England soaking cricket balls to prepare for Women’s T20 World Cup

Charlie Dean has revealed England are pouring water over cricket balls and turning on the sprinklers to soak the outfield in a bid to replicate conditions they may face at the Women’s T20 World Cup. With temperatures peaking close to 40C in Dubai, sweaty hands making it difficult for bowlers to grip the ball properly could be a problem for England in their opener against Bangladesh on Saturday.

It will be cooler for their evening games but then comes the knowledge that dew is likely to be a factor under lights, particularly acute for Dean and her fellow spinners, Sophie Ecclestone and Sarah Glenn.

The toss could be key – as it was during the men’s edition in the United Arab Emirates in 2021 – and England are experimenting with their methods in training to make sure they are as prepared as possible. “We had a scenario practice on the outfield and they just turned the sprinklers on before we started,” said Dean.

“In the nets, we’re emptying a water bottle on to the ball, getting it wet then trying to dry it with a towel to get it back to the state it was before. Just the sweat on my hands is probably doing enough.

“It has been interesting because it’s something I’ve not had to think about much before in my career. We don’t often play under lights or in these hot conditions. I’ve found gripping across the seam and bowling my scrambled seam ball is less likely to slip out. But for Sophie and Sarah, it’s slightly different. It’s about finding your way to combat the conditions.”

Dean, alongside Ecclestone and Glenn and with Linsey Smith waiting in the wings comprise a spin attack labelled the envy of the world this year by England head coach, Jon Lewis. Ecclestone has been the top-ranked T20 bowler since February 2020 with Glenn, who is averaging 8.47 in the shortest format this year with an economy rate of 4.4, fourth in the standings.

Dean has dropped out of the top 10 but she is crucial to a three-prong spin attack that has helped to contain opposition batters in the middle overs in the past 12-18 months. “We’re probably as close to being the best we’ve ever been,” she said. “But we all want to keep getting better. What’s so exciting is how good we could be as well as where we’re at now.

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“What works so well about our spinners is you’ve always got someone at the other end who’s going to do a job and maybe if you don’t have the best over, you know they can bring it back. You want to keep bowling in partnerships and keep the pressure on. Sophie and Sarah make that easy with how consistent they are. The pressure feels off at the other end when they’re bowling so well.”

England’s spinners were central to 13 wins in 14 matches in the summer – they were denied a clean sweep by a washout – with victories in all eight T20s. “We’re really happy with our philosophy and how we’re going about playing our cricket,” Dean said. “It’s almost perfect timing going into this World Cup off the back of that kind of form.”

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