The on-field tussle between England and Australia in any format of cricket is something the fans around the globe eagerly wait to witness. The century-long rivalry is definitely going to offer thrills and chills to the cricket fans yet again in the upcoming women’s World Cup as both these sides are set to lock horns a day after tomorrow at Seddon Park.
However, many cricket pundits have written off England ahead of this crucial clash majorly due to their poor performance in the recently concluded Women’s Ashes to which the English opener Tammy Beaumont has responded in an interesting manner. She has insisted on the fact that England is still the defending champions and can defeat Australia on any given day. She further advised the pundits to write England off at their own risk.
“I remember we had a lot of people trying to call us favourites last time and you know, we are still the holders of the world cup, so I think you write us off at your peril really”, Beaumont said.
On facing the arch-rivals in the very first game, Beaumont confidently said, “I guess we know their plans. So, we are ready to go against them. You have got to play everyone at some point. We played India in the first game of the last world cup and lost, and it didn’t necessarily affect us.”
“We’ll take on Australia, I think on our day we can beat them. We’re in a good place at the moment to go into that game regardless of the Ashes results, but yeah, I don’t think one game is going to necessarily ruin your world cup hopes, hopefully. It’s a good time to get back out there and give it a good crack”, she further added.
According to the dashing English opener, rain played a spoilsport in England’s preparations prior to the Ashes as it affected their preparations and also couldn’t participate in the warm-up games. But this time, they seem to be well acquainted with the atmosphere of New Zealand as they have beaten Bangladesh and South Africa comprehensively in their two warm-up games. Also, the conditions in New Zealand being a bit similar to those in England might prove to be an added advantage for the English women.