Maia Bouchier targets World Cup opener s berth after breakthrough winter

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Maia Bouchier says her goal for the 2024 summer is to cement her new-found status at the top of England's batting order, as the countdown begins for the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September.

Bouchier, 25, enjoyed a breakthrough winter on England's recent tour of New Zealand, where she capitalised on the late arrival of several senior players from the Women's Premier League in India, including the incumbent opener Danni Wyatt and senior batter Nat Sciver-Brunt, to make a strong case for a permanent role.

Having previously batted exclusively in the middle-order in her limited opportunities over the previous two years, Bouchier was first promoted to open during Sri Lanka's visit last summer, where she complemented Sciver-Brunt's century in the third ODI in Leicester with a career-best 95 from 65 balls.

But given England's main focus for the year, it was Bouchier's performance in March, in the 4-1 series win in the T20Is against New Zealand, that truly stood out. She batted at No.3 in the first three matches, making scores of 43 not out, 12 and 71, then a series-sealing 91 from 56 balls after being promoted to open for the fourth match.

"I've been waiting for that moment," Bouchier told ESPNcricinfo. "It's been great, I've really enjoyed my cricket and putting in some performances for England. Going into this summer, I'll do as much as I can to grab every opportunity and keep that spot now."

Bouchier's form was the culmination of a settled run in the side, one that had been promised to her last summer by England's head coach, Jon Lewis, when she was picked ahead of the veteran Tammy Beaumont despite the latter's impressive form in the Hundred. The reason Lewis gave at the time was that Bouchier "had been carried around the world", but her total of 13 innings in 19 T20Is since her debut in 2021 meant she hadn't been given a chance to prove her worth.

She's done that now, outshining both the returning Beaumont and the struggling Sophia Dunkley in New Zealand, to the extent that she is now ready to stake a claim to be a first-choice opener for the World Cup - a point reiterated last week by her captain Heather Knight, when she praised Bouchier's form in New Zealand while acknowledging that England "haven't quite nailed" their opening partnership yet.

"It was all about being patient for that moment," Bouchier said. "[Lewis] talked about giving me a little run-in, to make sure I wasn't thinking that everything was riding on one opportunity.

"I guess I had to do those tough years to get to that point, but playing in those [lower-order] positions meant I had to be able to adapt quickly, so that has only helped me going up to the top of the order. I can't really regret any of it. I'll always take that as much as I can."

England's summer comprises home series against Pakistan in May and New Zealand in June-July ahead of the Hundred, where Bouchier will once again be playing for the defending champions, Southern Brave. And while the swift transition to Bangladesh's pitches will be a tough one for England, she's confident that the batting unit has shored up its game against spin - a notable shortcoming last year, both in the Ashes, as well as the shock T20I series loss to Sri Lanka.

"Bangladesh is going to be difficult, and spin is always a talking point, but really it comes down to the game situation and the ball in hand at that moment," Bouchier said. "Everyone has been working on playing to their strengths against spin, whether it's reverse-sweeping or long sweeps to the other side of the pitch. We'll just being looking to put the pressure back on the bowlers as much as we can."

Bouchier was speaking at the launch of the MCC Foundation Hubs tournament in Leyton, a competition that involves more than 100 girls' and boys' teams playing for the chance to appear in a Lord's final.

The programme has already reached more than 20,000 state school children since its launch in 2012, and recently received a £1million funding boost from MCC and the ECB. With 126 hubs already in existence, the aim is to reach the 150th location by next year.

On the girls' front alone, the scheme has seen a 53% increase in participation over the past year, and in the week that the ECB announced the eight counties to have been granted Tier 1 status for the new national women's competition from 2025, Bouchier said that trend reflected the huge growth in interest she had witnessed in the course of her own career.

"It's amazing," she said. "I was playing for Middlesex when I was 16, and there wasn't an England development pathway or a county set-up. I'm super lucky and super privileged to have been driven all round London by my parents, who funded everything for me. Without that I would have fallen out of the game.

"I also I knew a lot of talented but under-privileged players who just didn't have anywhere to go. This foundation is there for kids and teenagers in that range, who don't know whether they want to play, but they're really interested in getting involved. It gives them access and brings the community together as well, which is exactly what you want."