Sarah Glenn: England spinner says Lord’s finale for T20I series against New Zealand will be ‘special’ and a ‘privilege’ | Cricket News

England leg-spinner Sarah Glenn is eyeing a grandstand finish to the T20 series against New Zealand and a maiden five-wicket haul in Wednesday’s final game at Lord’s.

‘The Home of Cricket’ plays host to the series finale – live on Sky Sports Cricket from 5.30pm (first ball 6pm) – with a bumper crowd of over 20,000 expected to be in attendance to see if England can go the summer unbeaten.

One rained off ODI against Pakistan in May is the only game they have not won, with the team now hoping to follow up a 3-0 ODI series win over New Zealand with a 5-0 whitewash in the T20Is.

Glenn, who took 4-19 in the most recent win at The Oval on Saturday, also has a personal milestone in mind.

“You can’t help but be excited by Lords,” she told Sky Sports. “It’s such a special place to play and it would be really a great opportunity to play in front of a crowd like that.

“We’re so glad to have all the support because it’s always special to have people keep backing us.

“It reminds us of why we play. A lot of the time we grew up playing barely in front of anyone. You turn up and you see a crowd there with this big smile on their face, for me, it instantly calms me and I’m like ‘okay, this is why I’m doing it – I’m here to entertain these guys’.”

On the possibility of finishing the series with a maiden five-wicket haul, Glenn added: “That would be the cherry on top of the cake, to be honest.

“Lord’s is special for me, because I went there to watch the 2017 World Cup final when England won. I was in the crowd and I remember thinking I really want to be with those girls and celebrate with those girls.

“I know Wednesday is not a World Cup final but still very privileged to play there.”

While Wednesday is not a World Cup game, there is one just around the corner, with the Women’s T20 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh in October.

England’s dominance over New Zealand through the first four T20Is of the series has served as the perfect preparation for the tournament… one where Glenn and their exciting crop of spinners are set to have a major impact.

England fielded four spinners in the series-opening win in Southampton – Glenn, Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean and Linsey Smith – and they have pretty much all left their mark on proceedings.

Off-spinner Dean claimed her 100th T20I wicket in that opening match, while left-arm spinner Ecclestone – the world’s No 1 bowler in ODI and T20 cricket – took four-for in the third T20I in Canterbury on her way to becoming the fastest in the format to take 125 wickets.

As for Glenn, who is only behind Ecclestone as the world’s second-ranked bowler in T20Is, she pitched in with a four-for of her own in the latest seven-wicket thumping of New Zealand at The Oval.

“We all offer something different,” Glenn said. “But I think we also have the same goal in terms of just hitting the stumps as much as we can… and that’s really effective in T20 cricket, especially when batters are coming after you, if you keep the stumps in play.

“Looking ahead to the World Cup, in Bangladesh, it’s worth considering all options.

“Some of us might get more turn on the ball, some of us have a bit more pace and things like that, so we talk about how each of us can be at our best for each opposition we play depending on the pitch and things like that.

“It’s only exciting for us as a group to just see where we can take our cricket, doing it with a smile on our face and really enjoying it.”

What’s next?

The fifth and final T20 international between England and New Zealand takes place at Lord’s on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 5.30pm (first ball 6pm) as England look to clinch a 5-0 whitewash in the series.

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