Kate Cross Blog: England Women will work harder than ever to regain Ashes
On our day we were just as good as a strong Australian side...
Friday 4 September 2015 14:58, UK
So, it's time to write my final blog of the summer, and unfortunately it's not the ending we were all hoping for.
It goes without saying that we are all hugely disappointed not to be keeping hold of the 'Big Urn' at the end of this Women's Ashes series. We have worked really hard leading up to this and to underperform so many times has been really difficult to accept.
We knew we had a very good opportunity with Sky Sports covering every match to showcase our skill level and we are fully aware that we have let ourselves down at stages during this series. However, credit to the Aussies for coming over here and fighting hard to regain the trophy. They deserve their brilliant achievement and we are already looking forward to winning it back!
Regroup
I think as a squad we know that it was our batting that let us down and we will go away and have some time to regroup and work harder than ever. I know that we will have learnt more from this series than most others we have played in and it's really exciting to think where this squad could go. On our day we were just as good as a strong Australian side and to finish with the NatWest T20 series win is a real positive to take away from an otherwise disappointing summer.
I was really proud of the way the girls showed some guts and character to try and keep the series alive and I thought our bowlers were exceptional in the last three NatWest T20 games. Australia are currently ICC World T20 champions so we can now look forward to challenging them for that title in India next March.
On a personal note, I was gutted not to have been selected in the NatWest T20 series. It's never easy being dropped and I really wanted to be there with the girls after the Kia Women's Test match. It was a strange experience watching the matches on TV having been in and around the squad and I tell you what, it's definitely more nerve wracking! I had to sit and do Sudoku's during the first match to take my mind off it. I now know what my family go through!
Support
Looking ahead, we now have some time off to rest and recover before we start winter training at the National Cricket Performance Centre from October. Some of us fly to Australia in November to play in the inaugural edition of the Women's Big Bash League, and I can't wait to get over to Brisbane to represent the Brisbane Heat.
I have got to know some of the Australia girls this tour and to have the likes of Holly Ferling, Jess Jonassen and Grace Harris as soon-to-be team mates is really exciting. I'm certainly glad I won't have to bowl at Grace; she hits it a very long way!
To finish, I would just like to say a big thank you from myself and all the girls for the support we have had this summer. We have been completely blown away by the crowds, the coverage and the encouragement.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog we welcome the new scrutiny that we are under, and the media treating us as if they are reporting on international men's cricket. It all comes with our new professional status and it is brilliant that so many people are talking about, and have an opinion on women's cricket. Hopefully we have converted some cricket fans to the women's game and we look forward to your ongoing support in 2016.
Crossy
Kate Cross, England women's fast bowler
