Follow UsEngland women might have returned without winning a single game in the the multi-format Ashes last month, but the 2017 ODI World Cup winners are still a formidable unit, believes opening batter Tammy Beaumont.
England will begin their title defence against arch-rivals Australia on March 5 at Hamilton as Beaumont expressed was confident that the 12-4 defeat in the Ashes is already behind them.
"I feel like a lot of people have sort of written us off in a way. I remember we had a lot of people trying to call us favourites last time and you know, we're still the holders of the World Cup, so I think you write us off at your peril really," Beaumont said in a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
Beaumont felt that the challenges posed by the bio-bubble life and COVID will push the teams to their limit.
"Winning a World Cup at any time is a massive achievement but particularly when we've gone through Covid and all the bubbles and restrictions and stuff like that for the last two years, to come out here and hopefully perform really well will be a good testament to the team," she said.
England began their preparations by beating Bangladesh and South Africa in their warm-up games and Beaumont felt that the Ashes defeat will not be a factor in their opening game. She pointed to the example of losing the opening game of the 2017 World Cup to India, whom they defeated in the final to lift the trophy.
"I guess we know their plans. So we're ready to go against them. You've got to play everyone at some point. We played India the first game of the last World Cup and lost, and it didn't necessarily affect us," she said.