Ecclestone on the mini-battle with Dottin: 'Want to get one-up on each other'

Sophie Ecclestone vs Deandra Dottin. It's a bout Ecclestone is looking forward to as much as she is the England vs West Indies must-win contest at the women's T20 World Cup.

Having played together at Manchester Originals in the Hundred, their international rivalry will be rekindled in Dubai on Tuesday. "I love going against the world's best and me and Deandra have great battles when we play against each other," Ecclestone said. "We are people who want to get one-up on each other because we play against each other so often, then play the same team with each other.

"It's really exciting. I'm always really excited to play for England and especially against West Indies, who are going really well at the minute. They have some of the world's best like Deandra in their team now - it's great to see her back playing international cricket.

"She tries to whack me as far as she can as many times as she can, so hopefully I can get her out early and she doesn't do that to me too many times."

Ecclestone has dismissed Dottin twice in five T20I innings, with Dottin boasting a head-to-head batting strike rate of 84.90 and Ecclestone an economy rate of 5.09.

Dottin has the best batting strike rate of this World Cup so far at 181.81 but she is well down the run-scorers' list with 60 runs from three innings and a highest score of 28 not out.

Similarly, Ecclestone has the fourth-best economy rate of 4.08, but has four wickets from three matches, including 2 for 15 against South Africa and 2 for 13 against Scotland. Nonkululeko Mlaba of South Africa and Australia's Megan Schutt are battling it out at the top of the wicket-takers' list on nine and eight respectively.

So they are both still seeking their ultimate match in the tournament and, with the stakes so high, what better time to find it?

The winners of the game will secure a place in the final four, but the losers will only progress in two unlikely scenarios: if West Indies make 201 or more and win, England could get through if the margin of defeat is just a single run, or they could lose in a Super Over and make it if they match a West Indies score of 194 or more in the regulation 20 overs.

"We had a conversation this morning about what distractions are and I think that we sometimes get a bit ahead of ourselves," Ecclestone said. "So it's staying in the moment, staying in the present. We've got a big game on Tuesday, we know, against West Indies and we needed to win [against Scotland] and we need to win on Tuesday to put us in the best position possible."

England's bowling depth has meant they have spread their wickets fairly evenly across the attack - including seam and spin - with Ecclestone part of a four-pronged spin contingent. Offspinner Charlie Dean also has four wickets from the tournament so far, while Ecclestone's fellow left-arm spinner, Linsey Smith, has three and legspinner Sarah Glenn three.

Interestingly, Ecclestone, who has long been seen as the leader of that group, given her experience and dominance of the world rankings, revealed she had been comparing herself to her team-mates.

"I didn't feel at my best in the first game [against Bangladesh]," Ecclestone said. "It was the first game I'd played for a while so it was great to come back against South Africa and bowl where it's come out really nicely.

"It's been really interesting for me. I think I've been comparing myself to other spinners sometimes about how much bounce and how much turn I get compared to others. I think I need to stop comparing myself to them because I get so much more bounce so my lengths vary from pitch to pitch and spinner to spinner, so yeah, it's been really interesting, been a bit of a challenge for me.

"Honestly, I was comparing myself to someone like Glennny and Charlie, who bowl different to me. I think it's just I'm getting a lot more bounce so my lengths can be a bit different from them. I'm still learning off Charlie, Glenny and Linsey about how they go about their work. It's really interesting for me and to keep learning as I get older."

Meanwhile, a predictable three of Stafanie Taylor, Dottin and Hayley Matthews have carried the bulk of West Indies' run-scoring without posting a half-century between them.

Taylor has been nursing a knee injury but is expected to play. Allrounder Zaida James, who suffered a nasty knock to her left thumb and chin attempting a return catch off Laura Wolvaardt in West Indies' ten-wicket loss to South Africa, was able to grip the bat and knock some balls around in training on Sunday, meaning she could be in contention for a return.