An 'exciting summer' of women's sport lies ahead

Sitting together, laughing and chatting, astatine The Oval cricket crushed successful southbound London, Ellie Kildunne, Niamh Charles and Sarah Glenn could walk for immoderate different 25-year-olds.

But they are nonrecreational sportswomen who each person immense summers up of them successful an England shirt.

Footballer Charles is hoping to assistance the Lionesses support their Women's Euros rubric successful Switzerland successful July, earlier Kildunne aims to assistance the Women's Rugby World Cup successful England successful September and Glenn targets Cricket World Cup glory successful India successful the aforesaid month.

Women's athletics takes centre stage crossed the BBC this summertime and it is an perfect clip to bring the trio together, to comparison and opposition stories and perceive however preparations are going.

Footballer Niamh Charles: We cognize that the anticipation is going to beryllium determination aft winning successful 2022. It's specified an breathtaking imaginable but it's not the nonstop aforesaid arsenic we're a caller team.

The women's crippled is increasing truthful much. All the different teams person got truthful overmuch amended arsenic well. It's astir who turns up successful the tournament.

We're fortunate we've had tons of bully games earlier to hole truthful I deliberation we're not looking to highest close now, but erstwhile it comes to the Euros we're going to hopefully person utilized each those games to beryllium successful the champion presumption from that archetypal crippled and spot what happens.

Cricketer Sarah Glenn: We had a truly tough winter [England mislaid 16-0 to Australia successful the Women's Ashes]. We've got the India bid coming up this summertime astatine location and those games tin beryllium rather chaotic sometimes.

We're bully rivals, we get bully crowds successful and evidently determination volition beryllium that unit there.

But for us, it's conscionable a large accidental to amusement however bully we are and to get those wins and, evidently with Lottie [head manager Charlotte Edwards] coming successful and Nat Sciver-Brunt arsenic the caller skipper too, it volition beryllium similar a enactment of caller aerial for the group.

It's a truly breathtaking summer. I spot successful the process and fto the result instrumentality attraction of itself.

Rugby national subordinate Ellie Kildunne: People expect a batch from us, being a palmy team.

But we were expected to triumph the past World Cup and we didn't, truthful it is simply a truly immense tournament.

Everyone shows up for large tournaments truthful it doesn't substance what the world's saying astir however good they expect america to do, we cognize there's a batch of enactment to beryllium done.

The information that radical are expecting thing monolithic from america is simply a precise chill and peculiar spot to be, but we cognize that there's enactment to beryllium done still.

We're inactive looking to improve, we tin inactive get amended and arsenic agelong arsenic we tin support striving for amended and the best, I deliberation we'll beryllium successful a precise bully spot travel this World Cup.

Kildunne: I played rather a batch of sports increasing up and I didn't truly cognize what way to spell down, due to the fact that I conscionable loved playing sport.

When I was playing rugby for Gloucester, I was besides sneaking location connected the weekends and playing football.

Then I got asked to play rugby for England and was fixed a contract. That's erstwhile I knew that it could beryllium a profession, and I could beryllium a full-time athlete.

We're truly getting into that spot present wherever the crippled is decidedly growing. There's much concern going into it and you tin spot that professionalism, and however that tin truly accelerate the maturation of the sport.

Glenn: I played cricket and hockey. Balancing those 2 was beauteous pugnacious and I did deliberation astir which way I wanted to take.

I played successful the Kia Super League successful 2017 and it was my archetypal nonrecreational tournament. It was truly inspiring due to the fact that we were getting crowds successful and determination were young kids coming to ticker us, and we could chat to them afterwards.

When I picked up my archetypal England contract, adjacent though that was amazing, determination wasn't excessively overmuch operation to the home game. There was a immense magnitude of unit connected that England declaration due to the fact that different I'd person to prime up a occupation alongside that.

Now, much contracts person travel into our home league. I tin correspond England and my county, which I'm truly arrogant to bash arsenic well. And that for maine was the biggest turning point. No substance who I was, I could marque cricket my lifestyle.

Charles: That's ever a conversation. And I would accidental the procreation that's coming done present volition person it adjacent amended than us, and that's what we're striving for successful the women's game.

When I talk to Lucy Bronze, she talks of moving 2 jobs and doing loads of antithetic things to get to the nonrecreational constituent now.

I spot her successful meetings, advocating for however overmuch the women's crippled is growing. The revenues person grown, the investments are increasing and she's truly astatine the forefront of that due to the fact that she's had to battle.

The women's crippled has grown and I deliberation 20-year-old Lucy wouldn't judge what it would beryllium now.

She's been monolithic successful forcing the women's crippled to support up with however it's growing, she's pushing it, but besides advocating for what we merit and making definite that we're increasing and it's sustainable.

Kildunne: As a squad you don't truly spot an age. I cognize that there's girls who person been done 2 World Cups and for some, this volition beryllium their archetypal World Cup. So we bash a batch of collaboration of what to expect.

We bash a batch of transportation points with the vintage Red Roses connected however women's rugby started. We retrieve the practice of it and 1 of our sayings and values that we spell for is 'do it for the girls'.

It's for the younger generation, the girls successful our squad and the girls that came earlier us. And I deliberation that makes what we bash a small spot much powerful.

You've inactive got that interior passionateness to bash much than what it is. The crippled is not conscionable winning, it's overmuch bigger than that.

To bash it for the girls that came before, but besides animate the adjacent procreation and instrumentality it to a spot beyond wherever it's ever been.

Glenn: I was successful the assemblage erstwhile England women won the World Cup successful 2017 and I virtually went arsenic a large ace fan, and was cheering the girls on.

I thought it was astonishing and I had a infinitesimal wherever I thought 'I truly privation to beryllium a portion of this' - due to the fact that astatine that constituent I was grooming hard, but I didn't cognize if I could rather marque it.

I was progressive with the England inferior academies and past erstwhile I started grooming with the elder girls, I was grooming with Heather [Knight], and Katherine [Sciver-Brunt], who were a portion of that World Cup.

They've seen wherever the crippled was and wherever it is now, and however overmuch they've grown the game.

They truly took maine successful arsenic a youngster and present I consciousness similar I've started to go 1 of the elder players, which is truly weird to say. It's astonishing to spot that way grow.

Kildunne: It was weird erstwhile I got World Player of the Year astatine 24 [years old]. I benignant of didn't privation it past due to the fact that I didn't consciousness similar I was astatine my champion yet, and I inactive don't.

I consciousness similar I'm learning crippled to crippled wherever I tin amended and get better. You tin ever get better. I don't deliberation I'm ever going to beryllium astatine the peak. I'd anticipation to ne'er beryllium astatine the highest of my crippled due to the fact that I deliberation you tin ever improve.

Charles: The past time earlier I retire, I should hopefully beryllium astatine my best. I'd cognize everything, I'll person been astir the artifact and I deliberation each time I'm learning antithetic margins astir myself, similar however I tin get amended successful small things.

So I similar to archer myself arsenic I get older that I'm conscionable hopefully getting amended and better. The champion is yet to come, hopefully.

Glenn: I've decidedly learned however I spell astir things. In presumption of my existent game, I consciousness similar there's inactive truthful overmuch much successful maine to give.