Heather Knight: 'Most confident' I have been heading into T20 World Cup | Nasser Hussain: Australia and India will be threats
Heather Knight has belief England can get results against the world's best at the T20 World Cup; World Cup runs from October 3-20 in UAE with England's first game against Bangladesh on October 5; Australia are defending champions for tournament that is live on Sky Sports
Sunday 1 September 2024 18:06, UK
England captain Heather Knight is the "most confident" she has ever felt heading into the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates this October.
With Australia on the hunt for a third straight title, the World Cup is England's chance to knock them off their perch and pick up their first trophy since the inaugural edition in 2009.
In tournaments gone by, England may have been threatened by the domination of Australia but after England inflicted Australia's first T20 defeat since 2017 during the 2023 Ashes, a change has happened.
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That victory, for skipper Knight, has been the catalyst in a big change of mindset for her side, England heading to the World Cup with genuine belief they can leave on top of the world.
"We have probably had a bit of a hoodoo around Australia but the Ashes last summer changed that," Knight told Sky Sports.
"I think that was when as a team we believed we could beat Australia, we were good enough to beat them, and competing against them really hard.
"I think that change of mindset is a really important one.
"I think going into this World Cup is the most confident I have felt. It doesn't guarantee anything but we are prepared, settled, and the best squad depth we have had.
"We feel like any player we play in that 15 can make an impact in the England side and that is a good place to be and is pushing us forward.
"Then it is just performing in the big moments."
One big choice for England was how they would balance their bowling attack, with Jon Lewis' side opting for Linsey Smith over Lauren Filer in their squad, sticking with their tactic initially planned for Bangladesh with four spinners, Smith picked for what she can bring in the power play.
The tournament was moved from Bangladesh to the UAE by the International Cricket Council due to political turmoil and violence just six weeks out from the start of the event.
"Lauren (Filer) was really hard to leave out because of how she is trending and how she bowled in The Hundred, I thought she was outstanding in terms of her accuracy and maintaining the high pace she brings," Knight added.
"But we felt like we wanted to have a bit more flexibility with our all-rounders. We wanted some seam options in there as well and Linsey Smith, the way she bowled in The Hundred, leading wicket-taker.
"We thought of potentially playing four spinners, too, and that continues in the UAE."
Hussain: Australia's one aim is to win | India are a big threat
There are strong teams across the whole competition, but for Sky Sports Cricket's Nasser Hussain, England need to be wary if they get out of the group stages and face India and Australia.
Indeed, Australia have been so dominant across all formats, walking away with anything other than victory would be considered a "failure".
"That (Australia) is just an incredible squad. The depth they have with a couple of out-and-out quicks," said Hussain.
"I guess the real test is for Alyssa Healy. It is the first time she will be properly captaining in the World Cup with no Meg Lanning there.
"They are serial winners of everything. With an Australia side, if they don't win it, it is not a success. The only thing they are going there to do is to win it.
"They are very balanced, they have a whole heap of all-rounders in there and in-form. They are a quality, quality side with big-match players - they won't bottle it in any way.
"India are a side definitely on the up. Because of the franchise cricket they are now playing, if you look at them, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma is getting better and better.
"They have got lot of talent in that squad so they will be a threat.
"Who were the four semi-finalists last time? England, South Africa, Australia, India. You think they are the standout sides."
Women's T20 World Cup groups
- Group A: Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
- Group B: South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Scotland
Watch every match of the Women's World Cup live on Sky Sports, starting with the tournament opener between Bangladesh and Scotland in Sharjah and concluding with the final in Dubai.
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
