Interview: Alex Blackwell looks forward to the start of new adventure

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Jamie Ramage
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Interview: Alex Blackwell looks forward to the start of new adventure

Lancashire Thunder team. ©ProSports Images

Alex Blackwell was announced as the new coach of Lancashire Thunder this year and on Sunday marks her first game in charge of a side that has struggled for some consistency. As a player, she was part of one of the most successful international sides in Australia and you can expect her to be just as successful as a coach. We talked to her about the start of her job and role.



 



How excited are you for the Kia Super League to get started?



I was quite surprised how excited I was. The morning of day one here at Emirates Old Trafford, with day one training to commence that afternoon, I was really excited about for quite some time now. Certain ideas had been incubating in my mind. So, just happy that the KSL has arrived. I felt ready and prepared for day one and please we got underway successfully yesterday.



The squad looks fantastic as does our wonderful team of coaching staff.



 



How are you looking forward to working with the players?



I think this team looks like an exceptional squad and well balanced, particularly strong in the spin department. When you look at the calibre of England players in this line-up we are going to have a strong bowling attack.



It was good to see Kate Cross play her first game in two years for England very recently so we have got players in form.



We have got some good young players too who I don’t know much about but from what I have seen already I am quite excited about.



I think we are poised for a wonderful campaign. Two years under our belt, great experiences and development and we are ready to go now, for quite a different campaign. Ten games if different, new goalposts have been set now. A ten game competition and the best teams will reach the semi-final. We need to be at our best and I’m confident that we can make that semi and final.



 



How similar is it to the WBBL?



When I played in the inaugural KSL it was only five games and it was over and done with very quickly. The length of the tournament was about a month and only playing five games. I am pleased that double the games have been put into the tournament.



We want to play more cricket we want double the number of development opportunities for local England players to bridge that gap between domestic and international and this is the tournament to do that. I am feeling really good that it is a substantial tournament now.



 



How important is it for those younger players to bridge that gap?



They get the opportunity to play in one of the world’s best T20 tournaments. When you think of the leading tournaments around the world you have got the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia and you have the Kia Super League.



This is where you want to be as an aspiring T20 cricketer. You may not have necessarily been in the pathway for England representative squads but here is an opportunity to show what you have got. It is very exciting for county players who have put the hard yards into many years and here is an opportunity for them to put their best foot forward and show what they have got.



 



The younger players working with the international players get to see what they have to do themselves.



Having world-class athletes who have represented their country in world cups, and we have got a t20 world cup coming up soon, any aspiring young cricketer will be well placed to see how the likes of Dani Hazell go about their work. The likes of Nicole Bolton have been in and around the game for a long time and have been able to get the best out of their talent. We have got some great role models in our squad for sure.



 



How useful will it be for the likes of Emma Lamb?



It is really important that we look at this six-week campaign as a time to work hard and to try and extend to ourselves in many respects. To put ourselves in discomfort when it comes to training then really go out and enjoy the opportunity to play in from of fans who are becoming increasingly interested in the women’s game and to be playing in one of the world’s best T20 tournaments.



I will be encouraging players like Emma Lamb to trust in the work that they have done over many years and play with a smile on their face and to go out and express themselves and show the whole world who is going to be watching. It realistically is on tv and available through social media to show what they are all about and play the way they would like to play.



 



What type of coach do you think you are going to be?



I am looking to do things simply and very well. I am someone who thinks a lot about the game and have a lot of interesting ideas about the game, but when it comes down to what I deliver for this group I think it is important that it is simple and really clear and delivered well. Keeping it competitive and fun in the environment but also inspire each player to see more in themselves as a cricketer to not limit themselves and for the team to not limit themselves, anything is possible with this group. We have a short history so far, we will be encouraging the players to write that history the way that they want it to be written.



 



Do you think you will get to the first game and wish you were still out there playing?



I am really looking forward to this new challenge ahead of me, I feel I have a lot to offer having accumulated many experiences and a great depth of knowledge of the game over a 15-year international career, 5 world cups 17 domestic titles I have been part of many successful cricket teams. I feel I have a lot to offer with my own knowledge and the stories that I can share.



Learning hopefully in a tournament campaign that is quite short and sharp and you will go through ups and downs and how you negotiate that and stay in the right mind.



I’m not sad about the fact that I’m not out there playing, I’m excited about the new challenge.



 



Lancashire are visiting a few grounds during the Kia Super League, how important is in that players play at as many different grounds?



From a cricketing point of view, I think it is great to play on as many different surfaces as possible. It is lovely to play at home and our games will be across different places. I think it is a good thing for your development to be winning games across different surfaces. More so is our opportunity to see the region we are representing.
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