Charlotte Edwards says England are reaping the rewards of Mark Robinson’s aggressive approach as they attempt to end Australia’s dominance at the ICC Women’s World Twenty20.
Robinson has had a positive impact on the England squad since opting to leave Sussex and become Head Coach last November.
The new attacking approach under Robinson has seen England collect limited-overs series wins in South Africa and, after three warm-up victories in India, four World T20 triumphs from as many matches.
That has seen them set up a semi-final clash with Australia, the team that have won the last three sprint-format titles and regained the Ashes in England last summer, in Delhi tomorrow.
Australia will go into the last-four clash as favourites but Edwards is confident of beating the holders.
“Robbo has come in and he’s got his own take on women’s cricket,” said Edwards, who is joint top-scorer in the event with 171 runs.
“He wants us to be more aggressive. He wants us to hit more boundaries. We’re looking for the intent to score boundaries, hit 360 degrees and have shots in our lockers to bring out at any point.
“We’ve worked hard over last two months, here and in South Africa, and are improving day in day out.
“We are a talented squad and we’ve been in the last two World Cup finals so let’s hope it’s third time lucky.
“We certainly have the hunger to get there but will have to play very very well.”
England and Australia know each other well due to their battles in the past, while some of them became team-mates during the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League last winter.
Edwards and team-mates Sarah Taylor, Heather Knight, Laura Marsh, Danni Wyatt, Nat Sciver and Katherine Brunt all starred Down Under.
“We’re frenemies now,” said Edwards.
“Both teams know a lot about each other. There’s no hidden secrets so it’s all about who plays best.
“It’s been brilliant to go out and play in Australia with a lot of the Australia girls and we’ve gained a lot from that experience.
“Our girls performed brilliantly out there so they are going in very confident.”
Source: ECB