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Anya reflects on an incredible ICC Women's World Cup

26 July 2017

We caught up with England and Western Storm bowler Anya Shrubsole who reflected on an incredible ending to the 2017 ICC Women's World Cup.

“Wow… Just wow!

“What a day to be a part of! What an amazing tournament to be a part of and we are now World Champions!

“In front of a sell-out crowd at Lord’s, who made an unbelievable amount of noise, we fought back to beat India in game we had no right to win… but more on that later.

“The semi-final against South Africa turned out to be a classic encounter. South Africa put 218 runs on the board, which we felt was 30-40 runs short of par. Having lost a couple of early wickets, we looked in complete control with Heather and Sarah at the crease. But a run out sparked a bit of a collapse and meant the chase was going to come down to the wire. A partnership between Jenny Gunn and Fran Wilson under the most extreme pressure put us on the brink of victory. The winning runs were left for me to hit and steal a little bit of glory from all the hard work that had gone before me! It wasn’t the prettiest of wins but in tournament cricket it’s all about getting over the line.

“So onto a final at Lord’s.

“It was a day we had dreamed we might be involved in and that dream became a reality. The final turned out to be arguably the best game of the World Cup. Heather got us off to a great start by winning the toss and electing to bat. Again, it wasn’t the prettiest of innings and some late order grit from Katherine, Jenny and Laura and a crucial 50 from Nat Sciver gave us something to bowl at.

[caption id="attachment_19289" align="alignnone" width="600"] LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 23: Anya Shrubsole celebrates with team-mates Sarah Taylor and Heather Knight after taking the final India wicket of Rajeshwari Gayakwad to win the ICC Women's World Cup 2017 Final (Photo by Getty Images)[/caption]

“India looked set to chase down that total when they needed 38 to win with 7 wickets in hand but then everything changed. We took the remaining 7 wickets for 28 runs to spark some wild celebrations. One of the amazing things about this team is that we never give up and we always think we can win from any position. The crowd stuck with us all the way through and the noise when that final wicket was taken is something that I will never forget. All that was left was for the whole squad and support staff to belt out the song louder than it had ever been sung before. We dreamt about wanting to sing our song at Lord’s and that dream had become a reality.

“I was very fortunate to play a large part in the victory at Lord’s but the tournament has really been a team effort. People have stood up and put in match winning performances all the way through. We haven’t always won the prettiest but we have won and that is all that matters.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those at Somerset who have supported me and the team throughout the World Cup. A special thanks has to go to all of those who played such an important part in my development when I was younger and doubtless helped get me to where I am today.”

To buy tickets for Western Storm v Lancashire Thunder at the Brightside Ground, Bristol on Saturday August 26th please click here.

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