England's 15-player squad for the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup will skip this weekend's domestic fixtures to attend a training camp with the British Army.
The camp, held at an undisclosed location in the UK, will focus on "decision-making, resilience and delivering high performance when the pressure is turned up," according to team management. It comes just a week before the team's first international of the summer—a three-match ODI series against New Zealand starting May 10.
Following the ODIs, England will play three T20s against the White Ferns and another three against India, before opening their World Cup campaign against Sri Lanka on June 12.
"We are extremely lucky to be able to send our newly selected World Cup squad into one of the best high-performance environments in the world," said Clare Connor, managing director of women's cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board. "I'm confident that what the players will experience and learn over the next few days will be priceless when it comes to performing in some of the pressure moments that a home World Cup will undoubtedly bring."
Such military-style camps have been used before in English cricket. The men's team took part in a five-day army boot camp in a German forest before their victorious 2010-11 Ashes campaign. However, a similar camp in Staffordshire ahead of the 2013-14 tour is often remembered as the start of a disastrous campaign.
England's women's team, led by captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and coach Charlotte Edwards, have not played an international fixture this winter, instead holding intra-squad camps as part of their preparation. They also missed a round of domestic 50-over matches earlier this month for a T20-focused camp. With the squad assembling on Thursday for the series opener in Chester-le-Street, it's unlikely players will participate in Wednesday's domestic matches either.
England have not won a World Cup in any format since their historic home victory in 2017, and their ability to perform under pressure has often been questioned.