Kent and England youngster looking forward to Ashes test

England women, including Kent trio Charlotte Edwards (captain), Lydia Greenway and Susie Rowe, got their tour of Australia underway in style with a convincing 178 run victory in a 50-over warm up match against Western Australia women, in Perth, earlier today.

For Susie Rowe (pictured), it is a first trip to Australia as an England cricketer and we caught up with her shortly before the long flight ‘down under“.

Susie, thanks for talking to the Kent Cricket Website. Are you looking forward to going to Australia?
Yes, absolutely. I can’t wait to escape from my day job of teaching and get out there. The Australia Ashes tour is the pinnacle of any player“s career and I can“t believe I am going to experience it so early on in mine!

Have you been before?
Yes, I visited Sydney for five weeks during the winter of 2008/2009 to stay with friends and family and I also played a few games for a club side there called Gordon. The whole experience was wonderful and the highlight was definitely seeing in the New Year and watching the fireworks!

Tell us a little bit about yourself. What kind of player are you?
I am a right-handed batter and I use my pace and fitness to quickly accumulate runs between the wickets, but I also have the ability to hit the ball hard and score boundaries. I really enjoy fielding too and there“s nothing better than making a diving stop in the ring to save a boundary.

Who have you modelled yourself on?
I wouldn“t say I have modelled myself on anyone technique-wise. However I admire Kevin Pietersen for his creativity with the bat, and Andrew Flintoff for the passion, energy and competitive spirit he showed for the game. He always wore his heart on his sleeve and was a real match-winner.

What do you do away from cricket?
I love spending time with my family; especially my niece and nephew and I have another niece on the way. My other passion, apart from cricket, is hockey. I play for Canterbury Ladies and we are currently top of the National Hockey League and hope to maintain that top spot and qualify for the European Cup. Job-wise I am currently finishing my full-time PE teaching post at Elm Court Special Needs School in Lambeth. I am lucky enough to have been offered a spot on the MCC Young Cricketers Scheme for the summer ahead, which will allow me to focus on my cricket and give myself the best possible chance of continuing to play for England. I will begin in April and am really excited about it as I will have access to the superb facilities at Lord’s, receive top quality coaching as well as getting the chance to represent the prestigious MCC Young Cricketers in matches against various opposition.

In your opinion, what is the standard of women“s cricket?
The standard of women“s cricket is surprisingly higher than people, who only follow the men“s game, might think. We can hit the ball hard, bowl the ball quickly, and we throw ourselves around in the field. Women“s cricket is constantly improving, thanks to increasing support from the ECB and from Counties, meaning there are increasing opportunities to succeed in the sport. The ECB have a great structure to nurture emerging talent which consists mainly of county age group sides, the Junior Super 4“s and the England Academy, and this is the pathway I took. At a more senior level, the domestic county setup provides regular competition during the season. I am very fortunate to play for Kent, which is historically one of the best women“s counties and we have won the National Championship numerous times in the six years I have been playing senior county cricket.

What goals have you set yourself for your trip?
I am relatively new to the side but I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to play in all three of the Twenty20 matches during my first and our most recent tour to Sri Lanka. I would love to play in the Twenty20 matches out in Australia and obviously love to make my ODI debut. However we have a much stronger squad going to Australia and the seriousness of the tour may mean I don“t get as much of an opportunity. At the moment I am still learning an incredible amount just by being part of the squad. I plan to learn as much as I can out in Australia and make the most of any opportunity I get to play.

Finally, have England got a good chance of beating the Aussies
We have been training extremely hard recently, with the obvious aim of bringing the Ashes home. England Women beat Australia on their home soil in the World Cup but we still strive to beat them in a series. Australia are always tough opposition for us and we know it will be a hard-fought series but we relish the challenge.

The schedule for England is as follows.
England Women v Australia Women, match schedule

One Day International Series
Wednesday, 5 January, 1st ODI WACA, Perth, 10.00am
Friday, 7 January, 2nd ODI, WACA, Perth, 2.30pm
Sunday, 9 January, 3rd ODI, WACA, Perth, 10.00am

Twenty20 Series
Wednesday, 12 January, 1st T20 Adelaide Oval*, 2.00pm
Friday 14 January, 2nd T20 Melbourne MCG* 2.35pm
Sunday, 16 January, 3rd T20, Manuka Oval, Canberra, 12.05pm
Monday, 17 January, 4th T20, Manuka Oval, Canberra, 3.05pm
Tuesday, 18 January, 5th T20, Manuka Oval, Canberra, 3.05pm

Ashes Test
Saturday 22-Tuesday 25, January, Bankstown Oval, Sydney, 10.30am

*These matches will be played directly before England v Australia (men) 1st and 2nd International Twenty20 matches.