Danni Wyatt wonders if she's done enough to make England's XI for the start of the NatWest Series.
Half-century and hat-trick give Danni hope of selection
I can't believe how quickly this NatWest Women's Quadrangular series has come around.
I guess I shouldn't be that surprised as the last 18 months, since I was first selected by England, have flashed by.
I've been training hard with the MCC Young Cricketers at Lord's, back in Staffordshire when I've been home and also at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough with the England squad.
Last week we had a five-day preparation camp where we had plenty of middle practice, nets and three warm-up games against Uppingham and Bedford school and the England Academy.
We just lost out to Uppingham in wet and windy conditions, but went onto win the other two games, so not bad considering these were our first games together as a squad for a while.
Strong
I batted at number three against Uppingham and only managed eight runs which was disappointing.
I was really conscious that all performances in training and in warm-up games will be noted when the starting XI is selected for the first T20 against New Zealand at Chelmsford this Thursday.
We then played the Academy and I batted at number three again; I really wanted to show the captain and coaches what I can do.
Thankfully I put on a good stand with fellow off-spinner Laura Marsh and hit my first 50 for England - it was a great feeling, I hope there are more to follow.
The team's batting performance, together with strong displays from quicks Anya Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt, really showed what a strong all-round squad we have at the moment.
Challenges
We took this momentum into our final match of the week and second Twenty20 of the day, this time against Bedford school.
I love playing against the boys as it fires you up and gives us different challenges to face. Arran Brindle had a good innings with the bat along with Holly Colvin and Lydia Greenway up front. I was really pleased with my bowling and picked up a hat-trick in the last over of the game.
All-in-all we have prepared well and although it was a busy week, as we crammed in various other sessions alongside matches and training, it was a rewarding one and great preparation ahead of an exciting summer of international cricket.
I met up with the squad in Essex on Monday and we've now got a couple of training sessions and a warm-up game ahead of us.
But all sights are on Thursday, when we take on New Zealand in our first T20 of the quadrangular series at Chelmsford. I can't wait!
