Feature

'This one's for my dad' - Danielle Wyatt

After becoming only the second women's player to smash two T20I tons, Danielle Wyatt picked her 124 against India in another world-record chase as the most memorable

Danielle Wyatt was named the Player of the Match  •  BCCI

Danielle Wyatt was named the Player of the Match  •  BCCI

Two Wyatts wore the biggest smiles at the Brabourne Stadium as England hunted down 199 against India to seal the record women's T20I chase.
As the daughter punched in the air - twice - after bringing up her second T20I hundred in three matches, father Steve soaked the sight in, alternating between folding his hands and reaching for the cell phone in his pocket. Later, as Danielle Wyatt went about delivering her Player-of-the-Match address, he stood in the hospitality box, taking photographs.
"This hundred was quite special because my dad has flown all the way to see my knock. So this one's for him. He loves India," she said when asked to choose the more memorable of her two tons in the format, making her only the second player to accomplish the feat.
A business commitment in the UK had kept Steve from flying to Canberra when Wyatt smashed the first T20I hundred by an Englishwoman last November. The innings came only a match after Wyatt notched her maiden international half-century in 124 matches. That it played a big part during England's points-equalling Ashes campaign, made it an even bigger deal to her father.
"First England female to do that, and during the Ashes..." Steve Wyatt said. "Well, thankfully, we had the game on live. I did watch it live, but didn't record it."
On Sunday, even as his phone kept buzzing with congratulatory messages, the disappointment at not having the matches broadcast in England was hard to miss in his voice. "I'm the sole representative of the Wyatt family here. But we were discussing this at dinner last night. Not sure what the issue is but what a big opportunity missed in the last game, and this one too, with so many people back home wanting to watch these matches."
Regret aside, that he rates his daughter's 64-ball 124 against India as being "more special" than the 57-ball 100 against Australia, was down to two reasons. One, because she "just didn't give India a chance." Two, Wyatt's walloping in Mumbai helped England rewrite their own record of the highest successful chase in women's T20Is, bettering their 181 for 6 at Manuka Oval.
He said Danielle's better understanding of herself had contributed to her re-invention as a cricketer - from being a promising county player to excelling at the international level.
"She's matured over the past 16-18 months, and become a lot more sensible with her batting," he said. "And she is very fit, so that helps mentally a great deal. Another thing is the work, she's put in a lot [of hard work] on those straight shots."
Ahead of the tour, Wyatt herself had explained how she had been "working on playing straight and hitting the sightscreens".
On Sunday, four of the five sixes she smashed were in the V, with two of those landing in front of that target. Among the 15 fours she hammered, the one that took her to the second-quickest century - from 52 balls - in women's T20Is, also came off a lusty blow over the bowler's head.
"I've been working really hard with Ali Maiden, our batting coach," Wyatt said about the factors that helped her become a more productive cricketer in the recent months. "Basically, just hit straighter and a few things up here," she added, while pointing at her head. "Seems to have been working. So, yeah, should have been positive, I guess."
With England notching their second successive win in the tri-series, routing both Australia and India by huge margins, captain Heather Knight heaped as much praise on Wyatt as she did on the team's batting unit collectively.
"With context of the game, we saw what a spectacle it was," Knight said. "We saw great batting by both teams. To go out and chase like that is another world record for the highest chase again.
"That's what we keep wanting to do as a team, keep wanting to push the game forward, keep wanting to take records, the fastest ever 100 for England. If we keep on pushing for those records, the results will come themselves.
"We've focussed a lot on T20 cricket in our training. And I think we've massively upscaled over the last few months, particularly in the batting. That's why there are so many players who can go out and score like that. That's the way the women's game is going and we want to obviously be at the forefront of doing that. And it's pleasing to see the hard work coming off."

Annesha Ghosh is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo