Lydia Greenway's exclusive KOS Media blog - entry three

AFTER a convincing final warm-up match against the West Indies we went into our first official World Cup match with confidence and eagerness. We haven’t played Sri Lanka since 2005 when we beat them, so we were looking to do the same again.

They won the toss and put us in, which we were happy with. We were playing down in Canberra which brought back memories for Jen (Gunn), Isa (Guha) and I as it was where we had our first taste of Australia with the England under-19 team. Unfortunately for me though it was also where I dislocated my finger!

Our openers Squirt (Sarah Taylor) and Shaggy (Caroline Atkins) got us off to a good start. The boundary was short and the outfield was fast, both of which we took full advantage of. The score was 80 off 18 before the first wicket fell; this brought Tails (Claire Taylor) to the crease who joined Shaggy and they kept it ticking along nicely.

Our aim was to reach 300 which was well within our capabilities. Shaggy was bowled just after reaching her 50, which brought Lottie (Charlotte Edwards) to the crease. She and Tails looked at ease and were scoring quickly until Lot was trapped lbw for 27. I came in with 15 overs to go and was eager to keep the score kicking along. I took longer than I would have liked to get off the mark but felt good when I got my eye in. I finished on 32 not out which was good but it should have been off less balls at that stage of the game.

Tails batted brilliantly but was unfortunately out for 101. We made 277-7 and before we headed out to field, Lottie set a challenge of keeping them to less than 100. The Sri Lankan openers got their team off to a solid start and played some good shots, however some of their shots didn’t have much power and it was frustrating when they weren’t going to hand. The Sri Lankans made 177-7 off their 50 overs, which, even though we won we were disappointed with. Too often our fielding was sloppy and we lacked energy in the field.

There was some good bowling from Jen (Gunn) and Boggy (Laura Marsh) but on the whole we know we can do much better and need to be tough on ourselves and keep improving. As for me I am going to look to improve my strike rate in every game to ensure I do all I can to get England into a winning position.

Off the field it was great to see more of the “Barmy Army” arrive, aka our families! They all get on really well and when they are at full strength and full volume can give the real Barmy Army a run for their money!

On Tuesday we have India so training on Monday will be intense and we will again be looking to improve all areas of our game.