“When we lost three out of three, there were some tears in the dressing room after the game. But the turning point was having some meetings to say we have nothing to lose now. Obviously it’s a great feeling to get to the World Cup.” final and I hope we can put on a show on Sunday.
Sophie Ecclestone believes England have yet to play their best cricket ahead of the Women’s World Cup final against Australia on Sunday.
The bowler claimed a first international five as England reached the final with a 137-run victory over South Africa.
Ecclestone finished 36-6 as the Proteas were eliminated 156, in a match in which Danni Wyatt scored with a first World Cup century in England’s 293 for eight.
England opened the tournament with three consecutive defeats, but a fifth successive win has seen Heather Knight’s side set up a final with Australia, and Ecclestone believes England have not been at their best so far.
“I think when we lost three out of three, there were some tears in the dressing room after the game,” the 22-year-old said.
“I think everyone was very disappointed with how it had gone, but I think the turning point was having some meetings to say we had nothing to lose now, so I put what we do in training into a game and that’s it.” go out without fear
“We haven’t played our best cricket yet, so going into the final without playing our best cricket is obviously a good thing to see in this group.”
England did not win a single game at the Ashes this winter and also lost to Australia in their opening World Cup match.
However, Ecclestone urged his team to put on a show in Sunday’s final in Wellington.
“Obviously it’s a great feeling to get to the WC final. It’s something we’ve been working on after losing three games early on, so it’s great to get to the final and hopefully we can put on a show on Sunday,” he said. . she said.
“Beating the Aussies in the final, I really can’t put it into words after the ashes we had. I really believe in this group and on our day we can definitely beat the Aussies, we have a great chance.”
“I know if we play our best cricket and our batsmen bat as they can and players bowl as they can, we have a great unit as a team so we will focus on ourselves and do our best.” can.
“Hopefully we can go out there and play our best cricket to show what side we are.”
England captain Danni Wyatt was named man of the match following the semi-final victory, scoring a crucial 129 with the bat after England fell to 126-4.
“I woke up this morning and really wanted to contribute to a win and that’s what happened,” he said.
“Obviously I’ve been dropped a few times but that’s cricket and you have to cash in on days like today so I’m really happy with how it went.
“I’ve had a weird career in ODIs, I’ve been up and down like a yo-yo, but I’m happy to hit wherever the team wants me to hit. Opening the bat is where I want to hit. It’s my job to get the team off to a good start. and seize the opportunity [I’m] really pleased with how today went.
“Every game since that India game has been a knockout game. So today was just like any other game we’ve played in the last few games.”
“To contribute to a victory to reach the World Cup final, there is nothing better than that.
“After those first three games, I didn’t think this would be the case, so we’ll prepare well for the final and obviously we want to win that trophy.”
“We’ve got one last push now. It’s been the longest trip we’ve ever had so one last push and we want to take the trophy home and have a well deserved vacation afterwards.”
On Ecclestone, Wyatt added: “Soph played exceptionally well again today, she is an absolute GOAT and I am very happy for her.
“That’s going to be the first of many five-for-fives and she was absolutely unplayable today, especially with that pace and drop, a little bit of spin as well, that she was having.
