Sophia Dunkley sheds light on England's aggressive approach

Top order batter Sophia Dunkley has insisted that the adoption of a new “aggressive” mindset is helping the England women's team to prepare well for their next game against Australia.

The England women's team was comprehensively beaten by the Australia women's team in the ICC Women's 50-over World Cup final this year and the Ashes. 

Speaking to Telegraph Sport's Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast about England's recent struggles against their arch-rivals in the Ashes and World Cup final, Dunkley said those defeats have prompted the team to switch from the cautious approach to being aggressive.

“We’ve changed the way we play. We are more flexible with our batting and we are going a lot harder and becoming more aggressive. We were a bit safe in the 50-over World Cup and the Ashes and were collectively not in the best headspace. We didn’t play our best cricket and we wanted to change that," Sophia Dunkley told Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast.

In the process of revamping, Heather Knight's side have been refreshed this summer by the debuts of 17-year-olds Alice Capsey and Freya Kemp, and tweaks such as Dunkley’s promotion to open the batting in place of experienced opener Tammy Beaumont.

“We have got the players to take the game away from the opposition by being brave and not worrying about the consequences of getting out. The likes of Alice Capsey who is 17 and very, very talented, Freya Kemp (also 17) has been playing too. We are looking a bit fresher and hopefully, that can bring it to them (the Australians)!”

Dunkley is having a strong summer, including a maiden international hundred from number 3 in the ODI team, plus two other fifties.