England’s captain, Heather Knight, does not believe her side’s defeat to India in the opening match of the World Cup will be a factor when the sides meet again at Lord’s in Sunday’s final.
After starting the campaign with a 35-run defeat in Derby on 24 June, England went on to win their remaining six matches and top the round-robin table, while India stuttered to a third-place finish. England overcame South Africa with a nail-biting win in the first semi-final and India beat Australia by 36 runs in the second.
“It feels a very long time ago,” Knight said of the match with India. “We’re out for a little revenge after losing that first game. Both sides have played a lot of cricket since then and changed slightly so I don’t think it’ll have too much of a bearing.
“We’ve improved. Obviously with that loss against India in the opening game, it’s quite nice to come full circle and we get a chance to play them again. There’s another chance for us to put our hands up and we’d love to come away with that trophy.”
Going into the World Cup the coach, Mark Robinson, tried to temper expectation with talk of a young squad with little international tournament experience. While a diversionary tactic to protect the hosts from too much pressure, it has allowed players to flourish. Tammy Beaumont has maintained her form from last summer, while maiden hundreds were scored up by Knight and all-rounder Nat Sciver (who went on to nab a second).
Alex Hartley, the most inexperienced player to play, has been the pick of the bowlers. Perhaps most importantly, Sarah Taylor has been allowed to return at her own pace. Her 351 runs, struck at better than a run a ball and an average of 50.14 tells a successful story. Robinson, though, is not surprised at how his players have performed.
“I just didn’t really know how we were going to respond,” he said. “I had great belief in the team and the potential. But it was about handling the occasion.
“The bowling attack was reasonably experienced but the batting, they’re all fresh and free. We’re probably ahead of schedule [as a team] if we’re really honest.”
That is the case, Knight believes, because of a change in the dressing room. Over the past 18 months, Knight’s ascent from vice-captain to captain has coincided with a greater appreciation of the rigours of international cricket. An understanding that honesty – however brutal – is the best policy. Crucially, the difficult conversations are constructive.
“We’re a lot more honest as a squad in terms of how we approach games – how we deal with international cricket,” she said. “We’re better at telling team-mates when something is not quite right. That’s been quite key.
“We’re a tight group and that means we enjoy spending time with each other but it also means we can challenge each other and pull someone up when it’s not quite going right.
“It’s something that has made us tough and in general we are a tougher team. You’ve seen that throughout the competition. Last-over wins against Australia [by three runs] and South Africa in the semi-final [two wickets and two balls to spare] show as much.
“We’re not the perfect team. But we are a team that functions really well and plays for each other. It’s been really pleasing that we’ve shown that sort of fight over the tournament and got over the line.”
To get over the line on Sunday, England may also have to outsmart the weather. A torrential downpour ruined any chance they had of outdoor practice on Saturday. India, who trained in the morning, were able to have a full session on the Nursery Ground. The forecast suggests there may be rain from 3pm, which would bring Duckworth-Lewis-Stern into play. Monday is a reserve day and the match will resume if play cannot be completed today, even with the use of DLS.
While England are set to be unchanged, they will contemplate changes. “If we go to a shorter game, then we have to maybe have a rethink,” Robinson said. “We’re hoping to avoid things like DLS in the second half. We’re all praying for sunshine, 50 overs and everything’s nice and simple for both teams.”
The financial incentive is great, too. The winners will take home a cheque of $660,000 (£508,888), with the runners-up receiving half as much. The BCCI announced on Saturday that each member of the India team will receive INR 50 lakhs (just under £60,000) for their performance in the World Cup, regardless of whether they bring home the trophy.