Lydia Greenway (left) ended her long wait for a century in October

The England women’s squad left for a tour of New Zealand this week with one of the Kent contingent keen to build on a breakthrough moment from the last trip.

Lydia Greenway finally ended her long wait for a century in England colours in her 89th One Day International, against South Africa in October.

The 26-year-old admitted it had lifted a burden off her shoulders.

She said: “That was a long time coming. I probably owe England a few more. It was just pleasing to finally get one, but I don’t want to dwell on it too much because I’m quite aware I need to keep performing. As a batter you’re judged on stats so I guess it was a bit of a relief.”

Greenway is one of five Kent players in the squad taking on New Zealand. It marks the start of an important 12 months for the team, who will play World Cups in the 20 and 50-over versions of the game.

England have become one of the sides to beat in recent years but avoiding the pain of an early defeat in the Twenty20 World Cup in 2010 remains a powerful source of motivation.

Greenway said: “That’s still in the back of our minds and is something we really want to put right. I’m sure we don’t want to feel the same again. “We also know the other teams want to knock us down.”

Photo by ADY KERRY