With long disciplined lines & her ability to bang the length at a time, Kate Cross is considered a Test match specialist when it comes to women's cricket, though that's not enough praise to really be given. needed. How many times does the format appear?
Still, with 14 wickets at 14.92 in his three Tests, Cross has featured in half of the six matches England have played in the past decade, & he hopes India's renewed interest in the international & longer formats. can help revive it. at the domestic level.
"The format doesn't come often, but it's really special," Cross said 2 days after the Test began on the 1st day of practice in Bristol, England. "We all get really excited when the whites come out, & we are just waiting to go on Wednesday.
"Obviously it's very different from the white ball game, but we try to embrace it as much as we can, because we know we have only got one chance to play a Test match this summer. We want that It's going to be a nice spectacle. For people to watch, so that everybody can buy into it, because we obviously wish we could play a little bit more of it."
England's last three Tests have all been against Australia, while India have not played the format since 2014. But Cross knows from past experience that a lack of familiarity should not deter India's talented line-up, as they were on the losing end of the match at Wormsley that summer.
Cross recalled that England "probably went a little naively in that game", as India beat them to a six-wicket win, Mithali Raj's half-century sealed an impressive performance, going on to 92 on the 1st day. Started with the dismissal of his host.
"We have played more Test cricket than India in four and five years, so I think that was probably a good level for us," Cross said. "They came out & played really hard-hitting cricket & really convinced us a lot. It just goes to show that even though we don't play the format a lot, it's not something you can take lightly. I can take."
The India series is the start of a busy summer for England women - certainly compared to their Covid-devastated summer of 2020, when West Indies' late arrival in September saw them return to the field for the 1st time since the T20 World Cup. permitted to. Australia in March
With the Rachael Hayhoe Flint Trophy already in full swing, & with the 1st season of the Hundred approaching next month, Cross admits that now is not the right moment for England women to add more red-ball cricket to their itinerary. It is possible. Still, a strong showing in Bristol this week can only help the cause, now that the women's sport is getting more exposure across the board.
"I'm a big advocate for [domestic red-ball cricket]," said Cross. "The longer format is where you learn the real skills of cricket, how to defend bowling well, & how to bowl for longer durations & be relentless with your line and length.
"I don't think playing the longer format would be a bad thing, be it 2- and three-day cricket at the domestic level.
"Obviously over the next 12 months, it's really important that we establish what we have got with the 50-over competition & T20s, & of course the Hundred as well. But I am pretty positive about that fact That it could potentially happen. Maybe in the next five years we will get to the point where we can do that.
"But I've always said that the ratio of our training to play is heavily weighted towards the training side, so it's good that we've actually got a lot of cricket to play and a lot to look forward to."
As far as the inclusion of Kross in his three Test caps is concerned, he acknowledged some nervousness about quality within England's seam ranks - with the old guard of Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole left-hander of Tash Farrant. angle. The choice as well as the new kid on the block, Emily Arlott, whose four-wicket over for the Vipers against Sparks last week propelled her into the reckoning.
"It's always a concern when you're trying hard to get people to take your place," Krauss said. "But it's great for the team, it's great for our environment, and I think it just goes to show how important those regional contracts are now.
“Both are bowling really well. "Aims is a tall fast bowler that you don't often see in the women's game, so she's a little tougher than a lot of us, which is exciting to watch, she's obviously got the extra bit of pace.
"The card is naturally very good at swinging the ball, so it offers a left-handed option as well as something different, so it's exciting to have those options on the team.
"I'm not sure what the team is going to do, but obviously to win a Test match you need bowlers to stand up and take 20 wickets in four days, so hopefully we've got depth in the team. Do that to be able."
Ultimately, however, Cross believes his prior knowledge of red-ball bowling should give him an edge in selection - and joked that banning the use of saliva means he is more important to the team. Thoughts. brings.
"A good line and length in Test cricket is a good line and length in most cricket when you have the new ball," he said. "That's where I've found success in Test cricket when I've played, because it basically cracks first. Who can be as boring as possible, which doesn't happen to me often.
"The big skill with red-ball cricket is trying to reverse it in about 40 overs, because nothing much happens after that," he said. "You can't use your saliva so you have to find the sweatiest member of the team and use your sweat as much as possible. And that's me. It's always me!"