Danni Wyatt: England’s opener says she will prioritise her country over franchise deals | Cricket News
On Monday, a video of Ellyse Perry smashing a car window after hitting a six during a Women’s Premier League match went viral.
It was skilful, entertaining and above all showed how much the women’s game has evolved with innovative shots and England’s opener Danni Wyatt had front row seats to this exhibition.
Wyatt was picked up by UP Warriorz in the WPL bid last year – the side led by England head coach Jon Lewis – and although she hasn’t made an appearance on the pitch yet, she is still soaking up the experience.
“The more professional cricketers there are, the more that power is going to go up because people are going to be in the gym, working on their fitness and getting stronger,” Wyatt said speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast.
“When I saw Perry’s shot, I wondered why someone would put a car there.
“When I train, I’ll be doing range hitting and trying to smash sixes. I’m not a big girl myself and it’s all about timing. A lot of people come up to me and they can’t believe how hard I hit the ball considering how little I am.”
Ellyse Perry’s massive six smashed through a car window during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s WPL match against UP Warriorz.
It is also important that the rise of the women’s game, particularly in relation to franchise tournaments, happens sustainably so we don’t encounter the same problems we’re seeing in the men’s game around players being unable to play for their countries due to lucrative franchise deals elsewhere.
“The ECB [English Cricket Board] sat down with us all individually and worked out what was best for us and we’re all in different situations,” Wyatt added.
“For me, this is my first experience of a WPL and I was delighted to get the bid and get picked up. I did think I could come out here and not play a game or just play the odd game.
“But I thought just being here, with the World Cup in Bangladesh coming up, training in these conditions was going to be important.
“There’s going to be more clashes now with so many different franchise tournaments coming up around the world. I’m obviously really looking forward to going out to New Zealand to play for England. I always want to play for England.”
Danni Wyatt featured for England in their IT20 matches against Sri Lanka in September
England captain Heather Knight also reiterated a similar message about prioritising country above club but admitted the T20 franchise league expansion will take women’s cricket into uncharted territory.
Wyatt, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone and Alice Capsey had the go-ahead from England to travel to India for the WPL and will therefore miss the first three of five T20s against the White Ferns this month.
“It was a pretty easy decision for me as England captain, it’s the right thing for me to be there for the whole of the England tour,” Knight said.
“I’d always agreed to play the England games and wanted to, that was a given. I was trying to negotiate with the franchise around leaving a little bit early, but unfortunately that didn’t come to fruition.
“It was just unfortunately a little bit too tight with the flights and stuff and we couldn’t get the tour pushed back. As the game evolves, players have got more decisions to make as those options increase.
“It’s a sign of lots of opportunities in the women’s game but hopefully there’s a place for both franchise and international cricket to co-exist. It’s certainly interesting going forward.”
Despite the England quartet missing the start of England’s tour, both Wyatt and Knight recognise the benefits of playing in sub-continent conditions ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.
England won the three-match T20 women’s cricket series against India in Mumbai in December 2023
“I’ve never won a T20 World Cup so it’s about time that we did it and I think we’re set really well,” Wyatt continued.
“We’ve got a few girls out here and I’ve got a really good feeling about this one. We’ve performed really well in the summer against the Aussies in the Ashes and that’s given us massive confidence going forward. We beat India in India in December so we’ve beaten two quality sides there.
“Obviously, the conditions are going to be slightly different in Bangladesh. I’ve heard the pitches are going to be slow and rag a lot, so everyone’s got their mind on the World Cup and working towards it.”
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