World Cup defence is tougher than winning it, says women's coach (From Lancashire Telegraph)

World Cup defence is tougher than winning it, says women's coach

8:03am Friday 25th January 2013 in Sport

Coach Mark Lane has warned England that retaining the Women’s World Cup this year will be harder than winning it.

England lifted the trophy with a thrilling four-wicket victory over New Zealand in Sydney four years ago.

West Craven’s Arran Brindle is part of the team in India as they attempt to defend their title. Their first match is against Sri Lanka on February 2.

“Defending a title is harder then winning it in the first place,” Lane said. “Once you get to number one, you have to stay ahead of the pack and a lot of that comes down to hard work.

“We are there to be shot at but we are not worrying about what other people think.

“We know what we are going to do and we will be focused on that.”

* England World Cup squad: Tammy Beaumont, Arran Brindle, Katherine Brunt, Holly Colvin, Charlotte Edwards, Georgia Elwiss, Lydia Greenway, Jenny Gunn, Danielle Hazell, Amy Jones, Heather Knight, Laura Marsh, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Taylor, Danielle Wyatt.