Kate Cross wants the players in England Women’s new-look team to stake a claim for future involvement during their white-ball series against Ireland.
The 32-year-old seamer has been named captain for the tour, which begins on Saturday with the first of three ODIs in Belfast, with regular skipper Heather Knight preparing to lead her squad in next month’s Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE.
Cross, Tammy Beaumont and Lauren Filer were among the more experienced players who did not make the 15-player squad for the World Cup but will be joined in Ireland by some up-and-coming talents and the stand-in captain is eager for everyone to make a case for playing a part in upcoming series.
“Whenever you wear an England shirt or more so in our regional stuff this summer, there is always a point to prove now,” Cross said. “There is always some big cricket on the horizon whether that’s ICC events, Ashes series, Test matches in South Africa.
“What we’re trying to achieve as an England Women’s group is a depth of players who can step into those roles whenever they might be required. There are always going to be disappointed people whenever ICC events come around because you can only take 15 away.
“Lauren Filer just missed out, but she’s had an unbelievable 18 months of cricket, especially in an England shirt, and I know the messaging from [head coach Jon Lewis] was she’s tracking in the right way, but the conditions might not necessarily have suited her in Bangladesh or the UAE.
“Ultimately, what drives a lot of people on is to make sure they’re in that squad for the next series.”
Although not selected for the World Cup, Cross has been given the opportunity to do something she never thought would be possible in captaining her country after being selected in the role for the three ODIs and two T20Is against Ireland.
The right-armer is excited by the opportunity to skipper the national team, having done so at domestic level for Lancashire Thunder and Manchester Originals, and is aiming to make the most of what she acknowledges may be her one chance to do so.
“The tour comes so thick and fast that I’m hoping it dawns on me towards the back end of it,” Cross said. “I’ve told myself I just want to enjoy the opportunity and I’m not daft, it’s not something which might crop up again.
“This tour might be the only chance to captain my country, so I just want to make sure my overriding feeling is one of enjoyment and to not come away with any regrets.
This tour might be the only chance to captain my country, so I just want to make sure my overriding feeling is one of enjoyment and to not come away with any regrets.
“There is not a mass of time to change things or influence, but hopefully what we can do as a group here is something special.
“It’s probably just starting to sink in a little bit now. The reality of playing a game of cricket and getting to go out and captain your country is the stuff dreams are made of.”
Ireland, meanwhile, head into the matches full of confidence after going some way towards making up for not qualifying for the T20 World Cup by beating Sri Lanka 2-1 in this home summer’s ODI series and drawing their T20I series 1-1.
Gaby Lewis, who captains Ireland due to regular skipper Laura Delany being sidelined by an ankle injury, is confident the hosts can continue that progress by claiming a series victory over England.
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“It would be absolutely huge and it’s something we’re looking towards,” Lewis said. “We go in trying to win every game.
“Having been through a dip with not making the World Cup, I think we’ve flipped it on its head and turned it into a positive and used it to really drive us on in our home summer.
“We showed that in the Sri Lanka series, we’re ready to carry that on, and no doubt we’ve got the capability to win these two series.”
England Women tour of Ireland fixtures
- Saturday, September 7: Ireland vs England, first ODI (Belfast)
- Monday, September 9: Ireland vs England, second ODI (Belfast)
- Wednesday, September 11: Ireland vs England, third ODI (Belfast)
- Saturday, September 14: Ireland vs England, first T20I (Dublin)
- Sunday, September 15: Ireland vs England, second T20I (Dublin)
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