of the ambassadors of her home citys bid to host the Com

Kate Cross and the England Womens team get off to a winning start in South Africa, try out a new team song and go on safari... Stormy startHaving said goodbye to Potchefstroom, we made it to Pretoria to start some specific preparation for the first ODI in Benoni.We played two warm-up matches against a South Africa Womens Emerging XI, which was a really good opportunity to put all the work from the nets into practice. We won both games convincingly, giving the group a lot of confidence going into the ODIs. The thunderstorms in South Africa have troubled one or two of the squad But one thing we have discovered pretty quickly about South Africa is how rapidly the weather can change. There have been some serious thunderstorms in the last week, much to the dismay of Jenny Gunn, who is absolutely petrified of them, bless her.Unlike her, I have been glued to my window watching them, even managing to snap a photo or two.Squad on safari Heres the whole gang on safari. What a rabble we look! During our time off we have been lucky enough to get a true taste of South Africa by going on safari, which was an amazing experience. We visited Pilansberg National Park and spent a good four hours out in the truck spotting some animals.Although we only managed to see the tail of a lion (it was too hot for them to come out), we did see plenty of rhinos, giraffes, elephants, zebras and hippos. The rhinos were the stars of the show on safari Our strength and conditioning coach, Ian Durrant, was left a bit red faced after shouting about spotting a Melvin (a giraffe for anyone not a fan of the film Madagascar), only to then follow-up, saying, oh no wait, its just a big stick.Everyone really enjoyed the chance to get out and see what this incredible country has to offer before we start the series. Lucky ladies!Nicknames and new songs We got the ODI series off to a cracking start on Sunday with a win. The Hoof, aka Anya Shrubsole, was straight back into match-mode with a brilliant four-for, and it was finished off nicely with our batters showing some real intent and getting the job done quickly, despite the rain-affected innings. Anya Shrubsole helped get the side off to a winning start in the first ODI It was great to see Lauren Winfield and Amy Jones going out and attacking the opening bowlers, playing aggressive cricket. Its hopefully a good indication of the way we want to play our cricket and a sign of things to come. The win meant that we were able to trial our new team song which went down really a treat. Big up to Lyd (Lydia Greenway), Trev (Heather Knight), Sciver (Natalie Sciver) and Jonesy (Amy Jones) for a successful first run out. And speaking of successful debuts, Id like to congratulate Robbo (Mark Robinson) and Sals (Ian Salisbury) on their winning coaching debut. Not a bad start to their campaign! Catch you soon, Crossy. 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Four years after being inspired by compatriot Jessica Ennis-Hills London 2012 gold, Katarina Johnson-Thompson wants to become Great Britains new queen of the heptathlon.Ennis Hills quest for back-to-back Olympic golds begins in Rio on Friday when Liverpudlian Johnson-Thompson, 23, is also expected to challenge for a medal.In the London Games, Johnson-Thompson, then a teenager, secured a top-15 finish and was among those admiring Ennis-Hills achievement as she celebrated being part of Super Saturday on a gold-laden day on home soil for British track and field.While Ennis-Hills victory then was a source of motivation for Johnson-Thompson, she now wants to emulate her by fulfilling her own Olympic aspirations.She has inspired me ever since London so that is what I want to do now -- to win an Olympic gold, she told the Press Association.Hopefully thats what I can do now. I think everyone has to aim for gold but Im not going to be disappointed if I just get a medal, its an Olympic medal.Last summer the two flirted with a rivalry at a major competition, with Johnson-Thompson second behind Ennis-Hill after four events at the World Championships in Beijing before she failed to register a legal attempt in the long jump at the start of the second day and fell away.Her desire to reach her sports peak has not abated and she insists only success in Rio will see her smiling at the end of the competition.Speaking about how far she has come in four years, Johnson-Thompson added: Its completely different, last year was the first time Id competed outside of Europe.Im four years older, I think thats four years wiser, though Im not too sure! At 19 I was just lucky to be there in London. The experience was what it was about whereas this time Im trying to hopefully get a medal. Im a lot more focused and not as happy because the job isnt done yet.Johnson-Thompson has spent the bulk of her preparation time working on her shot put and javelin, her two self-confessed weaker disciplines, which are split across the two days in Brazil.The haunting memories of how it unraavelled on the second day in China may not be far from her mind if she is in a dominant position after the first four events, though Johnson-Thompson is not expecting a comfortable evening wherever she stands after the first day.ddddddddddddNo matter what happens, its not going to be an easy nights sleep, its not done after one day, she stressed. Its not feet up and kick back, its going to be a tough time no matter what.At 30, Ennis-Hill has already stated she will not continue beyond the 2017 World Championships in London and Johnson-Thompson has revealed she has her own potential swansong in mind.She was recently named as one of the ambassadors of her home citys bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026 and, though she would be 33, she insists she wants to be competing were the event to be staged in Liverpool.Ill be coming towards the end of my career so that would be a nice send-off, even if its just a single event. she said.Ennis-Hill, meanwhile, admits it would be incredible to be part of a repeat of Super Saturday at the Rio Olympics.The culmination of the heptathlon comes on Saturday, when Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford will also go for gold in the 10,000 metres and long jump respectively.Four years ago in London the trio gave British athletics its finest hour, all three celebrating victory on home soil, to the delight of a frenzied crowd, within the space of a barely-believable 45 minutes.The timetable this time means the medals cannot be won in quite such a short space of time, but there remains a strong chance of another momentous day.It is really exciting. I am happy the timetable has fallen like that, said Ennis-Hill.Its a really nice moment to be in the stadium again, knowing what we all achieved four years ago.It would be incredible to achieve it again, but Im not sure if thats possible or not.Im not going to be too greedy and imagine it will happen again, but it was really special to be part of that. ' ' '