Tammy Beaumont believes England are ready for their trial by spin against Sri Lanka as they aim to extend their record to three wins from three in the Women’s Cricket World Cup.
England are the only team in the tournament to have two wins from two games and sit in second place with four points, with defending champions Australia in first place with five points from three fixtures after their clash against Sri Lanka was washed out.
Charlotte Edwards’ side produced an emphatic win against South Africa, beating them by 10 wickets, and then had a wobble against Bangladesh but eventually claimed the win.
“We’ve been watching the other games and we’ve got as much information as we can. We know the other game here spun rather a lot,” Beaumont said, ahead of their clash against Sri Lanka, live on Sky Sports Cricket.
“We’ve spoken quite a lot about how we want to go about our batting to counteract those conditions. It doesn’t look like we’re on a fresh wicket, so as a batter I’m not expecting the ball to be sliding on lovely.
“We’re probably learning that it’s not going to look pretty. You can’t go for those big shots too early.
“We may have to grit it out a bit and someone has to earn the right to go big.”
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Nadine de Klerk’s incredible innings of 84 from just 54 balls saw South Africa register an improbable three-wicket win over India at the Women’s Cricket World Cup.
It will not just be a case of soaking up Sri Lankan pressure, though, with England bringing their own arsenal of spinners to the party.
World No 1 Sophie Ecclestone and fellow left-armer Linsey Smith both have five wickets so far, with Charlie Dean and Alice Capsey chipping in with another six.
“England have produced some really good spinners over the years, but the four or five we’ve got at the moment seem to be doing really well,” said Beaumont.
“The fact that someone like Sarah Glenn is not currently in the XI and is one of the most wicket-taking leg-spinners in the world is a sign of the depth we’ve got.
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England lose an early wicket, survive a ‘costly’ drop and a controversial DRS against Bangladesh in World Cup.
“Ours are right up there…I don’t necessarily like to compare, but I can tell you facing them in the nets is not too fun.
“It’s a great challenge and it gets you really prepped for any spinner you’re going to face in the World Cup.”
England’s jittery win over Bangladesh came amid a slew of debatable umpiring decisions, with Heather Knight seeing three on-field dismissals overturned by the TV official.
At least one of those came as a surprise to Knight herself, but Beaumont offered a word of support for those in charge of making the big decisions.
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Highlights of the Women’s Cricket World Cup match between England and South Africa.
“Umpires are human like all of us,” she said.
“If I miss a cover drive and get caught behind, I’ve made an error…everyone makes mistakes. We’re obviously making a mistake if it’s hitting our pads or going near the outside edge. So it’s great we’ve got DRS available and that’s exactly what it’s there for.”
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