New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) Ask Danni Wyatt-Hodge on how she’s doing and she’ll tell you about being on cloud nine after her life changed overnight. Her daughter Daisy, born on May 20, is just over a week old, and Danni along with her partner Georgie, have been on baby feeding duties after every three hours. At times, Daisy likes being held in the lap, something which Danni loves doing.
Amidst the joy of welcoming Daisy, Danni has found time to do some practice ahead of rejoining England for the final two T20Is against India, which serves as the final dress rehearsal before the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup takes centrestage. On paper, the timing looks punishing, but Danni has no complaints.
“It’s just been really nice being at home with her and Georgie, my wife and all our family around as well helping, which is a game changer. We’re really lucky that we’ve got the help and I’ve still been managing to get out and do some training as well. But I’ve had a lot of cricket over the last four months or so.
“We’ve been very busy; I’ve been trying to get in everything I can so that I’m ready for what’s coming up now. It’s been nice to have this little period at home with the family and just on cloud nine still, it’s pretty incredible,” a beaming Danni said in an exclusive conversation with IANS, facilitated by Sony Sports Network.
For Danni, jumping into a life of juggling between being an elite sportsperson and a new working mother, there’s inspiration in the form of England skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt. Watching Nat juggle between playing the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia and looking after her son Theo with her partner, ex-England pacer Katherine Sciver-Brunt, Danni had a ringside view of how seamlessly a balance could be struck.
“Oh, it’s massive. I’ve spent a lot of time around Nat, Katherine and Theo and basically lived with them for those two months and I’ve seen how amazing they are with Theo. They are incredible mothers to Theo and he’s very lucky to have them.
“Me and Georgie said at that time, this will be us soon and it’ll be so special to travel around the world with our daughter and just create memories together. That’s what life’s all about, isn’t it? She’s going to push me to do even better out there in the middle and we have exciting times ahead,” she added.
Cricket may be fickle, but Danni insists the mind is steady – sustained by routines and subtle mindset shifts, like not overthinking, that keep her form intact. The proof is already in her rich vein of form before going on parental leave – Danni amassed 432 runs at an average of 48, which propelled Hobart Hurricanes to clinching the WBBL title, the first of her playing career.
That momentum from Australia continued – two match-winning knocks for Team Heyhoe-Flint during an intra-squad training camp in South Africa in March was followed by 378 runs in five games of the One-Day Cup for Surrey – a blistering 124 against Warwickshire was followed by 119 against Hampshire and 96 against Durham.
“It’s helped with what’s going on outside of cricket with my wife being pregnant for the last nine months and now Daisy is finally here and all your energy goes into that. Then the cricket’s just a bit on the side that you don’t really think too much about, which is that’s when people play their best cricket – when you’re not overthinking everything and just stay calm and trust everything – trust your ability, instincts and just relax, stay calm and back yourself.
“It sounds quite simple, but a lot of people struggle to get in that mindset. But if you can get into that mindset, then you’re going to give yourself the best chance to go out there to succeed and play some good cricket. So, for me, it’s just having that balance of life and cricket, making sure that I’m enjoying life outside of cricket and that’s what it’s all about – creating memories, isn’t it? With your friends, family and then the cricket looks after itself – as soon as you cross that line, you’re on it and giving it your all,” added Danni.
Before the World Cup takes centrestage, England have to overcome the Indian challenge after drawing the ODI series against New Zealand, while winning the T20I series. When India toured in England in 2025, they won both T20I and ODI series and Danni, who shared the dressing room with a lot of Indian players during the WPL, harbours no illusions about the scale of the contest awaiting the hosts at home.
“It’s really important because it’s always a massive challenge playing against India and something that we always really look forward to. We know how quality a side India are. They’ve got some quality seam bowlers, some of the best spinners and batters in the world, and their batting line-up is quite deep and has big depth – Richa Ghosh comes in at number six or seven, and we know what she can do.
“So, it’s going to be a real big test for us. But the girls are really looking in great nick at the minute. We’ve played some quality cricket over the last few months. We’ve been to South Africa, played against each other and we feel very prepared ahead of what’s going to come. This series will be a massive challenge ahead of the World Cup and it’s going to be really important that we win these games and take the momentum into the World Cup.”
“But, it’s T20 cricket – it just takes one or two players to have a good game and they are won or either lost. So, we’ve just got to live in the moment, prepare as well as we can do for each game, stay calm, try and play our best cricket and enjoy it ultimately,” she elaborated.
The returns of Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson, both sidelined from last year’s series against India, along with Heather Knight back in the batting line-up, have given England a significant boost. “There are a few changes, but there’s been so much cricket between then and now. We had a few players out with injury last summer unfortunately. Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson are really big players for us and it’s really good to see them back out on the park.
“They offer us quality batting and bowling and both are quality fielders. So, both of those players are great additions to our squad. I’ve played a lot of cricket with Freya Kemp. I don’t know if she’s going to be, but I’m still saying it now, she’s going to be the best player that England have ever produced.
“She’s incredible and hits the ball so hard, like it’s the hardest I’ve ever seen a female hit the ball. So it’s great to have those girls back and I feel like we’ve got all bases covered, which is really nice to have that, isn’t it? Especially for me, opening the batting, knowing that I’ve got players like Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Amy Jones coming in at the end, giving it a whack and it gives us license to go out and play our natural T20 game,” added Danni.
England’s preparation has been methodical – after WBBL stints, they featured in an intra-squad series in South Africa, where Danni’s Heyhoe-Flint side lost the series to Team Brittin 3-2. Since then, all have been playing domestic cricket, with preparation camps running steadily, though Nat is still recovering from a calf injury.
Danni insists that England’s preparation for a big few months of cricket at home has been exceptional. “Our preparation has been outstanding and the girls are looking red hot and they all can’t wait to get out there.
“The girls are just coming off playing against New Zealand, but we want to keep that momentum going and keep getting better and better each game so that when we go out there, and play our first (World Cup) game against Sri Lanka, we all know our roles well, and are confident in going to be able to perform as well as we can.
“Ultimately just enjoy it, inspire and entertain the crowd that are out there watching us. Hopefully we get some big crowds in – that’d be really good and I can’t wait to get out there with everyone again,” she added.
Come May 30, Danni will open the batting for England in Bristol in her first game after becoming a mother. Around the same time, Daisy would be comfortably asleep in Georgie’s arms, blissfully unaware of the occasion. But ask Danni on what she will be feeling before crossing the boundary ropes and the answer is already known – ‘cloud nine,’ because she means it.
Watch India Women’s Tour of England 2026 starting from May 28th 2026, from 11:00 PM IST live on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD and Sony LIV.
–IANS
nr/bc
