Georgia Elwiss believes Sussex can go one further this season and win the County Championship

Georgia Elwiss is excited about the prospect of the coming season and what it might hold for Sussex.

The 20 year old seamer has just returned back from England duty in New Zealand and believes Sussex have a strong case in this year’s County Championship and could go one better than last season.

Elwiss said: “The squad has trained really well and the girls have been working very hard over the winter. We finished the season really well last year and the girls have taken this momentum into training.

“We have some got a number of great youngsters coming through; the likes of Izzie Noakes, Sophie Parnell and Georgia Adams will be looking to cement their places in the squad this year.”

Last year Sussex finished second 1.64 points behind Kent last year in the County Championship Division One, and were runners up behind the same team in the twent20 competition and Elwiss believes the pressure is on Kent once again.

The England international continued: “It was disappointing to finish second last year and Kent will be favourites again for the County Championship; they have an incredibly strong side, but be sure we will fight them all the way.

“The twenty20 is a different matter, it’s a lot more of an open competition, so I can’t pick a favourite, both leagues will be very closely contested this year.”

The players that Elwiss is referring to are her England teammates, Charlotte Edwards, Laura Marsh, Lydia Greenway and Tammy Beaumont, but Sussex can fight fire with fire. They had three players on the tour to New Zealand while Holly Colvin was unable to go because of university commitments.

Elwiss explained: “Sarah (Taylor) and Arran (Brindle) had fantastic tours. We also have Holy Colvin who was unable to tour and Caroline Atkins who is captaining the England academy side to South Africa later this month.”

Even with the strong squads around them the England seamer is only focused on Sussex.

She said: “We try to focus on ourselves over the winter. There had been some talk about some overseas players signing for other counties but I’m not too bothered about that.”

In the first two matches of the season, Sussex play two of the promoted sides Essex and Surrey but Elwiss is adamant they have to get off to a good start and can’t be complacent.

“Surrey and Essex are both very good teams. We have come up against Essex in the Twenty20 recently so we know a little about them. Surrey and Somerset have payers we have played against for years,” the 20 year old said.

“It doesn’t matter what order we play the games in, we have to win every one, we have to hit the ground running.

“The new division means we play each other only once, which means the cricket on the day is crucial. I think it will play into our hands and hopefully we can stamp our authority on the division from the first game.”

The county championship has been restructured this year. The division five section has been scrapped meaning the top three divisions have increased from six to nine teams and Elwiss believes it will be “a very exciting league.”

Elwiss is confident coming back from New Zealand after remaining unbeaten with England winning the tour 7-0.

“Our tour to New Zealand was amazing. We set ourselves the challenge of winning all eight games and only the rain prevented us from doing that,” she stated.

“Obviously you want to play every game you can for England but that’s part and parcel of being a world class side. There is huge competition for places and you have to fight to get your place.”

After international duty Elwiss has one message to the rest of division one: “Sussex are looking strong.”

Georgia Elwiss keeping an eye on her friends and ex teammates at Staffs

Former Staffordshire seam bowler Georgia Elwiss admits her old teammates will have a tough season ahead of them but she wouldn’t count them out.

Staffordshire women were promoted into division two last season and will now be playing the likes of Lancashire, Warwickshire and Durham this year and Elwiss doesn’t underestimate the task ahead of them.

The England international said: “Division two will be a great challenge.  They will be playing against some very strong sides.

“They have been training really well over the winter and have recruited Elyse Vaillani from Australia who is a great signing. She is a very destructive player.”

Vaillani who will be Staffordshire’s overseas professional this season has represented Australia in the twenty20 format six times at the age of 22 and already knows one of her teammates this summer. The opening batswoman plays for Victoria down under, the same team that Danni Wyatt played for this winter.

Elwiss states that she will be keeping a keen eye on her friends and old teammates, while she plays for Sussex in division one.

She added: “I do of course always love to see how they are doing. Staffordshire cricket will always be close to my heart, the coaches there helped me to get to where I am today.

“The girls have a fantastic spirit and I do hope they have a very good season and wish them all the success playing in division two.

“If they play well who knows what they can do.”

Elwiss was part of the England side that has just completed a victorious tour of New Zealand, where they whitewashed the White Ferns.

She said: “Obviously you want to play every game you can for England but that is part and parcel of being a world class side. There is huge competition for places and you have to fight to get your place in the side.

“The tour was amazing. We set ourselves the challenge of winning all eight games and only the rain prevented us from doing that.

“We are very happy with how it went.”

While keeping an eye on Staffordshire, Elwiss will be hoping to go one better than last year and win the division one title with Sussex.

Redfern believes Danni Wyatt and Georgia Elwiss have long England careers ahead of them

Former England and Staffordshire all rounder Sue Redfern believes Danni Wyatt and Georgia Elwiss have long international careers ahead of them.

Wyatt and Elwiss were named in the England squad back in November for the upcoming tour of New Zealand which commences in February.

Redfern who played six Test matches and 15 ODIs between 1995 and 1999 says the 20 year olds both still have a lot of developing to do but have a promising career still come.

She said: “Both are young, and injury dependant, have long careers in cricket. They shouldn’t be resting on their current performances, they should be looking to enhance and develop their own performance.

“Both are great profiles and role models and we should be using this as a way to promote to the game to inspire the next generation of cricketers.”

Redfern played with both Wyatt and Elwiss at Staffordshire and Meir Heath cricket club and she could see the potential talent in them both.

She continued: “You could tell they had talent but young talent. It was important they nurtured that talent and progressed and didn’t just stay good players.

“Interestingly both developed at different ages, showing that each player has to be treated differently.

“Showing potential and progressing to the next stage has many caveats and challenges, both players still need to develop not just on the pitch but off the pitch and their behaviours.

“At the moment they are the best in England, but to play for England in the future they have to be the best players in the world.”

Both players will be looking to make their mark on the team and cement their places in the squad ahead of a busy 15 months, which starts in Sri Lanka with the Twenty20 world cup in 2012.

Published at http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=8d7b7103571021b70cdab70cf&id=c86071c423 under bright careers for Staffordshire girls. Just scroll down to the Women’s and girls section and you will find it.

England’s seam bowler Georgia Elwiss on the tour of New Zealand

England pace bowler Georgia Elwiss has no fears about leaving Katherine Brunt at home, for their tour of New Zealand.

Brunt who is ranked third in the ODI rankings, left the South African tour in October because of a back problem and has been rested for the upcoming tour in February and March, which features five twenty20s and three ODIs.

Elwiss said: “Katherine (Brunt) is an irreplaceable bowler but I am certainly confident that the other bowlers can step up and take their opportunities to do the job in her absence.

“England have an extremely strong squad at the moment and their strength in depth is equally impressive so there is always competition for places.

“We don’t feel any extra pressure with her not being there.”

Elwiss knows what a tough prospect awaits them in the coming months, against a side which has just announced all rounder Suzie Bates as their new captain after Aimee Watkins retired in July.

The 20 year old continued: “The team know that New Zealand will be tough to beat on home soil.  They are under new captaincy and they will come at us hard, but we are going out there to win eight games of cricket.

“We want to make a statement to a very strong New Zealand side and show why we are the number one team in the world.”

Elwiss admits during the twenty 20 matches the focus will be on the world cup that takes place in Sri Lanka during September and October.

“We started preparing for the twenty20 world cup last summer so of course we will use the twenty20s in this tour to play to our game plans.

“Obviously from a team point of view we are looking to win every match. Personally, I’d like to gain experience playing in New Zealand and challenging myself against some of the best players in the world.”

The young Sussex seam bowler is hoping to build on the experience she gained from her debut tour in South Africa during her time in New Zealand.

She said: “It’s my second tour with England now, so the prospect is a little less daunting. I am very excited for it and obviously it’s an honour to be selected in the 15 women squad.

“Being selected obviously gives me so much motivation to keep working hard and hopefully impress the selectors over what will be a very important 15 months for the team, with both world cups in this period.

“Making my debut against South Africa was better than I had ever thought. I gained so much experience in those two weeks that will definitely stand me in good stead for this upcoming tour.

Elwiss played in two ODIs and one twenty20 in South Africa and opened the bowling in all three games.

“I knew I would get the opportunity to bowl, but I did not expect to be leading the attack in my debut. It was definitely better than expected.

“South Africa was a fantastic learning curve for me. I learned a lot about what it takes to be an international cricketer and hopefully this tour will show how much hard work has been put in since then.”

Elwiss is looking to establish herself on the international scene with a very busy and important period coming up for the England team.