Watch every game of ICC Women's World T20 Cup live on Sky Sports Cricket from Friday February 21
Wednesday 12 February 2020 14:56, UK
England Women are showing promising signs under new coach Lisa Keightley ahead of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, says Lydia Greenway.
Heather Knight's side missed out on a place in this week's Tri-Nations final, contested by Australia and India, on account of an inferior run-rate after all three teams won two games and lost two in the round-robin format.
But captain Knight emerged as the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament, while Sophie Ecclestone, Nat Sciver, Sarah Glenn and Katherine Brunt all performed well with the ball.
Greenway - part of the England Women's side which won the 2009 Women's T20 World Cup - says the current side is in a decent place ahead of this month's tournament, which gets underway on Sky Sports Cricket on Friday February 21.
"I think if you look at it England fans might be quite disappointed in the fact that they didn't go on to the final," said Greenway, who played 225 times for her country in all formats.
"But if you look at the cricket that they played, they actually showed some really promising signs and this is a team that is in transition.
"They've got a new coach who has just come in - Lisa Keightley has taken over from Mark Robinson recently and in a way she'll be in a position where she's still trying to work out her best starting XI, and I think that by the end of that Tri-Series that's where England have got.
"England are playing some good cricket and obviously they want to make sure that they peak at the right time."
Australia appear to be doing just that. The hosts go into the tournament, which they have won a record four times, as favourites to lift the World Cup and Greenway says that tag is well deserved.
"Australia are the number one-ranked team in both ODI and T20 formats at the moment, although my feeling is that it will be a fail for them if they do not win the World Cup," said Greenway.
"England had that pressure on them in the ODI World Cup in 2017 as it was a home World Cup and everyone had huge expectations and they managed to deal with the pressure, so Australia are in the same position.
"Cricket Australia have said they want to feel the jeers - that's the hashtag that they're using - so if these girls are turning up to a packed-out MCG then there's going to be a huge amount of pressure. But that's what everyone plays for."
Greenway and her team-mates coped with the double pressure of not only winning the first T20 World Cup in 2009, but doing so on home soil.
The 34-year-old says that "clarity on roles" was a key aspect of that triumph, secured with a thumping six-wicket win over New Zealand in the final at Lord's.
"A big thing in T20 cricket is being really clear on what you want to do and also understanding what the expectations are from you coaches, from your team-mates.
"So whether you're a middle-order batter and you've got licence to go in and whack the ball or actually you need to finish a game off; it's being really clear on your roles.
"Match-ups are a big thing as well. You look at the opposition going into a match and you work out 'this bowler is going to bowl at this batter as soon as they come in. So it's about tactics as well as skill execution. Preparation will be key for the girls."
Watch every game of ICC Women's World T20 Cup live on Sky Sports Cricket from Friday February 21.
