England coach Charlotte Edwards has admitted she is still in the dark surrounding her best XI for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
Edwards’ side showed some excellent signs as they wrapped up an impressive 2-1 series triumph over New Zealand in Hove on Monday, with the bowling attack leading the way as they dismissed the White Ferns for just 80 in the series decider less than three weeks out from the start of the T20 World Cup.
Stand-in captain Charlie Dean and fellow all-rounder Dani Gibson each collected three New Zealand wickets in the series finale, while left-arm spinner Linsey Smith was adjudged Player of the Series for her six scalps across the three matches.
But it’s England’s top-order that is still causing headaches for Edwards, with the race to feature in the top six at the T20 World Cup further complicated by the injury absence of skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt and experienced opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge.
Sciver-Brunt is still battling a calf injury and sat out the entire series against the Kiwis, while Wyatt-Hodge also missed the fixtures as she welcomed in her first child.
The absence of the key duo allowed the likes of Alice Capsey and Freya Kemp to shine against New Zealand and Edwards is unsure what England’s batting order is going to look like when the T20 World Cup commences on June 12.
“I absolutely don’t know my best XI at the moment,” Edwards told BBC Sport after the seven-wicket triumph over New Zealand.
“But what players are doing is putting their hand up all the time. There’s certainly different combinations that we want to look at.
“I’m probably more sure of the bowling, but I guess the batters are giving us a few headaches, which you want – you want people wanting to put their hands up.”