Women’s cricket at crossroads – Westbury
Middlesex women’s cricket captain Izzy Westbury believes the domestic game in England is “at a crossroads” as she prepares to lead her side into a new season for the first time.
Hammersmith-born Westbury, 25, succeeds club legend Beth Morgan as skipper ahead of the opening Royal London One-Day Cup match with Berkshire at Edmonton CC on Sunday.
The all-rounder says she is excited for the season ahead but feels the county game should capitalise on the success of the England team.
She told West London Sport: “I strongly believe that this season the league as a whole is probably the strongest it’s ever been. But I feel as though we’re at a crossroads this year.
“We’re starting to clock that we haven’t focused enough on the domestic game, like other countries such as Australia have done.
“I’d like to see the domestic players have contracts so we’re getting paid enough to justify the travel, time and effort spent training and playing.
“It’s still a huge financial burden on a number of players. If you’re not in the 18 in that England set-up then it’s a massive ask.”
Middlesex are the only side in the nine-strong top division who do not have a centrally-contracted England player.
However, Westbury is not fazed and is looking for a big improvement on their sixth place last season.
She said: “I’d be disappointed if we weren’t in the top three.
“We’ve always been viewed a little bit as the underdogs – last season we were pretty much written off before we’d even started.
“We haven’t got the superstars that the other teams rely on but we’ve got very good strength in depth.”
Westbury also paid tribute to outgoing captain Morgan – niece of former England spinner Eddie Hemmings – who will coach the team from this season.
She said: “Taking over from someone like Beth is daunting. She was my rolemodel growing up, both as a player and a person.
“I feel as though we’ve prepared this winter, we’ve got everything ready to go and now it’s all about the execution. I can’t wait to get the season started.”
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