time.”Stokes claimed just the one wicket, that of Dhananjaya de Silva just before lunch, but his eight-over spell rattled Sri Lanka’s middle order and gave the spinners a chance to turn the screw at the other end.”To have guys who can do different jobs is pleasing,” said Root. “You know with Ben you are going to get a flat-out performance. He’ll leave everything out on the field. I asked him to bowl one more and he said I’ve nothing left, and that doesn’t happen often. He could have had four or five in that spell, it was very hostile, and showed good skills with reverse swing. He changed the game, because that wicket before lunch was crucial.”England’s unparalleled depth of all-round talent, which was in particular evidence in their recovery from 103 for 5 on the first morning, was the stand-out feature of their victory, and Root admitted that it had been “great fun” marshalling his troops on their fourth-innings victory push.”We had so many different options,” he said. “It’s great to see the lads really dovetail and complement each other. There were times when the seamers might not get the praise they deserve, but they built a lot of pressure. The first hour today was great, we didn’t necessarily get any wickets, but they didn’t score freely and rotate at a comfortable rate, and towards the back end of the session we got our rewards.”Moeen continued his renaissance performance with another four-wicket haul, but Root singled out Leach for particular praise, for the way he helped control the tempo of Sri Lanka’s innings in only his second Test.”He’s had experience of bowling on wickets at Somerset that do spin,” Root said. “To transfer that into Test cricket is a great thing to have. He calls Somerset ‘Ciderabad’ and it seemed there were a few similarities. He gave great control which allowed us to attack at the other end.”England did well, too, to tailor their approach to suit a Galle wicket that, while not unfriendly to spinners, was not the dry Bunsen that they have usually faced at this venue.Ben Stokes dismissed Dhananjaya de Silva on the stroke of lunch•Getty Images
“Traditionally the pitch here deteriorates rapidly and you expect it to turn square and be hard to bat last on,” he said. “But with weather around it’s held together a lot better than we might have anticipated. You have to give yourself enough time to get the result.”We knew we were going to have to work hard and there’d be periods we’d have to be very patient and trust our plans, and the fact we managed to do that and see it work is really pleasing.”We had in-out fields to dry up the boundaries but still had to bowl in good areas and we did that,” Root added. “Sometimes when it’s spinning you want them to go for the single and bring the catchers into play.”If you take the boundary options out, as a batter you feel like you aren’t going anywhere so it can be quite frustrating. In difficult conditions, when you know it’s only going to get harder, it can weigh quite heavily on you psychologically, and we used that in our favour.”England now head to Pallekele for next week’s second Test with a victory under their belts, but a lot of selection headaches to face up to, not least the potential return to fitness of Jonny Bairstow, who may struggle to displace England’s Man-of-the-Match debutant, Ben Foakes,”To play the innings [Foakes] did showed great maturity and skill, and awareness of his own game,” said Root. “To keep in these conditions was a great challenge as well, and he was unflustered. He’s a natural and it’s great to see someone come in with an attitude of pure enjoyment, and grasp the opportunity in both hands.”It’s going to be an interesting meeting, but I’d rather be in this position than not have a clue who to pick. If the pitches look drastically different we can adapt to that with a different XI. It’s very balanced so going to be tough, but it’s great to see the guys putting pressure on for places.”
West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo has called time on his international career. He will however continue to play franchise T20 cricket across the world.The 35-year-old made his debut in 2004, and played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 66 T20Is, although his last international appearance was more than two years ago, in a T20I against Pakistan in September 2016.In a statement released to the media, Bravo said, “Today I want to confirm to the cricket world that I have officially retired from international cricket in all formats of the game. After 14 years when I made my debut for the West Indies, I still remember that moment I received the maroon cap before walking onto the Lords Cricket Ground against England in July 2004. The enthusiasm and passion I felt then, I have kept with me throughout my career.”However, I must accept that for me to preserve my longevity as a professional cricketer, I must do as others before have done, leave the international arena for the next generation of players.”Bravo played his last Test in 2010, and had gradually transformed into a T20 specialist in the past few years. The combination of his big-hitting ability, athletic fielding, and canny bowling with an assortment of slower balls and change-ups made him a much sough-after figure in T20 cricket the world over.His last ODI was in 2014, the fourth match of the dramatic series against India in Dharamsala, after which the West Indies flew home in protest against their board, cutting the tour short. Bravo was the captain of the ODI side then, and at the toss, the full squad stood behind him, symbolically backing his decision.With his announcement, Bravo has drawn a line under any potential international comeback. As recently as before West Indies’ ongoing tour of India, there had been talk of Bravo, among others, possibly making it to the national team.He ends with 2200 runs at an average of 31.42 in Tests, with three centuries, to go with 86 wickets at 39.83. In ODIs, he made 2968 runs at 25.36, with a strike-rate of 82.30, while taking 199 wickets at 29.51 with an economy rate of 5.41.”I thank the countless persons who were instrumental to my success, particularly my family and QPCC where I developed my skills at an early age,” Bravo said. “I thank the many loyal fans who continue to support my journey and who recognize my efforts on and off the field. I am extremely fortunate to have a career that has taken me across the globe into the most prestigious dressing rooms sharing experiences with all the recent legends of this glorious game. I will continue my professional career as a cricketer and entertainer living as a true champion.”
England’s 15-player squad for next month’s Women’s World T20 has been selected in the knowledge that Katherine Brunt, the squad’s senior allrounder, may not be fit enough to play a full part when the tournament gets underway in the Caribbean in just over a month’s time.Brunt, Player of the Match when England last lifted the trophy against New Zealand in 2009, has been managing a back problem that she first sustained in the Women’s Big Bash League over the winter, and would be an “impossible” player to replace, according to the head coach, Mark Robinson.”We hope she’s fit but we’ve got to be ready and prepared if she’s not,” Robinson said. “She’s an impossible batter to replace because she bats five or six and opens the bowling as well, so she’s two players in one.”Now aged 33, Brunt reiterated her enduring value to England this summer, producing another Player-of-the-Match performance against New Zealand to seal the tri-series T20 final at Chelmsford, and providing vital middle-order runs at key moments of the summer, including a career-best 72 not out against South Africa in the first ODI.
Heather Knight (Berkshire, capt), Tammy Beaumont (Kent), Katherine Brunt (Yorkshire), Sophia Dunkley (Middlesex), Sophie Ecclestone (Lancashire), Tash Farrant (Kent), Kirstie Gordon (Nottinghamshire), Jenny Gunn (Warwickshire), Dani Hazell (Yorkshire), Amy Jones (Warwickshire, wk), Nat Sciver (Surrey), Linsey Smith (Sussex), Anya Shrubsole (Somerset), Lauren Winfield (Yorkshire), Danni Wyatt (Sussex)
“She had her back flare up in the Big Bash in Australia last year, and played on with it, which caused some issues,” Robinson said. “It settled down a bit in the summer then flared up again, so we don’t know at this stage obviously. But we’ve tried to get her in the squad, and it does help that we’ve got some cover to do her role as well, which had a bearing on selection.”Of the three uncapped players in England’s squad, two have been picked specifically with Brunt’s condition in mind – Sophia Dunkley, a hard-hitting middle-order batsman for Surrey Stars who can bowl the occasional spell of legspin, and Linsey Smith, a left-arm spinner who started her career as a seamer and is therefore adept at bowling at different stages of the innings.”You’ve got to be ready for two things, Anya [Shrubsole] and Katherine going down,” said Robinson. “How do you cover their spots as opening bowlers? That’s where Linsey comes in as she can bowl in all parts of the game, which not many bowlers can do. She’s different to all the other bowlers we’ve got and she can do some of the uglier parts of the game pretty well as well.”The concerns over Brunt’s fitness follow on from last week’s withdrawal of Sarah Taylor due to her ongoing anxiety condition, and her potential absence would leave Jenny Gunn as the last remaining veteran of the 2009 WWT20 squad. However, England’s captain, Heather Knight, is confident that the lessons learnt during an incredible World Cup final victory over India in 2017 will translate to the shorter format.”It’s a nice mix of players, which is what is needed to win tournaments,” Knight said. “In T20 cricket we’ve got a core of eight or nine players who have played a lot. And it feels at the moment like it’s just about adding those little bits, ways we can get better as a team. They’ve got no scars, no fear – I’ve said to them ‘keep doing what you’re doing, keep doing what’s got you here’ and enjoy it. You’ve got to go out there and show no fear.”Nevertheless, the absence of Taylor in particular is a blow. Though Robinson reiterated that her condition needed to be handled as if it was a physical ailment, he did concede that it had been a disruption to their preparation.”Look, it is a little bit [disruptive], but you have to be honest,” he said. “You don’t want to be dependent on one player. But she’s a world-class player. It’s not easy to replace. If Katherine or Tammy [Beaumont] goes down, what do you do? You don’t want to be caught short there. It makes it real. It makes you do your proper planning.”We’ve got options, and that’s what you’re trying to do. I reckon Amy Jones is the best keeper in the world after Sarah, as a pure gloveperson. I’ll argue that with anybody. So we’re covered there.””What Heather and I have tried to do is get a team for all conditions, on all wickets, all boundary sizes,” Robinson added. “You don’t want to be a one-dimensional team. People can label us what they want: favourites, not favourites. What we will be is well-planned, well-drilled, brilliantly led, and we’ll see where that gets us.”Katherine Brunt struck twice in three balls to set back New Zealand•Getty Images
In spite of their own insistence that they will not travel to the tournament as favourites, it hasn’t been lost on the England team management that the last time they were 50-over world champions, in that heady year of 2009, they cleaned up over 20 overs too.”There’s always that pressure and expectation. It’s not very often you in your career that you get a chance to win both white-ball trophies,” Knight said. “Obviously I wasn’t involved in 2009. Some of the girls were, and hearing their experiences and memories is great.”It’s a very unique opportunity we’ve got. The good thing is that we’ve got a bigger pool of players it’s making sure everyone’s pushing to make get on that plane. There’s no room for complacency. Players are battling for places.”Whatever does transpire, however, it is highly unlikely that Robinson will find himself criticising his squad for their lack of basic fitness, as was the case when they were eliminated by Australia in Delhi in the semi-finals of the last tournament back in 2016.”There were certain things you just had to draw a line under,” he said. “Athleticism is something you’re given or you’re not, you can’t really make someone into a gun athlete. But actual fitness, that’s just a prerequisite.”There’ll always be times when we’ll get it wrong as teams and individuals,” he added. “We’re all human. We’re not the perfect team, by any stretch of the imagination. But this summer we went 1-0 down [against South Africa] and we come back 2-1. We’ve shown that as long as we stay together and stay tight we’ve got a courage about us. We stay tight. It will always give you a chance.”I think a lot of what happened in the last T20 World Cup was the making of this side,” added Knight. “A lot of differences that we are as a group will hopefully be shown. We’ll have the bit between our teeth.”