Women’s World Cup 2022: “If we have a six-hitting face-off, I think I can beat Shafali Verma” - England batter Danielle Wyatt 

England are pumped to kickstart their Women’s World Cup campaign in New Zealand. The Heather Knight-led side will begin their title defense against arch-rivals Australia at Hamilton’s Seddon Park on Saturday.

England beat Mithali Raj’s India by a narrow nine-run margin in the final at Lord’s to claim their fourth World Cup title in 2017. Packed with a plethora of match-winners, they lost only once in that edition, against India in their campaign opener.

Since then, however, the English eves have had a capricious run in the ODI format, losing 16 of their last 41 matches. A bit of this inconsistency can be attributed to the retirements of stalwarts like Sarah Taylor, Laura Marsh and Jenny Gunn during the period, but one can't deny that England’s famed batting line-up has lost some of its sheen.

Only recently, the defending champions failed to score above 200 in any of their three ODIs against Australia. Prior to that, they failed to reach 200 in two of their five matches against New Zealand. The fact that they’ve lost 50 percent of their last 10 ODIs, including a 0-3 whitewash suffered against Australia, should be a serious concern for the English management. But it’s a team that has historically dominated the ICC events along with the Southern Stars, so you write them off at your own peril.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, star England cricketer Danielle Wyatt spoke about their tournament opener against Meg Lanning’s Australia, her personal form and what to expect from the youngsters who’ll make their World Cup debuts this time.

Hugely popular in India, especially after her “Kholi marry me!!!” tweet, the explosive batter also opened up about her deep friendship with Indian pace spearhead Jhulan Goswami and invited young opener Shafali Verma for a six-hitting challenge. Here are the excerpts.

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Q: We’re witnessing an ICC Women's event after a two-year gap due to the COVID-19 pandemic. How are you feeling?

Wyatt: I’m very excited! We've won both our warm-up games against Bangladesh [by 109 runs] and South Africa [by six wickets], so we’re quite confident heading into the tournament. We’re training very hard to defend our crown. Hopefully, we’ll have a blast!

Q: How challenging has the bio-bubble been for you and how did you spend your quarantine period?

Wyatt: The bubbles are indeed very challenging [to endure]. Sometimes, I say to myself, "No more bubbles, please!" This time, the bubble hasn’t been so hard on us though. We can get some food and coffee from the outside, which is the saving grace [laughs]!

I watched many movies and web series during my quarantine period. "Killing Eve" is one of my favorite web shows. I also watched a lot of football and cricket on TV. Manchester United is my favorite club [smiles]. We had a 10-day break in Queenstown after the mandatory quarantine period, where we recharged our batteries. We’re raring to go now!

Q: You begin your World Cup campaign against your arch-rivals Australia. They just don't seem to lose. Do you agree with the pundits that they'll be invincible in the tournament?

Wyatt: Anybody can beat anybody else in this tournament. We’re mentally in a good space as a team. We’ve had a lot of meetings where we’ve analyzed Australia’s weaknesses. We know that our recent record against them hasn’t been good, but we’re certainly not dwelling on the past.

Q: A lot of players from the 2017 World Cup-winning squad like Laura Marsh, Sarah Taylor and Jenny Gunn have retired from the sport. At the same time, as many as 10 players can make their World Cup debuts this time. Are the youngsters ready to make an impact on the world stage?

Wyatt: Yes, definitely! The youngsters in this team are absolute rockstars. Take Charlie Dean as an example. See how impactful she has become in only six months since making her international debut.

Don’t forget that we also have Sophie Ecclestone, who’s currently the top-ranked bowler in T20Is. She’s only 22, but has already established herself as one of the world’s best spinners. The youngsters are very excited, but as senior players, we’ll guide them. We’ll all take each game as it comes.

Q: Amy Jones has been in stellar form of late. Many experts have said that she’ll be the key to England’s chances in the World Cup. What is your assessment of her?

Wyatt: Amy is an exceptional player! She has been around for some time, but the way she has stepped up after Sarah Taylor’s retirement has been outstanding. She is a fantastic hitter and her glovework is quite neat too. You should watch out for her.

Q: What is your assessment of the Indian team? It will be the last World Cup for both Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami. Could you share any interesting anecdotes involving them and you?

Wyatt: I always look up to India, I love your country. Most of my runs outside of England have come in India and I have a lot of fans there [smiles].

Both Mithali and Jhulan are legends of the game. While Mithali is as cool as a cucumber, Jhulan is an absolute livewire.

Mithali and I have played for the same Women’s IPL team before and I really admire her calmness. Jhulan and I, meanwhile, are great friends. Whenever we see each other, she’s like "Dannnnii!" and I’m like "Gossssyyy!" [guffaws] I hope she continues playing and doesn’t retire anytime soon. I also want to play with her for the same IPL team.

Q: England have blown hot and cold since the 2017 World Cup, losing 16 of their last 41 ODIs. The dot ball percentage and boundary rate have also worsened during this period. How concerning are these stats for the side and how will you look to address these issues?

Wyatt: As I said before, we can’t dwell on the past. We need to be positive, know our roles well and exploit our opponent’s weaknesses in every match. I’m confident that we’ll do well. We just need to take one match at a time.

Q: How do you feel about your own game? You haven't received enough batting practice in this format of late...

Wyatt: Obviously, I don’t have my preferred opening position in ODI cricket. I Iove opening the batting in T20Is, but I’ll bat at No.7 in the World Cup. It’s a tricky slot to bat in because you need to play aggressively from the start. That said, I get a bit more time to settle down in ODIs than in T20Is. That helps in a way.

Q: Can we expect to see you bowl frequently during the World Cup?

Wyatt: We have so many quality all-rounders in this side that it has become difficult to get the ball these days. I’m more of a "specialist net bowler" for now [laughs]!

Q: If there's a six-hitting competition between Shafali Verma and you, who do you think will win?

Wyatt: Shafali is a strong girl and she can hit the ball a long way nowadays. But I use better bats. My bats are the best in the world [laughs]! If we do have a six-hitting face-off, I think I can beat her. I want to have one in this tournament itself!

Poll : Do you want to see Danielle Wyatt and Shafali Verma compete in a six-hitting face-off during the 2022 Women's World Cup?

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