Caroline Atkins - Loving Being A World Champion

25th March, 2009

I have been a World Champion for three days now and I still don’t think it’s sunk in yet. I am finding it hard to explain what it means to me. Whatever vocabulary I had to steer this life ambition has now evaporated and left me a little lost for words. I was considering replacing this written entry with a video of me jumping up and down, screaming, shouting, cheering, and singing at the top of my voice, but I’ve got enough to take in without getting a phone call from Simon Cowell asking me to go on pop idol.

I’d better explain that I’m not really disillusioned into thinking I can sing and dance, but if ever there was a stage for showcasing talent, then in cricketing terms - it is the World Cup. You come up against the best teams in the world and it’s tournament cricket where you have to be on top of your game all the way to the end, when the ultimate prize is at stake.

I’m so thrilled that we have won and I am immensely proud of becoming World Champions. Above all else, I am so excited about having achieved my greatest dream with a group of people who love the game like I do, who wanted it as much as I have and who deserve this title of World Champions.



My only concern about going ahead and winning the World Cup was that it might have fulfilled all my cricketing ambition and thereby left me without the same drive. As it turns out though, it has actually fuelled me for wanting more success.

It is the ICC World Twenty20 based in England in June followed by a five match NatWest Women’s Series and an npower Women’s Ashes Test in July. Now I agree with the notion that talent is given, but success is earned; so we will have to keep working to achieve what we want to achieve this summer. Meanwhile, I hope everyone is loving the fact that England are the World Cup Champions of 2009, I know I am.

Caroline Atkins

Caroline made her England debut in the Ashes series in June 2001 and has to date played in seven Tests,  39 One Day Internationals and seven Twenty20 Internationals. Her ODI top score of 145 came last summer against South Africa when she shared a record opening stand of 268 with Sarah Taylor at Lord's.

© Cricket World 2009