Amy Jones column: "Saturday is an opportunity for us to reach a much wider audience"

AMY JONES: I was lucky to stumble across cricket. It was only by chance that some of my friends in the football team played, so I went down and trained with them. Although mum and dad watched cricket, none of the family played

Two games into this series, I think we’re pretty pleased with where we’re at. I think the first game in particular, everyone was really happy with our performance. Bringing energy after having such a long break was one of the things we talked about leading into it; it was important that we didn’t go into our shells or look to feel our way into the game.

Tammy Beaumont and Danni Wyatt started off brilliantly and that definitely helped us. To watch them go out there and play totally fearlessly and execute their strengths so well, I think that just got us off to a really good start, which we were then able to carry through.

In the field, that’s one of the best fielding displays we’ve had as a squad; it was brilliant. It was great because we’ve done so much work on our diving, so to see some of the stops in the ring from Tammy and then from Mady Villiers and Fran Wilson on the boundary was fantastic.

A lot of that is down to Michael Bates, who works with us on our fielding and with me on my wicketkeeping. He sets very high standards from his playing days, and that hasn’t changed now; he has had a massive impact on us as a squad.

His expectations have made everyone up their game. We’re lucky that he’s been around a lot in this build-up; it has been brilliant to have him around. I definitely feel like my keeping has gone up a level since working with him.

In the second game, we weren’t at our best but I think that’s a good place to be – when you don’t play at your best and you still win by a decent margin. Hopefully, it’s all building up to the big one on Saturday, with the game both on Sky Sports and the BBC.

It’s funny; it hasn’t really been a talking point just yet around the squad, but I definitely view Saturday as a huge opportunity. The last England Women’s game on free-to-access television was in the year I was born, so I’ve never watched one.

^{Amy Jones receives a commemorative cap on the occasion of her 50th WT20I}

The cricket I always used to watch was Cricket on Five, the hourlong highlights coverage. I grew up as a kid without Sky Sports – I never had it, which was always a bit annoying, so I don’t know whether that makes this even more special for me. I just think this is great. We can reach a much wider audience; I’m just excited to see what comes from it. Plus it’s on Sky’s YouTube channel so it’s there for literally everyone!

I didn’t really watch much cricket growing up. I used to watch a lot of football, but I reckon I went to see my first women’s match when I was about 15 – it wasn’t really on my radar. I didn’t really watch much cricket before then, either.

My parents would always watch the highlights, so that would be on in the house, but it was never a case of watching and then realising that I wanted to play. Watching came afterwards, which was a bit different.

I was lucky to stumble across cricket. It was only by chance that some of my friends in the football team played, so I went down and trained with them. Although mum and dad watched cricket, none of the family played.

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I’m hoping that’s going to be one of the big things about it being on the BBC; somebody might just put on the television, having never seen any cricket and it will just be there for them to watch. It would be great if they like it, but even if they don’t, at least they’ve had the opportunity to have seen it.

I don’t think it puts any extra pressure on us going into Saturday. There is enough pressure on international cricket as it is – I don’t know if they could add any more! But I think there is definitely an added opportunity for us.

As a squad, we’re in a positive place going into it. The bubble has been pretty good, really. Having two games quite close together, we had a hit in the day in between and then yesterday was a proper day to do nothing.

I just watched television, and Sophie Ecclestone made coffee for about ten of us, so we had a little chat there. It’s been very relaxed; I’ve actually found it very easy to switch off – I think it helps that we’ve had two good games.

Personally, I’m feeling pretty confident and I’m enjoying my role at No.5. It’s a different challenge; it would be pretty cool to chase because it can be a pretty key role in seeing the game through.

I was annoyed in the second game to get out after getting myself in with a few overs still to bat. But on the whole, I’m pretty happy with my start. We’ve spoken about just always taking the positive option. We bat so deep – Anya Shrubsole is coming in at No.11. It goes to show how strong our order is; when you’ve got that, you have to bat with freedom and keep going.

^{Katherine Brunt has enjoyed a fine series so far}

At the same time, we’re wary of Deandra Dottin’s threat. She’s such a dangerous player and we’ve already seen how far she can hit the ball – the six in the first game was huge.

You know that while she’s in, the game is never over, so it is a big relief when we get her out. She’s definitely capable of quick runs, so we have to nail our plans against her. I think the bowlers have bowled really well to her – we’ve definitely contained her and seen her play a slightly different role.

Katherine Brunt’s performances have been a huge part of that at the top of the innings. She never surprises me because I know exactly how she is. She couldn’t cope with not being one of the best bowlers, so I think she just finds a way.

She works so hard and obviously she has played for a number of years now. She’s so experienced and she knows her game and exactly what she’s doing. I’m really pleased that she’s performed straight away. The break was a challenge for everyone, but especially at that end of your career, I’m sure it has posed an even harder challenge. For her to come out and prove her class yet again is great.

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She and Nat Sciver were meant to get married on September 19, but obviously a lot has happened. Heather Knight, Henry Cowen, our media manager, and myself got together and thought we should do something special for the occasion. I think the whole team would have been in Chamonix for the wedding, so it was a very different day and it was important for us to mark it.

They were a bit emotional that day and a bit down. It’s a long way from Chamonix! They were checking the weather forecast and there was a bit of rain there, which cheered them up a bit!

Heather came up with the idea. She had a chat with Stafanie Taylor, who mentioned that they had done a scavenger hunt as a team. We were a bit sneaky and set up a little hunt for them and then a nice wedding cake.

Funnily enough, where we have our dinner every night looks like a wedding venue: there are chandeliers and fairy lights. It’s definitely an events room. When they walked in, we had some veils and we threw some confetti over them and had the cake at the end; it did seem a bit like a wedding. It cheered them up, but it was good for the whole team. Everyone wants to see everyone happy.

Amy Jones was speaking to Nick Friend

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