by By James Reid
Malaysia’s searing heat couldn’t be more of a contrast to the wintry weather in England, but spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman is loving her time in the sun at the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup.
Corteen-Coleman shone as England beat New Zealand by six wickets to seal their place in the semi-finals for a second consecutive tournament, with the bowler finishing with figures of four for eight in Sarawak.
It was an impressive display from the 17-year-old, who generated plenty of spin to dismiss the last four New Zealand batters, including three in the final over.
And Corteen-Coleman revealed she is enjoying rambling on both her opponents and conditions as England look to go one better than their runners-up placement in 2023.
“I absolutely love it, playing cricket in a country where it’s hot is really nice compared to cold England,” she said. “I really enjoy it here.
“I absolutely love the pitches here, they suit me very well. They offer a lot of spin and bounce, so I really like that.
“It’s a bit unusual because he got into the 100s and during the all-star season we did a lot of scouting but the pre-match information from the teams [at the World Cup] is pretty minimal, so a lot of it is about being adaptable and flexible in the moment.
“It’s really valuable for my development, not being told what to expect in advance is really positive.
“I was absolutely delighted [to take four wickets] to be honest. It was obviously such a great moment for me to help the team advance to the semi-finals.
“It’s nice to get four wickets but it was a team effort, I can’t take credit for that.”
Corteen-Coleman’s work with the ball helped England restrict New Zealand to 89 from their 20 overs, with the Kiwis losing 10 wickets for 40 runs after a strong start from openers Kate Irwin and Emma McLeod
England responded with a brisk start through openers Davina Perrin and Jemima Spence, who scored 21 and 29 respectively and eventually reached the required total in 11.4 overs to seal a crucial victory.
No results against Ireland and Nigeria due to rain meant the New Zealand match was vital to their progress to the last four, and Corteen-Coleman admitted there were fears the weather would burn them at again when rain started falling halfway through the New Zealand round.
But the 17-year-old revealed how her team remained calm amid the uncertainty of returning and completing the job at hand.
She said: “It’s a huge moment for the team, getting this semi-final point sealed. There were some weather issues so it was quite a stressful match, but the team performed very well under pressure with both bat and ball.
“There was a bit of panic [after the rain delay] But we actually composed ourselves pretty well and just prepared ourselves to stay in a good frame of mind and ready to get back out there.
“The group as a collective have been really good at supporting each other, but our captain Abi [Norgrove] And our coaches have been at the forefront of these messages, supporting the girls along the way. »
England will now push for the semi-final, where they will once again look to make it to the showpiece on February 2.
But Corteen-Coleman insisted there was no way his side were thinking about anything other than their semi-final, with preparation the key to success.
“The goal is definitely to advance to the final, but we will take each match as it is,” she added.
“We will now focus on the semi-finals to ensure we can perform our best cricket. We don’t look too far ahead.
“I would like to think there will be a bit more information, but it’s about sticking to what we’ve been doing, playing a positive game in batting, bowling and fielding , then to support our skills.”
