Passage to India opens for Hazell

Danielle Hazell spoke to ECBtv as England prepared for the tour of India

England spinner Danielle Hazell admits her international debut was not as nerve-wracking as she feared it might be.

The 21-year-old Durham-born off-spinner earned a call to England’s squad for their disappointing tour to St Kitts before Christmas, making her debut in an ODI and also playing two Twenty20 matches.

Hazell is now preparing at Edgbaston for England’s upcoming tour to India, where she hopes to establish herself as a regular going forward to April’s World Twenty20 in the Caribbean.

“It was an amazing experience to get away from England and play cricket in a different country,” Hazell told ECBtv in Birmingham.

“There were nerves there, but not as many as I thought there’d be. I enjoyed the day. Personally, my main thing was to get over playing the first game.

“It was a bit of disappointment how we played sometimes (England lost both series 2-1), but it was a important experience for the team going back to the Twenty20 World Cup.”

Hazell could be turned to heavily in India, especially given the absence of leading spinner Holly Colvin, who has chosen to concentrate on studies at Durham University.

Hazell hopes to use the conditions in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Visakhapatnam to her advantage.

“It’s going to be a different experience," she said. "It’s a different culture (to the one) we live in.

“(India is) obviously renowned for spinners. I’m looking forward to see a bit more turn. India are perhaps renowned for playing the way they do on their continent.”