England’s women have the capability to go all the way in the forthcoming T20 World Cup in Australia, believes Yorkshire manager Jane Hildreth.
The White Rose women’s first-team manager says a repeat of the 2018 final in the West Indies between champions to be Australia and England is the most likely outcome, although Hildreth has insisted that others could spring a surprise.
The Ashes rivals and India, who have all recently played out a competitive tri-series – won by the Aussies, are the strongest sides in the competition running from Friday until March 8.
But Hildreth said: “West Indies on their day can perform and win games, and South Africa have some very strong players.
“There are a few teams who you can’t discount, and I think it’s going to be a really good competition with plenty of interesting group games.
“For me, I suspect it will be an England v Australia final, and hopefully a different result to last time in the Caribbean. That would be a fantastic thing for the work we all do across the country at domestic level and would showcase the county game and the Super League, which has obviously just finished.”
England’s squad includes Yorkshire stars Katherine Brunt and Lauren Winfield, with both playing prominent roles in the tri-series which saw England miss out on the final by virtue of an inferior net run-rate.
Talismanic all-rounder Brunt missed the Caribbean event through injury in late 2018 and also failed to make a single appearance for the Yorkshire Diamonds in last summer’s final edition of the Kia Super League as her workload was managed by England.
