We want to settle as a team ahead of ICC Women's World Cup 2017' says, Mithali Raj

3 February, Delhi (CRICKETNMORE):  The ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2017 is obviously a very important tournament because it will help teams to earn a place in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 as well as the ICC Women’s Championship.

As for us, it is a time to prepare for bigger matches since it comes in the run up to the ICC Women’s World Cup. Though the conditions in Sri Lanka will be much different to England and Wales, which will host the mega event, we will still be taking the opportunity to put things in place.

We are preparing for the slower wickets in Sri Lanka, which are likely to assist spinners. We will probably have to look for totals of about 200 in Colombo, and if we can consistently do that, we should be happy. If we get scores in that range, we can hope to score 225 to 240 in England during the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, where the seamers are likely to be more in action.

Nowadays, you need to get scores in that vicinity to win matches. Pitches are generally easier to bat on and the matches have become more high-scoring than in the past. Pitches in Australia and England produce a lot of runs as do some pitches in India. It’s good to get some 500 runs in a match and I suppose that is interesting for viewers and spectators too.

Our objective is to try out a few combinations and settle down. We want to get into the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 as a settled batting unit because then we will have the confidence to win matches.
As for our spinners, they have done well against the West Indies on the slower pitches during a recent home series, so they will be playing a major role in Colombo. I feel they will have to play a role in the United Kingdom as well, even if the pitches are not helping turn, provided we work on tactical plans.

We have played all the Asian countries and the surprise probably can come from Zimbabwe, so we have to be cautious and ensure we are not upset. We have also not played Ireland in recent times and will not be experimenting against these teams.

As for South Africa, they have done well in Australia and Bangladesh and we have lost a one-day series to them at home. They are the ones likely to give us competition and we have to be prepared for that.

The format in the Colombo tournament is good because it gives enough matches to all the teams. The good thing about the Super Six league is that teams not only have an incentive to gain ODI status but also get to play more matches and against better teams.

We have been preparing well for the tournament. Our focus is now to make a smooth transition to the 50-over format because we are just coming out of a domestic Twenty20 tournament. We have had a 10-day camp and since it is imperative that we play some practice games, we have also played some matches amongst ourselves as well as against some boys’ teams.

One prominent player missing for us is batter Smriti Mandhana due to an injury she sustained while playing for Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League. However, I see this as an opportunity for others. Mona Mishra, who has replaced Smriti in the squad, is a fine player as well so we are not short on anything.

Women’s cricket has grown in standard over the years and there has been a huge improvement to what it was in 2013. There has been enormous change not only in the standard of the game but also in the way players are perceived. Women cricketers are being contracted professionally and more matches are being televised.

One reason for the standards going up is the opportunities that the ICC Women’s Championship has provided to players. In its last edition, eight top teams got to play three ODIs against each other.

While earlier teams like England, Australia and New Zealand were the only ones playing regularly, now we have others like South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka also getting exposure.

Women’s cricket still has a long way to go if it has to stand on its own, but I feel that is bound to happen in the years to come.