Dominant series sweep sets tone for England's World Cup charge

Chelmsford [UK], May 27 (ANI): England have kicked off a promising new chapter under the leadership of Charlotte Edwards and Nat Sciver-Brunt, delivering an emphatic series sweep as they gear up for this year's ICC Women's Cricket World Cup.
The commanding performances not only signal a fresh, confident direction for the team but also provide a solid foundation as they work to fine-tune their best combinations ahead of the 50-over global showpiece, as per the official website of the ICC.
Charlotte Edwards and Nat Sciver-Brunt started their reign as the new coach and captain of England with a clinical 3-0 T20I series sweep over the West Indies although it wasn't all plain sailing in the final match of the series on Monday as Hayley Matthews provided some stiff resistance.
The West Indies captain produced a 'Player of the Match' performance with a three-wicket haul with the ball and an equally impressive innings of 71 from just 54 deliveries during the run chase as England held on for a 17-run victory in the series finale in Chelmsford.
It wasn't England's most polished performance of the series, with top-order batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge dismissed for a golden duck by Zaida James for the second consecutive match and former skipper Heather Knight once again hurting her hamstring after contributing an excellent half-century during the middle overs.
The team also put down some simple chances in the field that could have confirmed the result prior to a late rain delay, though Sciver-Brunt was still reasonably satisfied with the series result as she made a successful start to her captaincy.
"We played some brilliant cricket over that series. We didn't have our best game today but we had set the standard pretty high," Sciver-Brunt said after the match, as quoted from the official website of ICC.
"They made it very difficult for us. Heather batting through like that was the perfect innings to get us up to that total. She has got a tight hamstring and she will be assessed in the next few days," she added.
"We want to be fielding perfectly every time and in the first two games we fielded brilliantly," she noted.
"To put in a perfect performance every time can be difficult. We want to be better than that but at the end of the day we got over the line," she said.
Matthews took plenty of positives from the West Indies performance, with the side mixing it with their more experienced opponents despite the absence of a host of stars that included injured duo Deandra Dottin and Chinelle Henry.
"Obviously it is really good to go out there and score some runs and some wickets as well. It was a much closer game today so it was nice to be out there and compete," Matthews said.
"I have been fortunate to play a lot of T20 cricket around the world and get lots of experience. I am super proud that (some young players) were able to get an opportunity today," she added.
"I think we definitely fielded a lot better and executed our plans a lot nicer too. We just unfortunately were not able to chase it in the end," she noted.
The two teams will now meet in a three-game ODI series that commences in Derby on May 30, with England then set to host India in eight white-ball contests (five T20Is and three ODIs) ahead of the much anticipated Women's World Cup on the sub-continent towards the end of the year.
Edwards said all the planning during matches against the West Indies and India was with one eye on the World Cup.
"I feel these games are really big for us," Edwards told Sky Sports.
"We've got nine games before the World Cup starts, so a lot of this is about us getting the right balance of team," she added.
The new England coach also revealed Sciver-Brunt would be eased back into bowling as she continues to recover from a troublesome Achilles injury she has dealt with for some time.
"Nat's not bowling this series and she's probably not going to bowl most of the summer. We want to make sure she's fit and firing for the World Cup," Edwards added.
"Her workloads will start in a few weeks. It gives her an opportunity to look at other options, so we know we've got that balance if and when Nat comes back," she said. (ANI)