After bouncing back from Ashes disappointment and three successive group stage defeats to reach the World Cup final, spinner Sophie Ecclestone is ready to get her hands, and those of her captain, on the trophy
On March 14, England were on the brink of elimination from the 2022 Women's World Cup and without a win in any format since September 26.
Three successive defeats, against Australia, West Indies and South Africa, had stunned the defending champions while untidy bowling and sloppy fielding plagued their performances.
However, fast forward five matches and they are just one win away from becoming the first back-to-back champions since Australia retained their crown in 1988.
And come Sunday's showdown with Australia at Christchurch's Hagley Oval, spinner Sophie Ecclestone wants to win the trophy for one person in particular - England's captain, Heather Knight.
"It's a great feeling getting through to the World Cup final," Ecclestone said. "When we lost three from three, there were a few tears in the changing toom, everyone was very disappointed.
"[Since then] every game was a knockout game for us. I think we play so much better when we're under pressure and we've gone unbeaten now since that so it's a great feeling.
Heather Knight (centre) leads England off in the semi-final [Sanka Vidanagama/Getty Images]
"To come back the way we have, Heather is very proud of this group and what we've achieved, so hopefully, we can go out there on Sunday and do it for Heather really. Hopefully, we can put on a show."
Knight has, of course, already lifted a World Cup as captain, skippering England to glory on home soil in 2017. For Ecclestone, however, who missed that tournament to sit her A-Levels, victory on Sunday would represent her first major crown – and she doesn't even attempt to hide how eager she is to get her hands on the trophy.
"It's absolutely massive for me, personally," she said. "I've not won a major trophy yet since I started playing for England and I'd really love to win that sooner rather than later."
Ecclestone has played a central role in England's miraculous run to the final, picking up a tournament-leading 20 wickets at 12.85 – Shabnim Ismail, in second place, has 14.
"I've not won a major trophy yet since I started playing for England and I'd really love to win that sooner rather than later"
And she's saved her best performances for the big occasions, recovering from figures of 0 for 77 against Australia to take nine wickets across England's crucial group matches against New Zealand, Pakistan and Bangladesh before producing career-best figures of 6 for 36 in the semi-final against South Africa.
It was a performance Danni Wyatt, who scored a first innings century to set up England’s 137-run victory, described as "unplayable" and Ecclestone admits she is feeling "great" heading into the final.
"I didn't have a great day out against the Aussies. To come back the way I did, I'm really proud of myself and the team's fightback," she said.
"I think I came in [to the England side] as a T20 player and it took me a while to be more patient when I bowl. It's taken a lot of hard work and to get that first five-for and be bowling as well as I am at the minute feels great. I've got a lot of rhythm, so it's a great feeling."
Australia dominated England in the recent Women's Ashes [Mike Owen/Getty Images]
But despite her own good form and England's five-match winning streak, capturing the trophy will be no easy feat.
England haven't defeated Australia in any format since July 2019 and are on a run of seven straight ODI defeats against Meg Lanning's side stretching back to October 2017.
In the recent Women's Ashes series, Australia never looked in any real danger of losing, winning the three ODIs by 27 runs, five wickets, and eight wickets, respectively, and followed it up with a 12-run win in Hamilton earlier in the tournament.
In fact, since England lifted the trophy in 2017, Australia have lost just twice in 41 ODIs.
However, it's that record and England's status as underdogs which is fuelling Ecclestone.
"It would be the perfect end to our season," said Ecclestone. "Beating the Aussies in a final, I can't really put that into words after the Ashes we had, but I really believe in this group. On our day, we can beat the Aussies and I think we've got a great chance to."
Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.