Dani Gibson has set high expectations for herself following a landmark 2023 but is not letting her attention divert from The Hundred task at hand.
The Women’s T20 World Cup taking place in October is the women’s cricket elephant in the room this summer.
After being awarded her first central contract by the ECB in December, Gibson knows it would be a dream come true to make the squad heading for Bangladesh in the autumn.
A maiden outing in an England shirt during last year’s Women’s Ashes added fuel to the fire for Cheltenham’s Gibson.
But she will first be fully focused on helping London Spirit get to their first-ever tournament final before letting her England dreams come to the fore.
“It would mean everything to make the World Cup squad but I’m trying to not focus on it too much,” she said, speaking at KP Snacks event, who in partnership with England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), committed to installing and refurbishing 100 new non-turf cricket pitches over the next three years focusing on cities and urban areas where facilities might not exist or need refurbishing over three years.
“I just focus on the here and now and be what I can be for Spirit. Obviously, England is everything, but we’ll see what happens.
“It’s been really cool; I didn’t expect to make my debut last year so to do that in the Ashes was amazing.
“To keep going and be in a couple of the squads and really enjoy it has been great.
“Every opportunity I get to play out there, just making the most of it and learning as much as I can from the coaches and the players has been really integral.
“I’m just going to focus on The Hundred for now, hopefully Spirit can reach the finals – we haven’t done that yet so it’d be really good if we can do that.”
In the inaugural season of The Hundred, Gloucestershire’s Gibson was signed by Spirit, scoring 108 runs at an impressive strike rate of 180.
Some of her Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy teammates and opponents at Western Storm have since become international pals.
Being part of England’s recent 5-0 T20 Series win saw her enter Spirit’s set up in fine form going into the summer.
Gibson has been vlogging her journey to senior stardom since she was 17 and knows if a ticket to Bangladesh is punched, her dreams will become a career-affirming reality.
“I went on a tour to India with the England academy when I was just about to turn 18, I did mini vlogs for my Facebook followers.
“I’ve always enjoyed stuff like that, and my friend owns a business, so she said she’d help me with it.
“I just started really enjoying it and it’s nice for the fans to see what goes on behind the scenes.”
KP Snacks is the Official Team Partner of The Hundred. Through their Everyone In campaign, they are on a mission to inspire and enable more families & communities to get more active through cricket and create more opportunities for people to get involved and have a healthier lifestyle through the sport. To find your nearest pitch, head to www.everyonein.co.uk
