If England Get Early Momentum And Field Well, They Can Be A Very Dangerous Side: Robinson

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) England's white-ball journey has been anything but steady. A group-stage exit at the T20 World Cup, a fleeting high in South Africa, and then a brutal 16-0 Ashes drubbing in Australia left the team staring at a hard reset. The shake-up was swift: Jon Lewis and Heather Knight made way for Charlotte Edwards and Nat Sciver-Brunt.

A dominant series win over West Indies was followed by defeats in white-ball fixtures to India. Now, as England enter the 2025 Women's World Cup, the Charlotte-Nat combination faces its first true test and a chance to rewrite a faltering narrative.

Mark Robinson, who coached England to a memorable 2017 Women's ODI World Cup triumph at home, sat down for an exclusive conversation with IANS on the side's prospects, Kate Cross's omission, the Charlotte-Nat dynamic, Heather's return, and more. Excerpts:

Q. How do you assess England's squad and whether this could be the tightest World Cup they will be featuring in?

A. I think it could be. At least from an Indian point of view, I think it's the first time India are coming in with really big, and realistic hopes, with all the progress they've made over the last few years, to say actually they could be one of the favourites.

In previous World Cups, you've had New Zealand and England and Australia being the powerhouses, and now with the emergence of India and the decline of New Zealand, as I say, the big three are now England, Australia and India, which is really exciting, with all the global appeal that India have got and a home World Cup for them, it should be really good.

From England's point of view, they've obviously had a tough time, and lost a little bit of confidence, and it'd be really key if they can get some early momentum in the competition and get some belief if they field well, which I think would be crucial. If they can do that, they'll be a very, very dangerous team for anybody to play.

Q. Does Kate Cross' omission from the World Cup squad come as a surprise to you?

A. I don't think it was much of a surprise. She's got a big profile and following in India. Look, she's a good bowler and she's had a very good summer, despite a few injuries leading into the English summer. From a head coach's point of view, she's the type of character you want in your squad, because she's a good leader and a good person who's got experience and has been able to bowl under pressure.

So, in some ways, it is a surprise. But England, what they've tried to do is they try to balance this team, and they've decided to omit an extra seam and go with the extra spinner. As a head coach, again, that's what you are paid to do - make some tough calls at times.

Charlotte Edwards has shown some bravery in leaving out a popular player in Kate Cross. She'll be judged by that, but that's what you have to do as a head coach. She sees it in a different way, as she's the one who sees the players day in, day out, and she's made that call.

Q. What are your thoughts on Nat Sciver-Brunt's leadership so far, and do you anticipate her bowling will play a decisive role here?

A. One of the crucial things is going to be Nat's fitness. If she ends up not being able to bowl, I think they might end up maybe missing Kate Cross. But they've got a young bowler called Em Arnott, who's a late developer, and she's a very good performer. She bats and gives some depth to the lower order. She bowls at crucial parts of the game as well and is an outstanding fielder, so she's going to play a part. But I think England will really need Nat to be able to bowl. She's done it before in previous World Cups, T20, and 50-over, where she's opened the bowling because she swings it.

I think she'll give them that extra balance and allow them to play the extra batter if she can perform. So, she's crucial, and I think she would have been part of why maybe Kate missed out as well, because of her backing on being able to rely on Nat.

Q. Heather Knight's return in the warm-up games was a big boost for England. How crucial her presence is going to be in anchoring England's innings?

A. She'll be crucial because she's got experience and is a fierce competitor. She's a good player in her own right, a bit underrated at times. She'd be a brilliant foil for Nat because she's been there and done it, along with Tammy Beaumont, as well at the top of the order. In Nat Sivard, I think they've got the best batter in the world.

There's no batter who can compete with Nat in the middle order. Smriti (Mandhana) obviously is an opening batter, but plays in a different role. But I think with Nat, they've got one of the best batters in the world.

Heather would just be that rock that they can build around and rely upon. I think the performance of her, Nat, and Tammy at the top of the order will get those runs that will give England a chance.

Q. Can you also talk about how challenging it would have been for Charlotte to prepare for the World Cup, considering she took over in April?

A. She had the summer to try and be ready. I think you won't really be able to judge Charlotte until a little bit into her tenure because she'll need some time. Obviously, the team had lost a lot of confidence and had taken a lot of hits following what happened in the Ashes. They had a difficult summer - they beat West Indies, who were quite poor at that moment. But they came a cropper against a good and reborn Indian team.

But she's done her hard yards, Charlotte. She's put in some good performances as a head coach in domestic cricket. Be it in Australia or England, she's earned her right to have this go at the England job. She's an outstanding person, a good cricket brain. We'll just have to be a bit patient.

England should get to at least the semifinal and probably the final. Depending on who they play in the semi-final, if they can avoid India or Australia there, they should get to the final because England, Australia, and India are by far the best three teams in the competition.

South Africa are dangerous and they've got some very good players. But they shouldn't really be able to beat those top three teams. The winners are going to come out of those top three sides. Maybe South Africa can get to a semi-final, but I think the winners are going to come out of that pool of England, Australia, and India.

Q. At a glance at England's spin department, are you satisfied with the depth and variety there?

A. Well, they are missing a big turning leg spinner. They've got Sarah Glenn, who skids on and hits the pads and bowls very straight and is good in her own right, doing what she does. But I think they miss a big spinning leg spinner like Australia have with King and New Zealand have with Amelia Kerr.

A spinner like that can just change the direction of the game, and that's what they miss. But what they have got is some variety. They've got a very good off-spinner in Charlie Dean, and the best finger spinner in the world in Sophie Ecclestone. So they've got some good bowlers in that spin department.

That's where England are actually going to play all the trump cards, I think. They've decided that spin is their best weapon. They're expecting the wickets maybe to hold up a little bit and get a bit more tired as the competition goes on, and they're backing their spinners to try and bring the trophy home.

Q. Given the nature of pitches and venues having that largely unknown element, what do you think would be the ideal team balance for England?

A. Again, if Nat's bowling, that would allow them to have that little bit deeper order. I think at times they've been in trouble about their lower order being a bit exposed and not having players who were there before. Like I had Anya Shrubsole, who was a good batter in her own right, so was Katherine Sciver-Brunt.

They've missed that a little bit. So I think if Nat can bowl, it would allow them to leave a front-line bowler out and play an extra batter, which would give them some depth. But again, they've got to look at the conditions. Any head coach tries to have a squad that can adapt to the conditions.

In my experience of being in India and Sri Lanka, you can have everything - very quick wickets and fast outfields, or some slow wickets where your spin bowlers can come in. So you need a squad that can adapt and bring out the best of yourself on whatever conditions you get given on a given day.

Q. What are your hopes for the legacy this World Cup should have to propel the rise of women's cricket worldwide?

A. All around the world, it's the exposure that is increasing, and you're seeing all the boards trying to invest. The concern would be that India, Australia, and England, with all their extra resources, are going to pull away, and there's been a decline in some of the other teams.

I think South Africa are doing really well to try and keep up, and they've got some good players. So my fear would be that the top three are just going to get stronger and stronger, and the rest are going to drop off. But it's exciting - the amount of eyes now on women's sport. We've just had a Rugby World Cup in England, which our England women have won, and they also won the Euros in football.

So we're all hoping that the England cricket team can do the third one and make it a hat-trick. But just for women's sport globally, it's a brilliant time to be a female athlete because there's more scrutiny, more eyes, and more exposure. If you're a 12-13-year-old girl now in any of the countries in the world, you can actually dream of going to the big stages and playing on.

But there's no better place than India to have a World Cup at this time, and this time, India's ready for it. We've seen that with the WPL, the fantastic crowds they get. This is a brilliant occasion for the sport and for India to really launch themselves as a major player in the women's world.

I hope that from the Indian cricket girls' point of view, they can cope because it won't be easy. If they can settle into this competition and get some momentum, the crowd can be a really, really big positive factor. But on the flip side, it can also cause a couple of mishaps. The crowds and the expectation of all those millions of people watching can also be a hindrance. So I'll be fascinated to see how the Indian team cope with that.

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