Friday 28 February 2020 07:26, UK
England Women need to maintain their belief in opener Danni Wyatt as she is a genuine match-winner, says Lydia Greenway.
REPORT | SCORECARD | COMMENTARY
Wyatt was dismissed for a first-ball duck in the ICC T20 World Cup clash against Thailand, meaning she has now scored 48 runs in her last six T20 innings.
Her latest dismissal saw England slip to 7-2 before captain Heather Knight and Nat Sciver shared an unbroken stand of 169 to pave the way for a 98-run success.
"Danni is not a fretter," said Greenway. "She doesn't look too much into things but because I think it's been going on a bit longer than we're used to seeing with Danni, there might be a few doubts in her mind.
"You could see in her dismissal that she wasn't committed to the shot and sometimes that does show what's going on upstairs but she is a hugely talented player and I think it's hugely important that the coaching group and Heather get behind her because when she gets going she is a match winner.
"She is someone who can take a bowling attack apart and I think it's important that England still have that belief in her."
Knight's innings meant she became the first English cricketer - male or female - to score centuries in Test, ODI and T20I cricket.
"She's a player who has developed her game so much - in terms of T20, her strike-rate has gone up a good 10-20," said Greenway.
"For her, it's how she leads the group - from a performance point of view but on and off the field. She's very calm and I think that with the support of Nat Sciver as well, those two senior players taking responsibility and Katherine Brunt with the ball as well, that's what you need in a World Cup."
Greenway, part of England's World Cup winning team of 2009, praised the way the team had rallied from 7-2 to post 176-2 - a total that Thailand couldn't get close to before finishing on 78-7.
"I think England did everything they possibly could with the bat," she reflected.
"They didn't get off to the start they would have wanted; they lost two quick wickets early on. But I think that the way that Nat Sciver and Heather Knight played was brilliant.
"They applied themselves really well and in a situation where they could have got caught up with playing a particular brand of cricket, they just did the job that they needed to do.
"You have to play what's in front of you and after losing two quick wickets the wheels could quite easily have fallen off. Nat and Heather kept it simple - they played straight down the ground and then naturally the Thai bowlers came under pressure and then the bad balls came.
"From that point of view, that's something that England should be really proud of, because they reaped the benefits at the end of the innings."
Live coverage of the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup continues on Sky Sports, with England Women next in action against Pakistan Women on Friday at 7.30am.
