Charlotte Edwards' take on the upcoming ICC Women's World Cup

The Women’s World Cup, 2017 is set to get underway in England from 24th June. It’s going to be a one month-long affair, played between the top 8 One-Day International (ODI) women’s teams. Charlotte Edwards, former English captain has expressed that her expectations are high from the upcoming tournament.

Edwards, in her column for the ICC, commented on various topics, ranging from the unpredictability of the tournament to the Pakistan men’s team lifting the Champions Trophy. The recently concluded Champions Trophy, feels Edwards, has been a blessing in disguise for the girls. Since the focus has been away from the women’s tournament, it has allowed them to prepare better without feeling that added pressure of public scrutiny.

“2017 Women’s World Cup is going to be the biggest and best”

37-year-old Edwards hailed the upcoming championship as the “biggest and best” of all time. She lauded each side for have quality players to watch out for. Edwards also observed that “Gone are the days when you could easily predict the finalists as the gap between the nations is closing.”

Home support

She feels that the England team, being the hosts, can expect healthy crowd backing. Like every nation, the English team also loves to play in front of their home crowd and is pumped up by the cheers of their fellow countrymen.

“I really hope that the crowds come out and support, not only England but all of the great matches we are going to see around the country. I hope the crowds get behind them, I hope they see it as a positive, embrace the competition and want to play well for the crowds,” she said.

Personal experience

Having been a part of the 50-over World Cup side herself, the former England captain elucidated on her experience by saying, “For me a tournament got real when we met up and boarded the plane. She also stressed on the benefits of playing away from the home grounds by saying that playing on away grounds keeps the team calmer head space and aloof from unnecessary distractions.

Edwards talked about injury scares within the team and said that the players often, were tentative to be aggressive, fearing injuries at the start of a major tournament. However, she also added, that they all need to put their best foot forward from the word “go”, saying, “You’ve got to put that to the back of your mind and sometimes the more you think about those sorts of things the more they tend to happen.”

Pakistan winning the Champions Trophy deserve admiration:

The former skipper also praised Pakistan men’s team’s achievement for lifting the Champion’s Trophy. “They started so poorly, but they played their best games at the right time and that’s the art of tournament cricket – to win games when you really need to with your best players performing,” she said, calling the team performance “interesting to watch”.