Ahead of the one-off Test in Bristol from Wednesday (June 16), England Women’s newly-appointed vice-captain Nat Sciver has heaped praise on the Indian women’s cricket team, saying they have become more “fearless” than ever with the number of new talents at the side.
However, Sciver is hoping that the Bristol conditions will favor the England women against the heady mix of experience and youth in India Women in the upcoming one-off Test from June 16 but reiterated that India can be a very difficult side to beat, but hopes for a better show from the hosts.
Sciver told ESPNCricinfo on Monday (June 14): “They're an ever-growing side. There's always a new, young talent on the team who isn't afraid to go out there and show what they've got. They seem to be more fearless than I've seen before. Couple that with a lot of experience in their team — with Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami — they can be a very difficult side to beat.”
She continued, “Hopefully in England, in our conditions, we can hone our skills and make sure that we're doing the right things. The last time we played India, we weren't very good in that Test match and we didn't play to our potential so hopefully, we can do better this time.”
Meanwhile, England has played three Tests, all against Australia in Women's Ashes, while India has only played one Test since their last outing in whites back in November 2014 at home against South Africa.
Sciver said on the same, “They don't come around very often so it does bring something different to training and when you're looking at tactics and stats that have been before you can't really go on any of those because they're so few and far between, women's Tests.”
She signed off by saying, “So it is a learning curve every time we start to prepare and turn our minds to it. We've had a practice game and we've had a few center-wicket practices where we're just seeing what works, seeing what doesn't work.”
(With PTI Inputs)
