England captain Heather Knight insists the pressure is all on Australia after the home side’s fightback in the Women’s Ashes.
Australia appeared to be cruising towards a successful Ashes defence after winning the solitary Test and the opening ODI to take a 6-0 lead in the multi-format series.
But England have reduced the deficit to two points after winning back-to-back T20 games and head into the three-match one-day international series with renewed confidence of upsetting the world’s number one women’s side.
“We had to win five games on the trot to win the Ashes so I guess the pressure was on us as we were massive underdogs at that point,” Knight said ahead of Wednesday’s opening ODI in Bristol.
“But the pressure’s all on them now, they’ve only got to win one game (to retain the Ashes). If we can keep doing what we’re doing, keep ramping up that pressure a little bit.
“We’re still the underdogs in the context of the whole series. I feel like the pressure’s not massively on us.”
Test stars Tammy Beaumont and Lauren Filer have returned to the England squad with Knight promising that her side will continue to “disrupt” Australia.
Beaumont became England’s first Test double centurion while Filer touched speeds in excess of 75 miles per hour at Trent Bridge to live up to her reputation as the fastest female bowler in the country.
“We see her (Filer) as someone who can disrupt a bit and bowl in those middle overs and try to take wickets,” Knight said.
“She’s obviously played a lot at Bristol as well, knows the ground well and is really exciting.
“In the past, we might have got a bit down and had the ‘here we go again’ thing against the Aussies, but there’s a real belief in that room that we can match this cricket team.
“We’ve always seen ourselves as the disrupters in this series, having to do things differently to beat this really good team.
“I’m sure they’ll come at us hard but our job is to keep trying to disrupt, keep trying to put them under pressure and bring our best cricket.”
England’s men’s team have kept their own Ashes hopes alive by winning at Headingley since the women’s side wrapped up a 2-1 T20 series win on Saturday.
That feel-good factor in English cricket is something Knight is keen to tap into during the remaining ODI games at Bristol, Southampton and Taunton.
She said: “It was great to see the guys win. I think they have actually been quite parallel series – they obviously lost the first two games which were very close as well.
“There’s a real buzz around the country, which is awesome, that’s what Ashes series can do. We’re buzzing off the amount of people that have come to watch us.
“We’re just trying to keep the momentum going and if the boys can keep doing well and we can keep doing well then maybe we can both have the great escape. Time will tell.”
Australia all-rounder Tahlia McGrath says the visitors are not panicking after successive defeats.
McGrath said: “It was disappointing not to have played the cricket we would have liked, right through the T20 aspect.
“But we’ve had some good discussions and we’re still pretty confident. We’re here to win the Ashes and we’ve still got our noses in front. There’s no panic stations.”
Asked if just retaining the Ashes with an 8-8 draw would be enough for Australia, McGrath said: “I don’t think so. We want to win every game of cricket.
“First and foremost we want to retain the Ashes and doing that eight-all doesn’t sound the same as winning them outright.”
Bolt joined by multiple sports stars for first look at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador Usain Bolt got a first look at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium from the best seats in the house, along with cricket legends and New York sports icons.
The Jamaican sprint legend was joined in this special preview by USA cricketers Corey Anderson and Monak Patel along with cricket legend Sir Curtly Ambrose (West Indies), Shoaib Malik (Pakistan), and Liam Plunkett (England). Also present during this landmark event was a star-studded line-up of New York sports stars, including John Starks (NBA / New York Knicks), Elena Delle Donne (WNBA/USA), Bartolo Colon (MLB/New York Yankees-Mets), Victor Cruz (NFL/New York Giants), and Ibtihaj Muhammad (Fencing/USA).
To commemorate the occasion, the stars all signed a giant cricket bat, which will be present at the venue for all eight ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 matches hosted there between June 3-12. The event marks the official final countdown to the first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in New York, with Sri Lanka and South Africa set to clash in the venue's first match on June 3.
Bolt was confident the venue would provide an exciting and energetic cricket experience.
“Coming from the Caribbean where cricket is a part of life, I’m very excited to be part of the T20 World Cup coming to the USA for the first time, co-hosting with the West Indies. Getting one of the sport’s biggest events into the USA is a big milestone and can provide a launching pad leading towards cricket’s inclusion in the LA Olympics in 2028," he said.
“The new stadium is going to be a fantastic place to watch from. It’s very enclosed and you feel very close to the action. I can imagine it will be full of energy when cricket fans get to Nassau County International Stadium next month," Bolt noted.
Brett Jones, CEO of T20 USA Inc. called the event a fitting welcome to cricket in the USA.
“Today was a fantastic celebration, showcasing a truly out of this world stadium. Having Usain and a host of New York sports stars and Olympic legends to experience it was fantastic and a fitting welcome to cricket in the USA," Jones said.
“Having Curtly Ambrose, Liam Plunkett, Shoaib Malik, Corey Anderson and Monak Patel here and seeing their response to the stadium and the playing surface was also pretty special. It gives us a real sense of what the fans can expect next month," he added.
The 34,000-seater temporary stadium is the first of its kind in international cricket, and is also believed to be the largest ever constructed in the United States.
Featured at the unveiling were extensive hospitality and media pavilions on the north and south ends of the venue, which join the east and west general admission stands. Among the new additions are the Cabana seats in the North pavilion along with the Corner Club seats with a private party area.
The stadium is one of the three venues in the USA for the upcoming mega-event. Florida and Texas will also host matches from the event.
The USA are co-hosts for the event alongside the West Indies, where 39 matches will be played across six venues. The Final will be held on 29 June in Barbados.
No spark from Rovman Powell as Curran pilots Punjab Kings over Rajasthan Royals
Sam Curran starred as Punjab Kings moved off the bottom of the Indian Premier League table with a five-wicket victory over second-place Rajasthan Royals.
The Kings successfully chased a target of 145 as Curran finished with an unbeaten 63, including two maximums in the final four balls, to get them over the finish line.
The Royals struggled to find their rhythm until Riyan Parag (48) and Ravichandran Ashwin (28) stepped up to drag them into contention, but the Kings stifled their recovery near the end of the first innings. West Indies captain Rovman Powell (four) was among those that failed to spark at the backend of the Royals innings.
Curran (2-24), Harshal Patel (2-28) and Rahul Chahar (2-26) all played a part in limiting RR to 144-9, though the Kings then looked like they might fall short in the chase.
Sam Curran starred for Punjab Kings.
Punjab captain Curran carried them forward after a slow start, and though Jitesh Sharma was caught for 22 to offer the Royals hope in the 16th over, impact player Ashutosh Sharma contributed an unbeaten 17 in support of Curran, whose big hitting got the job done with an over remaining.
Data Debrief: Patel comes up clutch
Having posted figures of 2-28 on Wednesday, Patel now has 63 wickets in the death overs (16th-20th) in the IPL, the outright fifth-most wickets in this phase in competition history after Dwayne Bravo (102), Lasith Malinga (90), Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (85) and Jasprit Bumrah (80).
His late dismissals of Parag and Donovan Ferreira kept the Royals' score down, then Curran's joint-highest IPL knock ensured the Kings registered a fourth consecutive away victory.
Pooran's blistering 61 not enough as Shai Hope's Capitals edge LSG by 19 runs to keep slim play-off hopes alive
Delhi Capitals defeated Lucknow Super Giants to boost their hopes of making the Indian Premier League play-offs.
The Capitals claimed a 19-run victory on Tuesday, with Abishek Porel (58) and Tristan Stubbs (57 not out) starring.
Their efforts propelled Delhi to 208-4 from their 20 overs, with Shai Hope (38) and Rishabh Pant (33) chipping in with useful contributions as LSG's bowling attack struggled badly. Hope faced 27 balls and had three fours and two sixes in his knock.
Nicholas Pooran top-scored with a 27-ball 61 in Lucknow's chase, while Arshad Khan plundered an unbeaten 58, yet it was not enough, with the Super Giants only able to reach 189-9 in response. Pooran's knock included six fours and four maximums, while Khan had three fours and five sixes in his 33-ball knock.
Shai Hope found his range after a quiet start.
Ishant Sharma, with 3-34, was the pick of the Capitals' bowlers, as they must now wait and see if Chennai Super Kings or Sunrisers Hyderabad slip up enough to send Delhi into the top four.
LSG are down in seventh, and they must beat Mumbai Indians heavily in their last match to stand any chance of making the play-offs.
Data Debrief: Ishant hits double figures... again
Introduced as the impact player, Ishant fulfilled his duty with three swift wickets inside his first three overs, with Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul and Deepak Hood all taken out.
Ishant has now taken 10 wickets this season, and is onto 93 across his entire IPL career. It is the sixth season Ishant has reached double figures for wickets, and his second in a row.
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