Key Points

“The players are really responding well, certainly to a slight change of style,” Edwards was quoted by ESPNCricinfo as saying. “Hopefully, we’ve seen the results over the last four games, which have been really positive. We’re not getting carried away, don’t worry, but we know that we’re on the right track and we’re tracking really well moving into the first game.”

England have enjoyed a strong build-up, winning all four warm-ups in Abu Dhabi and Bengaluru, including a 153-run thrashing of co-hosts India and a four-wicket win against defending champions Australia. Edwards stressed the team had taken confidence from not just the results but also the manner of play. “There’s never a friendly against an international opposition, so I think we’ve taken a lot of confidence, not necessarily around the result, but the way we’ve played. I feel we’re really nicely placed.”

Central to their preparations has been the return of Heather Knight, who made 41 off 48 in her first outing since tearing her hamstring in May. “She’s vital to our success out here,” Edwards said of her former captain. Meanwhile, Nat Sciver-Brunt, who now leads the side, struck a commanding 120 off 104 against India and showed she could still offer with the ball despite an Achilles issue. “Nat’s ready to go. She’s bowling. She hasn’t bowled in every warm-up game, but she’s doing lots of training overs as well. She’s in a really good place physically, so we are hoping to get ten overs out of Nat,” Edwards said, adding, “Nat loves bowling and I think it helps her batting.”

Edwards praised the depth of England’s spin department: “We are very lucky, we’ve got four of the best [spinners] in world cricket in my opinion. That comes from my experience of coaching out here, that spin’s played a massive factor even in T20 cricket and WPL cricket.”

Fielding, long a concern, has also been a focus. “You’ll be pleased to hear we’ve been fielding really well, that’s something that we obviously wanted to work on. Under pressure, the players have responded really well.” Edwards underlined her forward-looking philosophy: “I’ve not spoken about anything about the past. It’s all about looking forward with this group now. We’ve created an environment where it’s about taking accountability now, and we’ve got real clarity on how we want to play the game.”

She concluded with optimism: “Hopefully that clarity is going to help this team under pressure, because I don’t think we’ll leave a stone unturned in terms of our prep. The signs have been really strong so far in terms of the development I’ve seen in the last six months. I’m just hoping we can take that now onto the big stage.”

- IANS