By Callum Dent
England Women skipper Charlotte Edwards is expecting an India backlash in the second Royal London one-day international at Scarborough tomorrow.
The hosts bounced back from their surprise Kia Test defeat at Wormsley last week with a comfortable 42-run Duckworth/Lewis victory yesterday.
And Edwards believes the tourists will provide another stern test tomorrow as they attempt to keep the three-match series alive.
The 34-year-old said: “I’m sure they will come out fighting. They are 1-0 down and all these games are crucial. It’s important we are ready for that.
“They are a good team and showed that at Wormsley. They have got some key players. (Smriti) Mandhana is playing beautifully at the top, (Mithali) Raj is a world-class player and (Jhulan) Goswami goes without saying.
“We know they are going to come back strong, but we are more than capable of putting up a good fight and hopefully winning another game of cricket tomorrow.”
Edwards heaped praise on the condition of the wicket at North Marine Road, which hosted six days of Yorkshire county cricket during the annual Scarborough Festival last week.
She has no problems using the same pitch tomorrow, adding: “I was really impressed with the pitch.
“It was one of the best wickets I’ve played on in England for a while and I think we saw that with the strokes yesterday.
“It might take a bit more turn with it being a second-day pitch, but we are hoping for more of the same."
Edwards took to the surface like a duck to water, hitting 57 during an impressive opening stand of 110 with Heather Knight, and is happy with her form.
She added: “I was really pleased to contribute to the team. I thought the way me and Heather went out there showed how this team wants to play their cricket.
“To bounce back the way we did was important for us as a team and individually I am really pleased with where my game is at.”