Spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman is enjoying her time in the sun at the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup, despite the stark contrast between the scorching heat of Malaysia and the chilly cold in England.
In Sarawak, Corteen-Coleman finished with impressive figures of four for eight from her four overs as England defeated New Zealand by six wickets to guarantee their spot in the tournament’s semi-finals for the second time in a row.
The 17-year-old put on a strong show, generating plenty of turn to dismiss the final four New Zealand batsmen, including three in the final over. The Player of the Match said she is enjoying taking on opponents and the conditions as England attempts to improve on their 2023 runners-up finish.
She remarked, “I am really enjoying it; playing cricket in a hot country is actually really nice compared to cold England.” “I’m having a great time here.
The pitches out here are fantastic; they fit me perfectly. They provide a good deal of bounce and turn, which I really like.
It is a little out of the ordinary because, although we did a lot of scouting before The Hundred and throughout the season with the Stars, there isn’t a lot of pre-game information on teams (at the World Cup), so it really comes down to being flexible and adaptive on the fly.
The fact that I wasn’t told what to anticipate in advance is incredibly beneficial for my progress.
To tell the truth, I was ecstatic to take four wickets. I was clearly in a great position to help the club advance to the semifinals.
“Getting four wickets is nice, but I can’t take all the credit for that; it was a team effort.”
After a good start from openers Kate Irwin and Emma McLeod, the Kiwis lost all 10 wickets for 40 runs as a result of Corteen-Coleman’s work with the ball, which enabled England limit New Zealand to 89 from their 20 overs.
With goals of 21 and 29, respectively, openers Davina Perrin and Jemima Spence gave England a quick start of their own. In the end, England reached the necessary score in 11.4 overs because to Charlotte Stubbs’ undefeated 17 and secured a significant victory.
Since rain prevented them from winning against Ireland and Nigeria, the New Zealand match was crucial to their chances of making it to the final four. However, when rain started to fall halfway through New Zealand’s innings,
Corteen-Coleman acknowledged that there were concerns that the weather would punish them once more.
However, the 17-year-old believed that maintaining her composure in the face of uncertainty enabled her to return and complete the task at hand.
“Securing that semi-final spot is a huge moment for the team,” she remarked. The squad played incredibly well under pressure with bat and ball, despite the fact that the match was already quite stressful due to weather worries.
After the rain delay, there was some panic, but we managed to gather ourselves and simply got ready to go back out there with a positive attitude.
“The group as a whole has done a great job supporting one another, but our coaches and captain Abi (Norgrove) have been leading the charge on those messages and have been there for the girls the entire time.”
England will now focus on the semi-final, hoping to return to the main event on February 2.
However, Corteen-Coleman maintained that preparation was the key to success and that her team would only be thinking about their most recent four encounters.
“We will take each game as it comes, but getting to the final is definitely the goal,” she continued.
“We will now concentrate on the semifinals to ensure that we can play our best cricket. We are not gazing too far into the future.
“I would like to think there will be a little more information, but right now we just need to support our skills and continue doing what we have been doing, which is playing a positive game in fielding, bowling, and batting.”
India
