England won’t back down from their attacking style as they seek a return to winning ways in the third and final match of their T20I series with Sri Lanka, which is locked at 1-1 heading into Wednesday’s clash in Derby.
“Definitely it’s runs on the board but also we want to be a team where we can defend any score as well and be a really tight-knit group on the field, so we’ve just considered all aspects of the game to try and improve as we’re always trying to do anyway,” Glenn said.
“We lost quite a lot of wickets and we do have that style of play where we want to play aggressive and fun cricket and we know that comes with sometimes losing those wickets. So I think it’s just keying those partnerships together and not going into our shell, still playing that fun style of cricket.
“With the ball, just keeping it quite simple and trying to get those early wickets in the powerplay and then as a fielding team just keep buzzing around helping our bowlers, which are basically our aims every game. I think because we were just slightly off in most departments, that’s what happens in cricket, if you fail in all departments it makes it quite hard to recover from. Hopefully we can tie that back well together for the next game.”
“She’s quite tough actually to bowl against,” Glenn said. “You do know that if you’re slightly off, she’s sending it into the park. She’s in top form and she’s been a class player for a very long time so I think as a team we will have discussions about how to manage that but we also know the capability of their other players too, so just keep having discussions about how we conquer that.
“The biggest thing is communication and there’s some new faces into the group so I think the importance is just keep communicating with how things are going. We’re coming off the back of a long summer as well of cricket, so just to keep checking in with each other and make sure we keep sticking together and playing the style of cricket we want to play.”
Ecclestone had surgery after injuring her non-bowling right shoulder while warming-up for Manchester Originals’ match against Southern Brave last month. In her absence, Glenn and offspinner Charlie Dean have led England’s spin attack.
Dean took 1 for 6 from her solitary over in the opening match and none for 19 from two overs in the second. While wicketless from the three overs she bowled in the second match – she didn’t bowl at Hove as rain curtailed Sri Lanka’s innings – Glenn conceded just 11 runs at an economy rate of 3.66.
“Obviously we’re a bit gutted, I miss her on and off the field – she’s an absolute character,” Glenn said of Ecclestone. “But I think it’s a good chance for me and Deano to keep working together and keep pushing the standards and pushing ourselves.”
Growing up watching and playing cricket in Derby, Glenn admitted she never expected to be representing her country at the same ground where she used to hunt autographs.
“Back then I didn’t know much about women’s cricket, obviously it wasn’t in the public eye as much,” Glenn said. “Seeing that young girls can have role models as female cricketers is really exciting. I think it naturally happened because I just enjoyed the game and a lot of the kids I speak to who play here have that as well, which is really special. It’ll be nice to chat to them and hopefully we can inspire them.”
Valkerie Baynes is a general editor, women’s cricket, at ESPNcricinfo