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Team unity key to success

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Ebony Rainford-Brent Ebony Rainford-Brent | 13:34 UK time, Wednesday, 25 March 2009

To say the past few days have been hectic would be somewhat of an understatement, although there was a moment when we thought we had lost the World Cup trophy on our return to England!

The trophy was packed separately as it is quite heavy but when we returned to Heathrow, it didn't come through the baggage reclaim, so we were all stressing that we had lost the World Cup, quite literally. Luckily it turned up 20 minutes later, cue lots of relieved England faces.

Things have calmed down a bit since we returned home, but I've enjoyed every moment since .

We were all holding our heads in our hands at the end because we had a very nervous last 20 runs. I thought I was going to throw up at one stage - I have never had a feeling like that before in my life - but when Holly Colvin hit the winning runs, a huge sense of relief swept across all and I saw our captain Lottie crying - the tears were streaming down her cheeks - which set me and the rest of girls off.

It was a very emotional moment, you never know what it feels like until it happens. From a personal point of view, I was disappointed about missing out on the final, but I still felt a huge part of the team - it definitely was a family effort, everyone played their part and I think that's the secret of our success, our unity as a team.

We spent a long time at the ground with , taking photos and enjoying a few drinks. I also remember playing cricket on the pitch with a few random members of the crowd and generally being very silly.

Ebony kisses the World Cup

There were plenty of messages of congratulations, including one from . It was really good to know the male cricketers were behind us too.

We returned to our hotel, got dressed up and had some drinks in the piano bar before going out dancing in Sydney until the early hours. However, we couldn't drink too much because we had to be ready at 9.00am for pictures on Monday morning.

I didn't look so great the next morning. Someone - and I still don't know who - had accidentally poked me in the eye when we were jumping and dancing around. I woke up the next morning with a horrible red eye - some of the girls said I looked like the devil. It's still pretty red now and it doesn't help that I wear contact lenses.

We managed to fly back as a team. Isa Guha and Jenny Gunn had been scheduled to return on different dates because they had flown out earlier to play club cricket in Australia, which really upset us because we all wanted to return together.

But our team management sorted out the flight at the last minute - and when I mean last minute, I really do mean last minute. We had all checked in and were set to say our goodbyes, but our manager Megan Smith did a brilliant job and managed to get them both on board.

The first thing I noticed when we arrived at Heathrow Airport was the police escort when we got off the plane. We were fast-tracked through accompanied by policemen - I thought 'what is going on here?'

Someone said there would be cameras present, so what's the first thing we all do? Run straight into the ladies toilets and get busy with our make-up, we're such a girly team.

We went to Lord's for a reception straight from the airport and as we entered the offices, the entire staff had gathered and welcomed us with a round of applause, which was a lovel moment for me. and were present, along with secretary of state , as well as a lot of press, which is something we normally do very little of.

The World Cup victory is a fantastic opportunity to build support, to get people coming to our matches and to make them understand we play decent cricket. The media have their part to play too, more coverage will bring in new kids to the game and those new faces will filter through into the next generation.

I've got the rest of the week off, which I'll spend catching up with friends, along with a mini road-trip to go and see some of the other England girls in their home towns.

Then it's back into training on Monday and I have already written down my goals, the next one being the on home soil in June.

My game is about attacking, so if there's a time to get into the first XI it will be in that tournament on home soil. But for now I'm going to enjoy some time off this week. Thank you to everyone for all your support over the past weeks.

Ebony was talking to 91Èȱ¬ Sport's Pranav Soneji

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    Brilliant job down under. It's great to know that we have at least one team of world beaters.

    Good blog, but even better World Cup! Congratulations.

  • Comment number 2.

    Good job with the win but the who 'Team unity key to success' thing is and always has been utter tripe.

    There is no team unity in a single bowler, a single batsman, a single fielder. There are only individuals in Cricket. Now if by team unity you mean that each individual pulled thei weight then fine but please use the correct terminology.

  • Comment number 3.

    yeh, so many congratulations. watching it was agony, so i can't imagine what it must be like when you're so much more involved.

    as for hackerjack, I disagree. Yeh the batter is on their own, or the bowler has their work cut out on their own, but building big scores is all about forging partnerships, while keeping runs down to a minimum - be it through good bowling and/or good fielding - involves the entire team. They all need to be switched on to take every opportunity, and as everyone who's played to a high standard knows, when the fielders are all together, in your face and dominant, it's hugely intimidating. on top of that, you can go on to say that if a bowler isn't bowling that well, you need the team, and the captain especially, to rally round them.

    therefore, it might not be to the same extent as rugby, nor as obvious as football, but for those who play, both teamwork and teamunity is very important. especially the higher you go!

  • Comment number 4.

    Congratulations we look forward to even more success this season. The team are great role models for aspiring young female cricketers in particular.

    Hackerjack sorry you're wrong cricket is a team game where individuals get to perform their own particular skill and work in unison with others. Where would a bowler be without their fielders, we bat in pairs and no batter should wish another to get out so that they can take their place.

    I'm of the strong opinion that cricket has a unique social element on & off the field.

  • Comment number 5.

    hackerjack (message 2) - firstly, we put the headline on Ebony's blog, she didn't choose it herself. That said, I don't agree with the point you are making. England were united behind the common goal of winning the World Cup and their desire to achieve it, allied to the individual skills of the players, meant they were the best side in the competition. Yes, bowling is an individual art, but aren't they helped by fielders who chase every ball to the boundary and throw themselves around to make catches or diving stops? And don't batsmen sometimes have to sacrifice their wickets for the good of the team?

  • Comment number 6.

    Nice blog and of course well done on winning that trophy.
    Unity in cricket must be incredibly important, perhaps oddly when two are out batting and the rest are huddled together watching and waiting. When the wickets begin to tumble you don't want a divided dressing room do you?
    The final defeat in the Super six may have been unimportant regarding standings but it could have sapped morale, I am sure the unity of the team helped lift them to return to victory in the final.

  • Comment number 7.

    Firstly, congratulations on the World Cup win. Fastastic achievement.

    It will be very interesting to see what team we put out on the 20/20 World Cup in June. As one of the team's most aggressive batters I'm sure you'll have a pretty good chance of getting in (and I hope you have better 20-20 luck than last year when everything that could go wrong did).

  • Comment number 8.

    A pre-tournament blog by Claire Taylor (in a national daily, as far as I remember) made the point that when she first got picked for England, it was quite daunting to step into the England dressing room along with established players, like Clare Connor. - She then went on to emphasise that in the current team, the senior members went out of their way to welcome the likes of Anya Shrubsole and make them feel like full members of a unit. - Seems to have paid off.

    To me, team spirit and the traditional spirit of cricket itself are qualities we lose at our peril.

  • Comment number 9.

    England were united behind the common goal of winning the World Cup and their desire to achieve it.

    -----

    Do you think every other team in any competition does not have that as well?

    Sorry but team unity is one of those catch all phrases that everyone uses that annoys me. It is used to disguise poor individual performances and is meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

    Having a common goal is important, so is working together, I just find it very strange that at the top level of any sport it could even be considered that this is not the norm.

  • Comment number 10.

    hackerjack, I think that FleetJackHobbs expresses it best. There are many types of work environment. The type where people are not asserting themselves just because they've been around longer, where expectations and encouragment for newer members is high - that's where there is more productivity.
    Those at the top contribute to that - you see it when a team changes its manager, or gets rid of certain "dressing-room personalities". The team spirit can change very quickly and results change accordingly. Team unity implies a lack of niggling and a genuine enjoyment of each other's company. Congratulations to all who achieved this fantastic victory.

  • Comment number 11.

    Great job, girls! World Champions, now that sounds great, doesn't it. Surely now you girls are going to be 91Èȱ¬'s Team of the Year?

  • Comment number 12.

    A week and a bit after England's World Cup victory and already the 606 threads have dried up. - I just wanted to post "Good-bye & good luck" to Haidee Tiffen, the Ferns' outgoing captain. Maybe we'll get a clue as to her successor at the end of the week, when NZ announces its 30 member preliminary squad for the Women's World Twenty20 competition in June.

    Bye, Haidee. My advice would be to stick with cricket. In one way or another it will last you a lifetime.

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