South Australian fast bowler Megan Schutt says the women’s cricket team is raring to go ahead of T20 World Cup opening game
AS controversy continues to swirl around the Australian men’s cricket team, their female counterparts have arrived in the West Indies for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup ranked the world’s No. 1 side.
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AUSTRALIA’S female cricket team remains focused on its own game-plan ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, despite controversy raging around the men’s team, according to South Australian fast bowler Megan Schutt.
Schutt — the world’s No. 1 ranked female T20 bowler — said the Australians had arrived in the West Indies raring to play.
Australia’s World Cup campaign gets underway on November 9, when the team’s first pool match pits them against Pakistan at Guyana’s Providence Stadium.
“I’m pretty nervous to be honest, in a good way,” Schutt said. “I’m nervous for every game of cricket, but obviously the World Cup carries a stronger sense of that, but we’re all just ready and raring to go. And especially for myself, I’m really excited.
“We have one hell of a team and I don’t envy the selectors at all.”
Schutt said the team wasn’t concentrating on the highly criticised recent performances of their male counterparts.
“The boys are going through a real rebuilding stage there and honestly, people need to get around them a bit more than they have, I think it’s really easy to jump on board and hate a team that isn’t doing so well, but you’re a true supporter when you can back a team when they not doing so well,” she said.
“But for us, what the men do is irrelevant and we’ve always had a good focus for being able to be in the moment … we keep focused on our cricket.”
After clean-sweeping both New Zealand and Pakistan in recent T20 series, the Aussies go into this week’s World Cup as the ICC’s No. 1 ranked T20 team, but Schutt denies this puts them as favourites.
“It’s a nice reward to be on the top and it’s a reflection of our last few series, but coming into a world tournament and with T20 cricket, anyone can win, so I don’t actually believe that the ranking means we’re favourites for the Cup.
“Our first few performances are going to show whether we’re favourites or not, more than a ranking.”
After the Aussies’ first pool match against Pakistan, they will play other pool matches against Ireland, New Zealand and India. Semi-finals will take place on November 22, with the final to be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound on November 24.
Originally published as South Australian fast bowler Megan Schutt says the women’s cricket team is raring to go ahead of T20 World Cup opening game