‘We just want to put our stamp on the game’
Maia Bouchier wants to help England’s T20 side show they can be “the best in the world” as they plot to regain a crown they last won 15 years ago.
Charlotte Edwards’ team were victorious at the inaugural Women’s T20 World Cup in 2009 but they have never repeated that feat, with Australia taking the title in six of the last seven tournaments.
The next edition takes place in Bangladesh in September and for Bouchier, who was just 10 when England lifted the trophy at Lord’s, the time has come to end the wait.
The Southern Vipers and Southern Brave batter starred in a 4-1 win over New Zealand in March, topping the run charts with 223 as she made the most of a promotion to opener, and is set to lead from the front again as preparations continue with next month’s three-match series against Pakistan.
“I’ve had to be patient to have that opportunity at the top of the order and I’ve worked really hard on my mental game,” the 25-year-old said. “We’ve got a lot of cricket coming up and we just want to put our stamp on the game. It would be an incredible achievement for us to win the World Cup.”
Bouchier was speaking at the launch of the MCC’S Foundation Hubs tournament in Leyton, a competition that sees more than 100 girls and boys’ teams play for the chance to appear in a Lord’s final.
England Women played just once at Lord’s between 2014 and 2022, their triumphant ODI World Cup final in 2017, but the shifting demographics of the sport have seen a 53 per cent increase in female participants in this year’s intake at the hubs.
“The fact that England Women weren’t playing at Lord’s even five years ago is crazy to me,” she said.