Lauren Winfield-Hill keen to regain top order spot in England ODI side

Winfield-Hill made the role of opener her own alongside Tammy Beaumont as Heather Knight’s team won the World Cup on home soil in 2017

Lauren Winfield-Hill is done with being England’s utility player and wants her opening spot back for their World Cup defence in 2022.

Winfield-Hill made the role of opener her own alongside Tammy Beaumont as Heather Knight’s team won the World Cup on home soil in 2017.

But the 30-year-old’s form in the 50-over format has waxed and waned since then and the likes of Danni Wyatt and Amy Jones have supplanted her in the side.

Winfield-Hill, who also found herself shunted down the order at this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia, pinned her colours to the mast ahead of the showpiece in New Zealand.

“I think it’s a big couple of years ahead for me,” said the Yorkshire native, speaking at the launch of the £1million #Funds4Runs investment fund from ECB and LV= General Insurance which will support areas of recreational cricket most impacted by Covid-19.

“I've been in and out of the side, up and down the order in various roles, but now I've framed my mind on wanting to open the batting and giving that a red-hot crack.

“It's a shame the World Cup has been pushed back a year, but it's another year to make my mark back at the top of the order, prepare and get closer to my goal.

“I'm such a team-orientated person that I've plugged lots of different roles for the team, and within that I've kind of lost my best fit and how I play the game

“A lot of it is setting your stall out and saying: 'This is what I want to do, this is my real goal.' You can be quite frightened to say that in case it doesn’t quite work out.

“But for me it's about putting myself in those situations where I open the batting, starting with consistency in domestic cricket, and putting runs on the board.”

^{Winfield has found herself shifted around England's batting line-up in recent times}

Women’s and girls’ cricket groups will be a specific target of the new ECB initiative, set up to help the sport rebuild and recover from the impact of Covid-19.

The 2017 World Cup was a catalyst for female participation and captured the imagination of so many of the 2.5million male and female recreational players up and down the country.

It was the first standalone version of the tournament and the first edition to be fully televised, with England’s dramatic final win over India was watched by an enormous TV audience.

Winfield-Hill took centre stage on a defining day of women’s sport and hopes that the #Funds4Runs initiative can help ensure the momentum of that summer doesn’t fizzle out further. 

“The more young girls have the opportunity to play the game we love, the better as the opportunities you get at a young age set the path for your future,” she said.

“There are so many more women and girls’ clubs accessible to young girls than when I was their age, which is great to see.

“You saw great momentum from the 2017 World Cup victory and COVID-19 would be an easy time for that to come to a halt.

“Sport has taken a huge hit, so the timing of the million-pound investment in cricket will make sure momentum stays in the game and we keep building to bigger and better things.

“For me personally, I want to get back to the top of the order and defend the trophy we won in 2017. I want to get back there and feel those emotions we did again at Lord's.”

#Funds4Runs is a £1million investment pot jointly funded by ECB and LV= General Insurance which will help support grassroots cricket communities most impacted by COVID-19. Register your interest to apply here

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