Open university

Watching Claire Taylor bat is an education but now Ebony Rainford-Brent wants a World T20 spot of her own.

Surrey star a few degrees closer to shining for England

Ebony Rainford-Brent talks as straight as she hits - which is just as well because she has some tough questions to answer. The 25-year-old batsman, part of England's World Cup winning squad, is eager to impose her booming game on the World Twenty20 tournament. But how can she force her way into a top order that boasts Wisden Cricketer of the Year Claire Taylor, skipper Charlotte Edwards and the striking Sarah Taylor, currently the world's third-best one-day batsman? Rainford-Brent's reply is simple: work harder. She played one game in the World Cup - the eight-wicket win over Pakistan at the North Sydney Oval - and is now hungry to nail down a permanent place in the team. "That game meant loads to me," she reflected. "I knew that the whole campaign was a very big team effort - everything was about team unity. "It took me a long time to break into the team as a batter so to not only get a chance in the middle but to open as well was a fantastic opportunity. "I see myself as an opener - that's the role I am aiming for - so it helped me feel as though I was fully involved in the campaign."

Itching

Claire Taylor topped the World Cup run-charts by a distance with a tally of 324 that included a century against Sri Lanka, while wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor hit 78 against the West Indies en route to an aggregate of 216. "The girls were performing magnificently with the bat and it was right that we didn't change what was a winning formula," reflected Rainford-Brent. "There was no need to drop a batsman because they were all averaging well for the entire tournament. Obviously I was itching to get back out there but I had to stay realistic no matter how hungry I was."

Risks

That desire shone through as the Surrey player struck innings of 46no and 44no to steer the England Ladies Academy to a series victory over Pakistan as part of the build-up to the World Twenty20 tournament. "I was happy with the speed with which I scored my runs and my decision making," Rainford-Brent said. "I took calculated risks at the right time. "It depends quite a lot in Twenty20 how you deal with spinners and whether you can take 14 or 15 off an over rather than letting them go at four or five. "I always love playing against the seamers because you've got the pace to work the ball around so I've been working out a method to play against the slower bowlers. "I subscribe to the theory that works in all forms of cricket, which is to hit straight; if you hit it well enough, either over the top or along the floor, you normally get good value for your shots."

Improved

Former all-rounder Rainford-Brent is no longer able to bowl due to a back injury that almost ended her career at the age of 19 but that has only made her more determined to cut off the run-flow in the field. "We made big strides as a team before the World Cup but our standard of fielding has got even better now," she said. "Now I train just as hard on my fielding as I do on my batting - it's become far more important to be able to stop that four or cut off those twos. "It's fair to say that the standard of fielding in the women's game has improved appreciably over the last year. One of the first things that people say when they come and watch us is how much the standard has improved." The women's game enjoyed a 49 percent increase in the number of people taking part in 2008 and its popularity looks set to continue after England's World Cup success.

Opportunity

A successful World Twenty20 tournament would only help boost those figures but Rainford-Brent says the team cannot afford to be over-confident. "I think we have got a really good chance of getting to the final if we do the basics right but we can't be complacent; we've got to make it happen and be disciplined throughout the tournament and approach it with our heads in the right places. "We've got such a massive opportunity to showcase the game, particularly if we can get to the semi-finals. "A lot of people who haven't watched women's cricket won't be aware of the pace that we play at, or the standard of the batting or bowling, so I'm really excited to get the chance to show the public what we are doing and what we train for every day." Ebony Rainford-Brent is an ambassador for D&G Old Jamaica Ginger Beer.