Captain Kirstie Gordon is in high spirits ahead of The Blaze’s Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy run in, with the team reconvening top of the table following The Hundred.
A squad of 14 has been named for the fixture to face Central Sparks at Edgbaston, including Nat Sciver-Brunt and Tammy Beaumont who will join England's ODI squad after the fixture.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back into it with The Blaze,” Gordon said.
“Nearly all of us played in The Hundred and, regardless of where we all were, we had a really good competition, so that’s really pleasing and I’m looking forward to us all getting back together.”
After their short stint apart, Gordon insists that gelling back as a team has been a seamless process.
“It’s been really good. I think one of the things about changing between these competitions is that you get quite used to different teams and different formats, so it’s actually been quite refreshing.
“Because people have been in different environments, whether that’s been The Hundred or being back at base camp, everyone coming back together has given it an exciting, fresh feel to training.
“We’re in a really good position to pick back up, but still absolutely nothing can be taken for granted. We’ve got to make sure we perform over these next few games to ensure we’re in a finals week and hopefully right through to that final game.”
When asked what’s been key to getting the team back up to speed for their final few games, Gordon stressed changing format and identifying roles need to be fulfilled to guarantee victory for the team.
“I think we have to focus on that change of format from The Hundred back to the 50-over game, and making sure we’re thinking about the small adjustments in skillsets that are crucial for the longer cricket format,” she said.
“Over the last few days we’ve also honed in on the clarity of the roles everyone has to ensure we’re a strong team.
Naturally in a tournament like The Hundred people will have had slightly different roles to what they have had for The Blaze, so it’s just been refocusing on our goals, and reassuming the different skillsets required to win games of cricket.”
The Blaze will miss the likes of Beaumont, Glenn and Sciver-Brunt along with the Bryce sisters to international duty over September, but Gordon is unphased by the loss of key performers.
“The honest answer is we haven’t really thought too much about it yet,” she admitted, “But overall, I think it poses a really good challenge for us.
“Obviously, it’s not perfect circumstances but I actually think it’s a great opportunity for some of the girls who have maybe spent the season running the drinks or have not fulfilled their ideal role.
“This will be a great opportunity for them to be moved up the order and really make a difference for the team. They have opportunity to show they deserve to be pushing for their ideal place on the starting line up and really make a difference when it counts.”
“We’ve just got to take each one as they come, live in the moment, and make sure that we get ourselves into a position to be fighting for a trophy.”