'England need to get fitter' - Alex Hartley as Heather Knight and company crash out of Women's T20 World Cup 2024

Despite winning their first three group-stage games at the Women's T20 World Cup 2024, being defeated by West Indies Women in their final league game meant curtains for England Women at the event. The winners of the inaugural edition of the tournament couldn't deliver the goods which led to their eventual elimination from the tournament.

Former England Women bowler, Alex Hartley, put the major blame on the lacklustre levels of fitness of some of the cricketers in the present setup.

“It’s really disappointing. There are going to be a lot of questions asked and some of them, rightly so, on fitness. England need to get fitter. Australia have got 15 or 16 athletes, genuine athletes. You look at our team – I’m not going to name but if you look at them, you know,” said Hartley on BBC's Test Match Special. 

“We have lost crunch games for such a long period of time. When England come under pressure, and in particular, when Sophie Ecclestone doesn’t slow things down and take wickets, everybody panics. She can’t do it time and time again. There will be questions about the captain [Heather Knight], management, fitness, around what goes on in this England side, and rightly so. Things need to change," asserted Hartley.

Also Read: Twitter Reactions: West Indies knock England out of Women’s T20 World Cup 2024

When you’ve not won a World Cup for so long, things need to change: Hartley

Hartley, while emphasizing a need for change, recommended sticking around with the current head coach of the women's unit.

“When you’ve not won a World Cup for so long, things need to change. I don’t know where that comes from. I think Jon Lewis is the right man for the job. He has changed women’s cricket, getting the girls to realise they can have a better work-life balance. Whether they’ve potentially gone too far the other way, I’m not sure,” remarked Hartley. 

Having lost out from the 20-over event thrice each during the semi-final and the final, the England & Wales Cricket Board might just want to look into how they could address the gaps in order to make English women's cricket touch the pinnacle once again.