Lauren Winfield-Hill reckons England are still not good enough to beat the best team in the world, but they are getting closer to it.
Lauren Winfield-Hill: England have made massive progress
Speaking on Wisden Women’s Cricket Weekly Podcast, Winfield-Hill felt that the England team, under Nat Sciver-Brunt’s captaincy, has improved a lot over the last year. She also pointed out that they were better than before in almost every aspect of the game.
England were unbeaten until they faced Australia in the final of the T20 World Cup. They won all five of their group stage matches and also got over South Africa in the semi-finals, recovering from 23-3 to post 169 before defending the total comfortably.
“I think that they've made massive progress,” Winfield-Hill said. “Like they've played some really, really good cricket. There are so many more match winners in that team than there were, you know, 18 months ago. They've handled pressure better. They've fielded better. They've got an identity. They've got a- I don't know, you know, a dynamic batting lineup, a bowling lineup that's got variety. They've got youth.”
Also read: Player ratings for England after their T20 World Cup final defeat
However, she reckoned that they still have a fair way to go to become the best team in the world. At the same time, Winfield-Hill noted that the team has a lot more match-winners than before that make the fans tune in whenever the team is playing.
Apart from the regular star players, England had the likes of Freya Kemp and Danny Gibson coming through in the World Cup. Both of them did well on the all-round front as Kemp smashed a crucial 44 off just 28 deliveries in the final and also picked up seven wickets in the tournament. Gibson did well in the limited opportunities with the bat, scoring runs at a strike rate of 150 and also picking up five wickets in the 13 overs she bowled.
“Are they in a better place than they were 12 months ago? Absolutely they are,” she said. "Are they good enough to be the best team in the world, beat the best team in the world, and be consistently dominant? Not quite, but we're getting closer.
“They've played some bloody awesome cricket. like they they have like you want to tune in. Watch this team and you know and that's not just we want to watch one or two players like you know it's not just I want to watch Nat and Danny like Nat and Danny get out and I'm like I'm captivated by Frey Kemp and Danny Gibson at Hingley like you know it's they've got quality throughout now 100%.”
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
