The second T20I of the three-T20I series between England and India will be taking place while players will be going under the hammer in the Women's Premier League (WPL) auction on December 9. England wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones in the pre-match press conference said that it was a similar situation during the T20 World Cup as well and it won’t bother her teammates while they battle it out against Harmanpreet Kaur-led side at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
"We had a very similar situation in the (T20) World Cup which was just completely new for us as a group, obviously (the) first auction ever in women’s cricket,” Jones recalled the inaugural season’s auction.
England were taking on Ireland on February 13 during the auction when plenty of English players were roped in by the franchises while players like Danielle Wyatt surprisingly remained unpicked.
“I do not know if it was a challenge last year -- it was something new to consider as a group -- this year it will be lot simpler having done it before.
"Our attention will be on the game as much as possible,” she said.
Heather Knight-led England started the series with a convincing 38-run win in the first T20I. The wicketkeeper said that England will look to take an unassailable lead in the three-match series.
“(A) bit of learning from last year, obviously. A completely new experience for everyone and we did sit down as a group to try and address issues that might come off it,” Jones said.
“It was always going to be probably going to be a distraction last year but hoping (that) this year will be a bit more relaxed.”
The England side will not be bothered if the pitch provides more assistance to spinners with their tweakers in form.
“(Sarah) Glenn and Soph (Sophie Ecclestone) bowled really well. They like to keep it quite simple, attack the stumps as much as possible,” the 30-year-old said.
“If the wicket gives them some turn, (it is) bonus but if not, they are really good at keeping it tight for us anyway. If the wickets start to turn it will be even better for those two.”
England have dominated India in bilateral T20Is with 21 wins from 28 games. She said that the first win calmed the nerves.
“A huge amount of confidence (from the win). Any series, especially away from home, is always the unknown. As individual players you want to start the series well and obviously as a team you want to start with a win. (To) get the first win is obviously almost like bit of a relief,” she concluded.
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