Our rookies can reach top says Elwiss
ALL-ROUNDER Georgia Elwiss believes England are showing all the hallmarks of a special side as preparations for next year’s World Cup continue in Sri Lanka this month.
With long-time skipper Charlotte Edwards jettisoned back in May and her vice-captain Sarah Taylor on indefinite leave, upheaval has marked the first 12 months of Mark Robinson’s reign.
But a squad that only contained four players possessing at least 50 ODI caps emerged victorious from a five-game series against T20 World Cup winners West Indies last month – the first overseas tour under Heather Knight’s captaincy.
As the eighth ranked women’s team in the world, Sri Lanka should pose few problems though it is worth noting that the last ODI between the two teams, at the World Cup three years ago, ended in defeat for England.
And despite a relative lack of experience, Elwiss is confident that her side can learn from the mistakes of their predecessors in time to impress for next year’s showpiece on home soil.
“There’s something special about this side, it’s not been one or two players that have stood up,” said the 25-year-old.“We’ve leant on the experience of some of the senior girls but it’s a nice feeling knowing that despite the age of the group we can win those sorts of games.
“Playing in the Sub-continent is always a big challenge and you can’t underestimate how Sri Lanka are going to be – I’m sure they will put up a good fight. We’ve worked hard on how to play on slow, low turning wickets. Hopefully the pitches aren’t too dissimilar to those we experienced in West Indies.
“Everybody recognised it was a tough tour with the conditions out there, the heat, being away from home and being a relatively inexperienced side under a new coach.
“So with that all in mind everyone was really happy with what we achieved. There were a couple of games that could have gone either way and what was really pleasing was the way we responded after losing the fourth ODI.”
The first of four ODIs will be played in Colombo on Wednesday though only the last three will count towards qualification for the World Cup, of which England need to win just one to guarantee their berth.
Batter Fran Wilson could play in her first ODI for six years – ironically her last appearance was against Sri Lanka in Colombo – while seamer Beth Langston is in line for her debut with Anya Shrubsole ruled out through injury.
Sophie Ecclestone, the 17year-old bowler so impressive in her two outings in the West Indies, will not tour due to school commitments while the 15th member of the party is likely to emerge from this week’s preparation camp in Abu Dhabi.
“Anybody can be playing in that XI for us going forward and that’s something that drives us towards being the best team we can be,” Elwiss added.“It’s about putting in consistent performances and playing to our gameplan and dealing with pressure at international level.”