Cliff Notes – Edwards ‘disappointed’ but not ‘concerned’ by England’s batting
- England’s head coach Charlotte Edwards acknowledged batting vulnerabilities but emphasised the need to focus on upcoming challenges, particularly against India.
- Despite recent struggles, including a precarious position of 78 for 7 against Pakistan, Edwards remains optimistic about the team’s performance and adaptability in tournament cricket.
Edwards ‘disappointed’ but not ‘concerned’ by England’s batting
“What collapse?” Charlotte Edwards joked.
England have three wins from four outings and are yet to lose a game at the 2025 Women’s World Cup. And they will face an under-pressure India on Sunday, stinging from defeats to South Africa and Australia.
It’s a good place to be, if you put aside England’s batting issues, which their head coach has been trying to. “Seriously, in a tournament like this, you have to forget about things quite quickly,” Edwards said in Indore on the eve of the match against India.
England were 78 for 7 in their most recent game against Pakistan and were lucky to split points after rain put an end to proceedings in Colombo. “We’ve obviously reviewed that last game, but we are not dwelling on that,” Edwards said. “We’re focusing on India and we know from the summer how tough a challenge India are going to be in home conditions.
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“It’s exciting to be here tomorrow in front of a massive crowd, who I’m sure will be supporting India. There’s just this real sense of excitement around our group and not thinking too much about what’s happened.”
One of England’s concerns with the bat is their vulnerability against swing bowling. Bangladesh’s Marufa Akter exploited that in Guwahati by dismissing Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont, and almost dismissed the eventual match-winner Heather Knight, too. Pakistan’s Fatima Sana and Diana Baig inflicted the early damage at the Premadasa stadium this week resulting in a bit of a trend.
Fast bowlers have recorded a tournament-high strike rate of 22.7 against England at this World Cup.
“I am not concerned,” Edwards said. “You have days where it doesn’t go particularly well. I’m disappointed, probably, that we didn’t adapt quick enough, but I’m certainly not concerned. You have got to move on quite quickly in tournament cricket. If you look at South Africa in the first game, they were bowled out for 70 [69] and have played brilliantly since.”
Edwards: ‘Wanted Ecclestone to enjoy her cricket again’play
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Watch – Ecclestone deceives Athapaththu with flight
The SL captain was eventually dismissed for 39-ball 15
England’s spinners have picked up 24 of the 30 wickets so far, and left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone has led the pack with nine at an average of 6.66. That haul included figures of 4 for 17 against Sri Lanka in Colombo and Edwards said England were just happy she was back playing again.
During the English summer, Ecclestone had taken time away from the game to prioritise her wellbeing. She had also considered quitting cricket following some off-field drama that cropped up during the last Women’s Ashes.
“We’re all incredibly proud of Sophie, she obviously had a tough winter and worked through some issues,” Edwards said. “First and foremost, we wanted Sophie to enjoy her cricket again. It’s really evident to see that she’s enjoying cricket again. She’s probably bowling as well as I’ve ever seen her and that spell against Sri Lanka was unbelievable. I know she’s looking forward to playing tomorrow. She’s over her illness [that kept her out of the Pakistan game] and really excited to get out there playing again for England.”
India have lost the most wickets to left-arm spin at this World Cup. On Sunday, they will be faced with two exponents of the art in Ecclestone and Linsey Smith. Ecclestone has dismissed Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur a combined seven times in ODIs.
“Left-arm spin has been quite prolific in women’s cricket over the last few years, probably more in the T20 format,” Edwards said. “With this tournament being in India, our reasons for picking two left-arm spinners was because I knew they’d be really effective. We’ve got two of the best in the world and well, certainly, the best in the world in Sophie Ecclestone. It’s just one of those bowling styles that’s been hugely effective and I’m glad we’ve got the two.
“Any sort of advantage you can get over an opposition, you’ll look into. We do know there is a vulnerability there and we’ve got two left-arm spinners, which is great that we’ve got that option to play them.”