Amy Jones: England in a good place ahead of Women's World Cup

Leader Live

13 hours ago

Charlotte Edwards' reign as head coach started with England clean-sweeping a weakened West Indies but they were brought back down to earth by India, who edged both the T20 and ODI series this summer.
Jones, currently competing for Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred, remains upbeat ahead of the 50-over World Cup in India, with England starting their campaign against South Africa on October 3 in Bengaluru.
'It will be a great challenge,' England's wicketkeeper told the PA news agency. 'Lottie has put a lot of energy in and as a group, we've put a lot of time into our ODI game and how we want to go about it.
'We showed real progress – even against India – the scores we were getting were consistently higher than we've had in the last couple of years.
'Even though we didn't win the one-day series, we're tracking in the right direction. I think we're in a good place and everyone is really excited for the challenge.'
England were eliminated in the group stages of last year's T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates after suffering just one defeat, albeit following an abject display against the Windies.
The 50-over equivalent is not as cut-throat, with England playing all seven teams in one group with the top four reaching the semi-finals, and Jones accepts it will be more a test of endurance this time.
'That was quite brutal, wasn't it,' Jones said, reflecting on the early T20 World Cup exit. 'I think a 50-over World Cup is a totally different challenge.
'It's a big challenge of fitness and a lot of off-field stuff comes into consideration. If we stick to what we know works for us and we adapt to conditions well, it should put us in good stead.'
Jones, who has flourished after being promoted to open in ODIs alongside Tammy Beaumont, counts Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry as a team-mate and her captain at the Phoenix.
Perry, is regarded as one of the greatest women's cricketers of all-time, and Jones admitted she has tried to learn from her approach to the game.
'She's a brilliant player,' Jones added. 'The standard she sets is so high. She's just so level. You wouldn't be able to tell whether she's had the best game of her life or not done so well.
'I am quite level on the whole but I probably present more level than I am. It's easy to have a bad couple of games and lose confidence quickly.
'It's not that obvious with me externally but that is something I have improved; trying to stay level, try to keep confidence high and not overthink too much.'