ICC Women's World Cup 2009 - Columns

Two out of two

Two wins out of two, a much improved performance, and all in front of the live television cameras! We knew that India was going to be a tough game and that we would have to play better than we did against Sri Lanka, so we are really happy with the result, even though I still think there is plenty of room for improvement.

It was great to get Anjum Chopra early on as in my pre-match preparation I had focussed on how I was going to bowl at her as well as their other key batters. My bowling performance was much improved in comparison to our opening game and I felt that I had some really good rhythm.

I thought Katherine Brunt bowled a great spell, although she was unlucky, backed up by Nicky Shaw and Jenny Gunn, while Holly Colvin showed what a top-class spinner she is as well.

Our batters put in a clinical performance that was required for us to win the game, especially given the quality of some of the opposition bowlers, and Caroline Atkins and Claire Taylor showed what a good track it was.

I think as the tournament goes on you will see the average scores get ting higher and higher and that to beat the best teams you will need to get a bigger total.

There was a really good atmosphere at the ground and quite a lot of noise from the visiting school groups, our own mini Barmy Army contingent, and an Indian drummer.

One of the most memorable moments of the game for me was hearing my Dad, who only arrived in Australia overnight, shouting out to me when I was fielding on the boundary, and when I looked around he was dancing in the stands to the music from the drummer!

It was great to have my parents at the match, particularly given my Indian heritage, but especially because I haven’t seen them for five months because I have been playing club cricket in Sydney. Hopefully I will have a chance to spend a bit of time with them ahead of our match against Pakistan on Thursday.

We are approaching this game in the same way we have with the others especially as we don’t know too much about the opposition. It would be great to finish the Group stages with three wins out of three!