England’s Danni Wyatt-Hodge on ‘cloud nine’ ahead of T20 World Cup after birth of daughter

Danni Wyatt-Hodge will open the batting for England in the Women’s T20 World Cup this week still floating on “cloud nine” following the birth of her daughter last month.

England begin their campaign against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston on Friday as they bid for a first T20 title since 2009 – when they won the inaugural edition on home soil – and Wyatt-Hodge has extra motivation to do well.

Wife Georgie gave birth to the couple’s first child on May 20, which led to Wyatt-Hodge missing England’s white-ball series against New Zealand and a T20 against India on maternity leave.

Back in the ranks since then, Wyatt-Hodge admitted she has sought out the advice of Nat Sciver-Brunt about juggling parenthood and an international career, with the England captain welcoming a son with former team-mate Katherine Sciver-Brunt last year.

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Cloud nine

“It does put things into perspective – it’s going to be nice to have another focus away from cricket because all that matters is her (daughter) now,” Wyatt-Hodge told the Press Association.

“Nat Sciver-Brunt has got a young son and I’ve been chatting to her about how she manages it all and balances cricket and family life.

“She says ‘it’s just the best thing ever’. I’m still on cloud nine.”

Wyatt-Hodge is set for her eighth T20 World Cup, 16 years on from her tournament debut, when she collected the player of the match award with four for 11 against South Africa in St Kitts and Nevis.

Hunger

Her off-spinning days are long behind her but at 35 with 304 international appearances to her name, Wyatt-Hodge insisted she is a long way from winding down and her competitive spirit burns bright as ever.

“I still feel like one of the youngsters, to be honest, I can’t believe I’ve been playing for England over 300 times,” she said.

“It’s a bit surreal, I guess something I’ll look back on when my career is done, but the hunger is still there, I want to keep improving and getting better and keep pushing myself.”

Global stage

Wyatt-Hodge’s first foray on the global stage in 2010 was in front of a smattering of fans in the Caribbean but more than 150,000 tickets have been sold for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

The curtain-raiser will feature 53 purple seats being installed at Birmingham, recognising 53 women from all levels of cricket and backgrounds shaping the future of cricket, in a nod to the number of years since England held the first Women’s Cricket World Cup in 1973.

“I was earning £1,000 a month when I started playing for England and I was happy with that,” Wyatt-Hodge, who is one of the 53, added. “But now these players are coming in and earning a lot more. Rightly so.

“It’s scary to think where women’s cricket will be in the next few years.”

Confidence-boosting win

England head into the tournament on the back of a confidence-boosting five-run win over India in their final warm-up fixture in Cardiff on Wednesday.

Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt spent valuable time in the middle with 57, while Amy Jones continued her strong form with 64 at the top of the order as England posted 171-6.

All-rounder Dani Gibson then provided late impetus with an unbeaten 30 from just 12 balls, including 19 runs from the final over.

India looked well out of contention at 87-5 before Richa Ghosh launched a stunning counter-attack, smashing 68 from 36 deliveries to leave the visitors needing six from the final three balls.

However, left-arm spinner Linsey Smith dismissed Ghosh in the closing stages and then removed Renuka Singh Thakur to secure a narrow victory.

The match also offered further encouragement for England ahead of Friday’s opener, with Sciver-Brunt continuing her return from a calf injury and several squad players given opportunities as head coach Charlotte Edwards fine-tuned her plans for a home World Cup.

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