Blackwell ready for biggest test of captaincy career

Australia captain Alex Blackwell believes the upcoming women's Ashes Test match against England will be one of the biggest challenges of her captaincy career.

Blackwell will be leading Australia for the first time in a Test match and that too at her home ground, Sydney Cricket Ground, this season.

"Captaincy for me is not something I dreamt about. I have always just wanted to be the best player I could be. With Jodie Fields' injury, I have been given the opportunity to lead Australia and it has been a great honour to be afforded this responsibility," said Blackwell.

The 27-year-old all-rounder rates Belinda Clark as the best captain she has played under.

"Belinda Clark was an outstanding captain who I played under during my younger years and if I can be half the captain she was I'd be happy. It does take additional energy to do it, so it is important as a captain to be able to continue to perform in your particular discipline. The Ashes Test as captain will be one of my biggest challenges yet, and I am looking forward to it," added Blackwell.

The upcoming season though will not just be about the Ashes. Blackwell and her team has one of the most packed calendars of recent times. The team will be playing first against hosts New Zealand in the Rose Bowl Series and then in all three formats against England at home.

Australia team reached New Zealand on Sunday to prepare for the first Twenty20 International in the Rose Bowl Series on Tuesday, 28 December. The New Zealand tour gets underway first with two Twenty20 Internationals, before the Aussies head back home to play England. The remainder of the New Zealand tour will then be completed in February 2011.

"We are lucky to have the mix of all three formats in one summer, something that happens only every two years. It's very exciting that our five T20 matches against England are to be televised live on free to air TV here in Australia. We see this as a chance to showcase women's cricket," said Blackwell.

The Australia captain sees the two series _ Rose Bowl and Ashes _ as a chance to cement her side's reputation further. "We are currently world champions in the T20 format but we know that we won in the narrowest of fashions (v New Zealand in the final) in the West Indies. These two series, against two of the very best teams, provides a chance for us to test ourselves and start forging a gap between us and other teams."

The team prepared itself for the Rose Bowl Series and Ashes Series with a tough few rounds in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) at home. The biggest factor to consider for the Australia team is the fact that there are not many women's Test matches played these days. So it will be that much more difficult to adjust to the format.

"This is something we will no doubt talk about in depth in the lead-up. We will continue to focus on playing a style of cricket that will allow us to win in the shorter formats of the game, and adjust our approach to suit the battles of Test cricket at the back end of the series. The girls love playing Tests, even though we play so few, and the side will be playing to win this one off Test."

Blackwell rates the challenge of the New Zealand side very high especially in the Twenty20 series. "The White Ferns have confidence in their T20 game and have a great record against us. They will be hurting after losing the ICC World T20 final and this bodes well for a exciting and hard fought series. I believe our strong fitness levels and the technical improvements our players have made will help us achieve this."

Blackwell is coming off some good personal form this season in the domestic WNCL. She is hoping to carry the same through the season. "I have thoroughly enjoyed my cricket this season and have also enjoyed the captaincy. Getting a big hundred in the first round of WNCL is always nice, but I feel most pleased about the improvements I have made technically in my batting with the help of Richard McInnes and David Fitzgerald."

Blackwell has already listed her goal for the season. "The test will be to play consistently well enough to establish ourselves as the number one team in the world. I am sure New Zealand and England have a similar goal. All three teams are very evenly matched and Australia is gearing up for a tough but exciting summer of international cricket ahead," concluded Blackwell.