The seeds were sown back in Nelson in March, when England lost a T20I series against New Zealand by a ridiculous run-chase. Although the White Ferns applied some fertilizer with a consoling victory in the last of three ODIs, England skipper Heather Knight feels that the third T20I was the catalyst for her team’s dominance during the return tour. England ultimately won 4-1.

After winning the T20I and ODI series 3-0 and 2-0 against Pakistan, respectively, and sweeping the ODI series against New Zealand, England is now poised to secure an unbeaten home summer at Lord’s in the fifth and final T20I.
“That T20 that we lost in New Zealand, Amy Jones actually spoke brilliantly after that and talked about her fears in T20 chases, and actually made a conscious effort to address that mentally and how she wants to go about chasing,” Knight told the crowd at Lord’s on Wednesday.
She did a great job addressing the group about it, and I believe it was really contagious. It served as a bit of a spark for us to want to be a little more merciless and really nail teams when we are winning. That is something that will be crucial in cricket tournaments.
“I believe that we have also become more proficient. Our failure to chase down a score in the T20 series against New Zealand served as a bit of a trigger for us to eventually make sure it didn’t happen again and to really nail them when we’re winning.”
While England triumphed against Pakistan, the ‘nailing teams’ goal stayed hidden, as they lacked the merciless attitude that had shown while playing New Zealand.

“Many individuals have told me that things haven’t been fantastic in New Zealand. However, I believe we’ve been fantastic,” Knight remarked. “To be honest, I believe we should get a little more credit for the way we’ve kept their important players quiet.
“It’s been terrific how we’ve played, put them under pressure, been unrelenting when we’ve won, and tried to keep them quiet. We haven’t done it very frequently. We wish to go on from our previous activities as this is our final game of the summer.
The spinners Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, and Charlie Dean lead England’s elite bowling assault, and the White Ferns’ batting has let them down. Meanwhile, a number of the hosts’ hitters have been regaining form, allowing them to showcase the depth of their lineup. Ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in October, it has also forced England to make some tough selections.
Maia Bouchier and Danni Wyatt seem to have locked down an opening spot. Both players took breaks during the T20I series to allow Sophia Dunkley, who lost her spot during the tour of New Zealand and found her game again in regional cricket, to demonstrate her growth.

Dunkley has made strong starts in each of the games she has participated in, scoring 35 and 26, respectively. Her ability to bat at all positions in the order may also win her a spot in the lineup as a backup batter.
Knight said that “she looked completely at home again.” “In the two games that she has played, she has gotten us off to some outstanding starts, and when Sophia is at her best, she does provide us with that. It appears to me that she is returning to her best self. With the talent we have, that decision is really difficult, but it’s a great position to be.”
The adolescent left-arm seamer for England, Mahika Gaur, has created another dilemma for herself. She withdrew from the Hundred to continue her recovery after missing the first part of the summer to finish her high school exams due to a side strain.
It’s difficult, Knight remarked. “Due to her examinations and subsequent injuries, she hasn’t played for England too much. We had hoped that she would play in a couple of games this series, but that side issue has evidently returned. I believe that young players, especially young, quick bowlers, require extra caution in how they are managed and not overexerted.
“She’s not completely out of our plans, but it does make it harder for us to pick her now obviously with those seamers that we’ve got performing really well.”
England is prepared to assault Bangladesh with a lot of spin. While Nat Sciver-Brunt is raising her bowling load following a knee injury, fellow seamer Lauren Bell is beginning to notice the benefits of altering her technique. Lauren Filer provides raw speed to counterbalance her relative inexperience at the international level. After a back injury, Freya Kemp, who has strengthened England’s batting lineup, is also playing as an all-rounder again.
If the performances of Pakistan and New Zealand have made it hard to contextualise England’s, consider their tour of India towards the end of last year, where they won the T20I series 2-1 despite losing the Test, and the Ashes last year, where England won both white-ball series in a drawn campaign following Australia’s victory in the Test.
“I guess we’ve proved in the last 12 months that we can beat anyone on our day,” Knight stated. “The Ashes series from last summer demonstrated that, especially in the white-ball series, which we won 2-1, the way we played.
“But in the end, all we’re doing is attempting to keep becoming better. Not only have we performed well, but we’ve also been making personal improvements and attempting to improve as a team. That’s been really satisfying.
We are aware that other teams will be acting in a similar manner globally. As a team, all we can do is take care of each other, attempt to keep the game going ahead, and play the way we want to. Bangladesh will be a challenging test to see if we can continue that in a major competition.”
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