Women's World T20: Isa Guha tips England for the title
'Sarah Taylor could be the difference-maker for England'
Tuesday 15 March 2016 07:25, UK
Isa Guha will be part of the Sky Sports team for our coverage of the Women's World T20 - and she expects her old England team-mates to triumph. Find out why below...
In 2009, Guha won the Women's World Cup with England in Australia and the Women's World T20 on home soil. She made over 100 one-day appearances for her country and was ranked No 1 bowler by the ICC.
Winner: England
Maybe a bit of bias involved, but I do think the England women have a good chance. The pace bowling has generally been consistent and there is enough experience to create a breakthrough if opposition teams go hard. I think the spinners will have to be smarter, especially if the boundaries are brought in, but I think the real key lies with our batting. We saw fearless batsmanship against South Africa with the women playing freely and I'm hoping that they are able to transfer that to the World T20 especially during the knockout stages. The ability to cope under pressure will be huge.
Most sixes: Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
We saw some explosive hitting in the recent series v England. South Africa seem to have a few big hitters but I think Lee will have the most impact.
Most wickets: Anya Shrubsole (England)
Anya has been very successful in India and Bangladesh in the past, mainly because she's retained the ability to swing the ball early. In T20, I think it's really valuable to have a bowler who can bring the ball back into the right hander at pace. If Plan A fails, then the No1 ranked T20 bowler has variations up her sleeve and can bowl excellent yorkers.
England's key player: Sarah Taylor
Not just with the bat but also behind the stumps. If she has a good tournament then I can guarantee England will, too. She is experienced enough to shoulder the responsibility with the bat and her consistency in this format in recent times will be valuable to the side going forward.
Rising star: Smriti Mandhana (India)
At 19 years of age, she's already making waves across the international circuit. A classy and elegant left-hander, Smriti had a successful tour of England in 2014 and recently had Australia scratching their heads in their own backyard. She comes into the tournament in some very good form against SL too. Having played well across the globe, I look forward to watching her bat in conditions that she is most familiar with.
Best thing about touring India: The unfaltering passion for the game - and, hopefully, some big crowds.
It all depends on how well the games are marketed to be honest. At the last ICC women's event in India there wasn't much attention, but then hardly anyone knew a World Cup was going on. More TV games and an Indian team that have been doing well recently will hopefully arouse interest. A full house at Eden Gardens? It's happened before for a women's final - how brilliant would it be if it happened again?
Watch England Women's opening World T20 clash, against Bangladesh, from 9.30am, Thursday, Sky Sports 2.
Live Women's ICC World T20 Cricket
