By Paul Eddison, Sportsbeat
HONESTY has been the watchword for England women as they look to move on from the disappointment of the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates last month.
A strong campaign came to a crashing halt in their final group game in Dubai, as England’s fielders felt the heat in a defeat to the West Indies that cost them a place in the semi-finals.
Opener Maia Bouchier was one of those who really struggled under the high ball, putting down three catches.
The 25-year-old admits that moving on from the disappointment was not easy, but some honest conversations within the camp before the team flies out to South Africa this weekend, have helped put that World Cup failure to bed.
“The conversations going into the tour, people are taking this training camp as a chance to reset and talk about what we can do before we get to South Africa,” said Bouchier, speaking as MCC launched its ‘Batting For a Better Future’ sustainability campaign.
“I think we have a week before our first game once we arrive. So we want to take advantage of talking as a team, we’re doing a lot more work around communication and being honest with each other about our games.
“I’ve definitely reflected about that game and spoken about it with a lot of people.
“Those moments will probably happen and I think taking it in your stride, there will always be ups and downs, that is one game in your career. I try to not overthink about those moments as much as possible, because I am an overthinker. The only way you can frame it is what can we do better next time? That is what we’re trying to do, and what we are asking of everyone in the team.”
MCC’s Batting For a Better Future campaign aims to use the Club’s uniquely independent position within cricket to highlight the challenges that climate change pose on the sport.
Bouchier has been part of the England set-up for three years now, making valuable contributions at the top of the order in both the 20-over and 50-over formats.
In South Africa, she could complete the full set of international honours, with a possible Test debut in the offing.
And that would be a particularly poignant place for her to make her red-ball bow for her country.
“I love South Africa as a place and I’ve got half my family in Cape Town,” said Bouchier, with the squad set to fly out this Saturday.
“It might be a very special moment if I make my Test debut. I’ve worked really hard on my game in the last two years, mostly on the mental level. I’ve worked hard on the skills but the mental side is where I’ve made the most progress.”
South Africa are set to pose a real threat to England, having reached the last two T20 World Cup finals, knocking out the all-conquering Australians in the semi-finals in the most recent tournament.
Bouchier is only too aware of how good they are, with this series also taking on extra importance ahead of the Women’s Ashes and the 50-over World Cup in 2025.
She added: “It will be a really good challenge, you have seen how well they have played, and how they deserved to win that competition but then New Zealand just came out of nowhere. It’s surprising but it’s really exciting seeing a game like that in a World Cup. South Africa are a very good team at the moment so we need to have the conversations about how we can attack them and put pressure on them.”
PLEASE LEAVE IN FINAL PAR – Maia Bouchier was speaking at the launch of MCC’s Batting For a Better Future campaign. For more information, visit www.lords.org/better-future.
