Sophia Dunkley’s sparkling past few months have left her confidence at an all-time high heading into the Women’s World Cup, despite the England batter’s run-in with cricket’s “cruel” nature.
A career with plenty of ups and downs is epitomised by Dunkley batting in every position from one to seven in both one-day internationals and Twenty20s, never able to establish herself fully in either of the white-ball sides.
Tweaks to technique and temperament were made after a low-key 2023 Ashes, and Dunkley now feels she has a firmer grasp of what is expected of her under captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and head coach Charlotte Edwards.
Having averaged in the high 30s in six ODIs and 11 T20s this year – much better than her overall career figures – Dunkley made a crucial fifty as England beat Australia in a final World Cup warm-up on Sunday.
Dunkley produced an impressive innings in England’s final warm-up match
“Cricket’s a bit cruel sometimes,” the 27-year-old said, speaking ahead of England’s tournament opener against South Africa in Guwahati on Friday, live on Sky Sports, where she is likely to bat at number five in the order.
“I was the person who went in and tried to take the game on really early and get us off to a good start. I maybe ran away with that a little bit too much, and then in ODIs I had to do the same job.
“But when you fail or have setbacks, that’s when you learn the most. Everyone in their career goes through lean spells, it has definitely helped me to be a bit clearer on what I want to work on.
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Dunkley displayed razor-sharp reactions while dismissing Smriti Mandhana with a great catch
“I feel like now I understand my role and my game a bit better. Being aggressive and ball-striking is one of my strengths but my ability of knowing when to do that and reading the situation, is now a bit better.
“I feel the clearest I have in my career. I know my role, I know what the team wants of me and that’s a great place to be. I definitely feel in the best place possible to try and deliver for the team.”
England have beaten both India and Australia in practice matches in Bangalore in the last seven days, but expectations for the 50-over World Cup are lower than usual after a chastening past 12 months.
Knocked out of the T20 World Cup at the group stage last October, England were whitewashed 16-0 in the Ashes Down Under and they were beaten in both limited-overs series at home by India this summer.
“We’re coming off the back of a pretty tough year as a whole,” Dunkley added.
“I think we’re trying to focus on ourselves as much as possible.
“There’s always going to be noise on the outside, whether you’re doing well or not. It’s just really important to focus on what we’re doing and how we want to go about things. We’ll see how it goes.”
Watch every match from the Women’s World Cup live on Sky Sports, with England’s opening match vs South Africa on Friday October 3.
