Australian skipper Karen Rolton dismissed speculation she will retire at the end of this tournament and said that leading her side to victory at the ICC Women’s World Cup would be the highlight of her career.
The talented left-handed batter, who was named the ICC Women’s Player of the Year in 2006, said that she wanted to keep playing for as long as possible for Australia, even if her side wins this event.
“It was 2006 when I was first named captain and that was a great honour, especially as I got to do it on the Adelaide Oval, which is my home town,” said Rolton.
“To top it off there would be nothing better than leading the team and winning the World Cup on home soil.”
Rolton revealed that she believes the tournament will be a three-way contest between Australia, New Zealand and England, with home advantage also helping the Southern Stars.
“We have just had a tough series against New Zealand, so they are going to be up there, and so is England,” said Rolton.
“Our team is pretty confident as we know most of the grounds which will hopefully give us a tiny advantage.”
Rolton admitted that she had pleased by the 25-run victory over England in a warm-up game on Monday and that the match had provided a good learning opportunity for her team.
“They have a couple of different players and I guess it is the same for us, as we have three or four different ones as well, so we probably learnt a little bit and we will hopefully learn a bit more seeing their games on tv in the next couple of weeks before we play them in the last game hopefully before the final,” she said.
When asked about star all-rounder Ellyse Perry’s future in the sport, Rolton said that she hoped that the 18-year-old star would continue to be able to combine both her cricket and soccer careers, but added she wouldn’t be putting any pressure on her if Perry was forced to make a choice.
“She is going to be a stand-out for us at this World Cup and she still is only 18 still. When she first made the Australian team, she hadn’t even represented New South Wales at a senior level,” said Rolton.
“I would love to see her continue playing for Australia at cricket.
“I don’t want to put any pressure on her even though I would love for her to keep playing.”
The talented left-handed batter, who was named the ICC Women’s Player of the Year in 2006, said that she wanted to keep playing for as long as possible for Australia, even if her side wins this event.
“It was 2006 when I was first named captain and that was a great honour, especially as I got to do it on the Adelaide Oval, which is my home town,” said Rolton.
“To top it off there would be nothing better than leading the team and winning the World Cup on home soil.”
Rolton revealed that she believes the tournament will be a three-way contest between Australia, New Zealand and England, with home advantage also helping the Southern Stars.
“We have just had a tough series against New Zealand, so they are going to be up there, and so is England,” said Rolton.
“Our team is pretty confident as we know most of the grounds which will hopefully give us a tiny advantage.”
Rolton admitted that she had pleased by the 25-run victory over England in a warm-up game on Monday and that the match had provided a good learning opportunity for her team.
“They have a couple of different players and I guess it is the same for us, as we have three or four different ones as well, so we probably learnt a little bit and we will hopefully learn a bit more seeing their games on tv in the next couple of weeks before we play them in the last game hopefully before the final,” she said.
When asked about star all-rounder Ellyse Perry’s future in the sport, Rolton said that she hoped that the 18-year-old star would continue to be able to combine both her cricket and soccer careers, but added she wouldn’t be putting any pressure on her if Perry was forced to make a choice.
“She is going to be a stand-out for us at this World Cup and she still is only 18 still. When she first made the Australian team, she hadn’t even represented New South Wales at a senior level,” said Rolton.
“I would love to see her continue playing for Australia at cricket.
“I don’t want to put any pressure on her even though I would love for her to keep playing.”
ICC Women's World Cup 2009 - News Tuesday, March 03, 2009 11:16:08 AM
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