Brindle joy as England progress

Middle-order star Arran Brindle has praised England's achievement of reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup

Arran Brindle admitted succumbing to a five-wicket defeat against New Zealand came as a blow but was tempered by the realisation that England had qualified for the semi-finals of the 2005 Women’s World Cup.

Victories over Sri Lanka, Ireland and South Africa, added to a rain-effected draw with Australia, ensured England progressed into the knock-out stages of the competition, despite losses against India and the Kiwis.

Brindle believes securing a semi-final berth is step one on their way to achieving the dream and has stressed the achievement is testament to the character of the side.

She told ecb.co.uk: “Even though we lost we have come away guaranteed of a spot and that’s a fantastic achievement and a first step on the way to the ultimate goal of winning the World Cup.”

However, despite the elation at progressing into the semi-finals, Brindle confessed the loss to New Zealand had served as a wake up call.

Having defeated the Kiwis during an enthralling Test series last summer, England went into the match full of confidence against the reigning World Cup champions.

But the old adage that anything can happen on the day came true and England suffered a close-fought defeat with their batting and fielding letting them down.

Brindle added: “Although 180 was probably not enough on that track we would have backed ourselves to get 180 against most international teams so it was a bit disappointing not to do that.

“We set ourselves out to be the best fielding side in the world and it’s something we can all control. If you get a good ball when you bat there is not a great deal you can do about it but as a fielding unit there are 11 of us and we have set ourselves that challenge of being the best in the world.

“Against New Zealand a lot of us will hold our hands up and admit we didn’t quite make the mark and that is disappointing. But we have taken both them and India all the way with not ideal scores.”