Thais face England in their second Women’s T20 World Cup game
CANBERRA: Thailand face a tough assignment against England in their second match at the Women’s T20 World Cup today.
In their Group B openers, England were stunned by South Africa while Thailand lost to the West Indies in their World Cup debut.
Despite the defeat, Thailand made it tough for their opponents’ experienced batting line-up to chase down 79.
For Thailand opener Natthakan Chantham, today’s game at Manuka Oval will be a chance to take the field with one of her cricketing heroes. “Danni Wyatt is one of my idols. I like the confidence with which she hits the ball and it will be great to go up against her,” said the 24-year-old.
“England have a good batting depth and batting strength, too. They’re aggressive in the field and powerful on the boundary and in the inner circle.
“We had a really good experience in the first game. The pitch was very good, there was good bounce and good pace, the pitches back home are low and slow.
“We have to prepare well to face England because they are such a strong team.”
Meanwhile, captain Heather Knight wants England to show fighting qualities against Thailand.
Knight said coming out fighting is in England’s DNA as they look to bounce back from the defeat to South Africa.
Knight’s side were beaten by India in the opening game of their 2017 Cricket World Cup campaign on home soil before going on to win the tournament.
And as a below-par batting performance saw them slip to a six-wicket reverse in their opener against the Proteas, Knight wants the Three Lions to show their teeth in Canberra.
“Every game is must-win for us from now,” said Knight.
“It’s really important after the other night that we put in a really strong performance and come out fighting.
“This team has shown a history of that. When we’ve had a bad performance and haven’t started so great, the way we’ve bounced back in the next game has been outstanding.
“We’re going to have to do that against Thailand.”
Since Lisa Keightley took over in October, England have adjusted their batting order with Tammy Beaumont sent down to seven and Katherine Brunt often deployed as a pinch-hitter.
In today’s other Group B game, the West Indies take on Pakistan.