NSB puts her captaincy hat on for another interview
I thought we started really well – Amy and Tammy showed some good intent during the Powerplay. At the start it looked fairly easy to score but then the spinners came on and there was some inconsistency in how the ball reacted off the wicket. It felt like I could never accelerate properly until right at the end.
[On the challenges of playing spin] Picking length is really important. So is knowing your strengths: if you’re good on the front foot, being able to recognise and do that as much as possible. Not letting the spinners settle either – using little lap sweeps and things like that, so that you can manouevre the field and put the pressure back on the bowler in different ways.
[On Sophie Ecclestone] She’s brilliant, isn’t she? [Shakes her head, as if in wonder] From the time she was 16 and came into the team, I think we knew we had something special on our hands. She’s really grown in the last couple of months as well – we’ve challenged her a little bit to improve herself and to really make a mark on this team and for herself. I’m really pleased for her.
[Have you played your best game yet?] In patches. We probably haven’t put it all together. We’d like to have had some bigger partnerships to make it feel a bit more comfortable. But yeah, in patches we’ve played really well.
Chamari Athapaththu’s verdict
Our bowling was really good, but catches win matches and we dropped Nat Sciver-Brunt.
We had ten days off [because of the washout v Australia] but we are professional cricketers so it’s not an excuse.
I struggled in the first over but I feel okay now and I have two days rest ahead of an important game for us.