Ahead of the second edition of the WPL auction to be held here on December 9, England opener Danni Wyatt revealed that she had no thoughts about the auction while making a fine 75 in the T20I opener against India, though she admitted that it did cross her mind on the morning of the game.
In her 150th T20I appearance for England at the Wankhede Stadium, Danni scored 75 off just 47 balls, using her crease well to play with the field and score runs against the spinners to take England to 197/6, as India fell short by 38 runs. Danni’s exploits come just ahead of the WPL auction on Saturday, for which she has applied.
“Not while I was batting and not when I was walking out to bat. But it did cross my mind a few times in the morning when people spoke about it though. I was pretty disappointed last (WPL auction).”
“But I have completely changed my mind, so now I am just like I have done all I can, had a good summer, performed tonight, so what will be will be. (I) would love to be a part of the next WPL, will see what happens,” she said in the post-match press conference.
Nearly 13 years ago, Danni made her T20I debut at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai, as an off-spin all-rounder and has now successfully reinvented as an opener to silence the crowd at Wankhede on Wednesday night.
“It is always nice to do well on your big days. I try not to think too much about it being a big game for me. It is something I’ll look back on when I retire – how many games I’ve played in this format,” she added.
Danni was also one part of a crucial partnership of 138 with Nat Sciver-Brunt, who played a few matches at the venue in this year’s WPL. “Nat’s just so calm, we don’t really talk much out there in the middle. We have played with each other a lot, (I have) batted a lot with Nat. I know what her (scoring) areas are. She is a quality player, scores runs for fun especially here in Mumbai.
“The partnership was needed at the time we did it. The girl that bowls left-arm spin (Saika Ishaque), Nat’s faced a lot of it in the nets (during the WPL). So she was telling me how she bowls which it was handy to know,” she added.
Danni was at the other end when Renuka Singh Thakur took out Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey on successive deliveries. “She bowls quite well at the crease and angles it in. But she’s also got the one that goes the other way. That Alice Capsey delivery was an absolute seed and it has also got me out at the World Cup. She’s an absolute gun bowler, especially when she gets to swing the ball,” she said.
Danni also credited England’s training camp in Oman for good preparation ahead of landing in India. “I had seven weeks off with no cricket which was really nice. I haven’t done that for a few years. (It was an) enjoyable two weeks with the girls and we did what we could. We made use of the outfield and lots of net bowlers and (had) similar conditions to what we faced here. (I am) feeling prepared for this series.”
With the WPL auction on Saturday, the day of second T20I and Sunday hosting third game of the series, Danni is now aiming at recovery to be fit enough for the two games, as well as for the four-day Test at DY Patil Stadium from December 14-17.
“It’s something that we pride ourselves on. We want to be the fittest team in the world and I always wanted to be on top of the fitness levels, which is very important as it helps in conditions like this.”
“The running between the wickets was nice in the game. With back-to-back games coming in the weekend, its important that we recover well as fitness will be key there, especially in the Test match and four days between it to prepare well physically.”
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