The class of '93

Clare Taylor knows what is required to win a World Cup and she believes the current England squad can emulate her achievement and scoop the highest accolade in the one-day game.

Taylor was part of the England team mobbed by spectators at Lord’s after upsetting the odds to lift the World Cup almost 16 years ago.

No England side has scaled such dizzy heights since that glorious afternoon but Taylor hopes the drought will end on Sunday 22 March – the date of the World Cup final.

“They can go all the way,” the ex-England seamer told ecb.co.uk.

“They have a good team under Lottie's [Charlotte Edwards] guidance. I have played a lot with Lottie and Tayls [Claire Taylor] - they have got to the stage where they know their game.

“Isa Guha has become an international-class bowler and Sarah Taylor is very skilful. She can win matches. But there is a really good balance there.”

World Cup winner Clare Taylor leaps into action during one of her 105 one-day internationals

Unlike this year, when England are expected to challenge tournament hosts Australia and highly-rated New Zealand, the class of 1993 were not one of the frontrunners despite being on home soil.

Lacking the depth in quality of some other sides, England were relying on a fierce team ethic if they were to have any hope of doing well.

“On paper, we did not have the best squad in the tournament,” conceded Taylor. “We did have a great team spirit, though. Everyone worked for each other.

“We were the underdogs, which helped. Australia were the red hot favourites while New Zealand were expected to do well. We did not really think about winning it, but we were quite optimistic we'd do well. The final was at Lord's and we had a saying - 'see you on the balcony'.”

Standing on the famous Lord’s dressing room balcony must have seemed a distant dream, however, when England crashed to a 25-run defeat to New Zealand in their second game, a relatively large margin considering they had bowled their opponents out for a paltry 127.

To make matters worse, being a round-robin format - where the top two sides met in the final - England were now relying on results to go their way if they wanted to reach Lord’s.

“We were hoping to beat New Zealand,” said Taylor, who took an impressive 2-21 from 12 overs. “It meant we had to beat Australia.”

Hardly an enticing prospect, but rather than dwell on a mediocre performance with the bat, the England team spent hours in the nets before beating Ireland and India in two contrasting games.

“After the New Zealand game we were a bit shell-shocked,” Taylor explained.

“They had put a ring field which meant we couldn't score runs. We had a team-talk where we discussed how we were going to bat against those tactics. We decided we were going to have to hit over the top or, as someone said, 'hoiking it'.

“We had to get out of our comfort zone so we started trying that out in the nets. Everything we worked on came off against Australia.”

Taylor poses with the trophy which she was awarded in recognition for taking her 100th ODI wicket against India

With Carole Hodges scoring a century and Gill Smith taking 5-30, England wrapped up a 43-run victory to get their unlikely World Cup dream back on track.

Staring out from the balcony at the home of cricket then became reality when England comfortably beat West Indies and the Netherlands. Standing in Taylor’s way of glory was the formidable sight of New Zealand.

“We just saw it as another match,” said Taylor. “Even though they had beaten Australia by 10 wickets, we were quietly confident.

“We had just worked so hard and had learnt from our mistakes when we last played them.”

England’s optimism was well-founded as they cruised to a 67-run victory, Jan Brittin’s match-clinching catch sparking a pitch invasion where a large proportion of the 4,500 crowd burst on to the hallowed turf to celebrate.

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” said Taylor, who set England on their way with 2-27 off 12 overs as Australia crumbled chasing 195.

“I remember Jo Chamberlain running out Debbie Hockley and Suzie Kitson’s amazing catch. Karen [Smithies] jumped on me when we won and there was a pitch invasion.

“Playing at Lord's was just amazing. We did not get big crowds, so it was brilliant to be playing in front of so many people.

“It took a few days to sink in. For two months we were treated like sports stars. There were pieces in the newspapers and we were being invited to all sorts of events, like the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards.

“I still get the scrapbook out. We had a 10-year reunion in 2003 - all 14 of us turned out to play a match on the Nursery Ground against the current England side. We still keep in touch and reminisce.”