England open title defence against Sri Lanka in Women's World Cup

MUMBAI: If their feisty and amplified session at the nets on Thursday is anything to go by, the English women will be keeping any hint of pressure at bay when they begin their World Cup title defence against Sri Lanka, at the Brabourne Stadium on Friday.
While the Charlotte Edwards-led side has an all-win record against the Lankans, beating them in seven of the eight games they have played with one tie being washed out, the skipper refused to sound cocky about what should be a cakewalk for the three-time champions.
"There are eight teams capable of winning the World Cup, so we aren't taking anything lightly. Sri Lanka even beat South Africa in a warmup tie and we aren't expecting anything easy," said Edwards, who would be making her fifth consecutive World Cup appearance.
Edwards admitted that they knew little about their opponents. "We last played the Lankans in 2010 and we don't really know much about them. In fact, we're going to be playing in conditions that they are more familiar with but the girls are ready to go."
Lanka, who finished at the basement in the 2009 edition, would have preferred being handed a relatively less challenging opener but skipper Shashikala Siriwardene felt the game would hand them the perfect chance to start turning things around for women's cricket in the island country. "England may be stronger but we have the advantage of playing in conditions we are familiar with. We are here to win the Cup," she asserted.
England have as many as eight players from the 2009 World Cup-winning team that include ICC Women's Twenty 20 Player of the Year, Sarah Taylor, who will spearhead the English batting line-up.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, would bank on the experience of former skipper and all-rounder Chamani Seneviratna to anchor what they hope will be a tournament that lays to rest the disappointment of 2009.