War mode ON! England opt for Army training to gear up for Women's T20 World Cup 2026
Published - 01 May 2026, 02:04 PM | Updated - 01 May 2026, 02:23 PM
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is reportedly taking a major decision for the betterment of their Women’s cricket team, keeping the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup in mind.
It is reported that to shape the team for the high-profile event, where cricketers will have to control their nerves, the ECB will send the team to train with the British Army. Training with the Army will help the team to prepare both mentally and physically for the Women's T20 World Cup.
England Women's cricket team to train with the British Army
Due to the training plans with the British Army, the squad will skip this weekend's round of domestic matches. The 15-member England cricket team will spend the weekend on a programme focusing on "decision-making, resilience and delivering high performance when the pressure is turned up", the management informed the BBC.
The BBC, in its latest report, mentioned that the location of the special camp is not disclosed. This camp will be organized before the Women’s team's first assignment in the summer, which will be against New Zealand.
The trip, at an undisclosed location in the UK, comes a week before the team's first international of the summer - the first of three one-day internationals against New Zealand on Sunday, 10 May, according to the report.
Why ECB decide to set up the special camp?
“Three T20s against the White Ferns follow before another three T20s against India. England's World Cup campaign begins against Sri Lanka on 12 June. 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 the England and Wales Cricket Board's managing director of women's cricket, Clare Connor.
"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," he added.
The Men's cricket team trained with the Army before
Training with the Army is not something new in the history of the England cricket team. Back in 2010-11, ahead of The Ashes Test series, the Men’s cricket team went to a five-day army bootcamp in a German forest.
The camp and hard training with the Army proved fruitful as England defeated Australia in the 5-match Test series by 3-1. It was reported that during the special camp, James Anderson broke his ankle during one boxing match. It was believed that, despite some difficulties and challenging hurdles, the training put the members closer to each other, which worked in the betterment of the team bonding.
Ahead of the 2013-14 Ashes, the board arranged the same again. However, the plan did not work according to the plans as Australia defeated the Three Lions by 5-0. Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson was at his peak, taking 37 wickets.
“Taking place in the Staffordshire countryside, the England squad found themselves immersed in a role-play scenario in which they were tasked with preventing a mock crime. After being given professional surveillance training, the players were split into three groups and set separate assignments to crack the case, but did not camp, instead staying overnight in a local hotel.” The Guardian provided a glimpse from the specially arranged training camp in 2013.
Read More: Kevin Pietersen takes fresh aim at Alastair Cook, brings Jos Buttler into Jacob Bethell controversy
About the Author
