Connor's troops go south for ultimate test of character

It may not be quite as tough or as long as the winter endured by Nasser Hussain's men, but the next six weeks present a formidable challenge for the England women's team.

Clare Connor's party have just landed in New Zealand, where they will play two practice matches and a warm-up one-day game against New Zealand A. This is followed by a quadrangular tournament against the best one-day international sides in the world: the host nation (and current World Cup holders), New Zealand, Australia and India. It is, to all intents and purposes, a world one-day championship and a daunting task for Connor and her crew.

When that punishing schedule of seven high-intensity matches in the space of 13 days crawls to an end, they cross the Tasman Sea for a two-Test Ashes rubber against the best Test team in the women's world, Australia.

It will test every element of the English team. Physically exhausting, mentally demanding and spiritually (potentially anyway) demoralising. "Yes, the itinerary alone is tough," Connor acknowledges, "regardless of who we are playing. I think of the total of 40 days on tour 28 of them are playing days, including practice games, but I suppose it is how you look at it."

Despite that and the high quality opponents they face, Connor, 26, insists: "It is not a 'tour from hell', rather it is a real opportunity for us to see where we are placed, and to see whether we are any closer to Australia and New Zealand, and I genuinely believe we will be. I think we have pushed ourselves up to third in the world in one-day cricket after beating India in the one-dayers last summer.

"But we have not won an ODI against Australia or New Zealand for a number of years, so it is going to be an interesting precursor to our World Cup which is in two years' time."

Connor, who teaches English at Brighton College in East Sussex when she is not engaged in cricket duties for club (Preston Nomads), county (Sussex), or her country, is someone who is clearly not put off by adversity. She has been something of a pioneer, ever since she trailed a cricket bat around behind her as a toddler, upset if she could not accompany her father Mike to her beloved Preston Nomads – where she still manages to turn out from time to time. She even made a little bit of cricket history as a teenager by becoming the first woman to play cricket in a boys' school team. "I was lucky enough to have John Spencer, the former Sussex player, as my coach at school and I did OK among the boys." she explained.

"I played two years in the Brighton College First XI; my first season was mostly as a bowler when I picked up around 20 wickets, then I had an opportunity to open the batting in my final year. I didn't get big scores, but I think 95 per cent of the time I saw off the new ball and got into the 20s and 30s. It caused a bit of a stir at the time.

"We played the MCC, the Martlets, some other jazzy men's clubs and I did all right, but it was always a challenge. I am beyond that stage of feeling I have to prove myself to the men, but as a teenager playing against good men cricketers at 16, and 17 and, knowing that they just did not think I should be there, that was a challenge."

All of her cricket has presented her with a challenge. Two years ago England lost a one-day series in Australia and then suffered a 5-0 whitewash against New Zealand and Connor was handed yet another challenge.

"I took over the captaincy halfway through the tour, and that was tough. I look back at it now and realise it was baptism of fire, but we improved."

There is little doubt that she is a fighter, a battler of the highest order. When confronted with taking on the best in the world her message is simple: "The attitude we have to adopt is to fight, even when we are losing."

Although it was a man (her father) who introduced her to cricket, and despite the fact that her heroes include the likes of Ian Botham (Connor is an all-rounder), Alex Stewart ("the ultimate professional") and Steve Waugh ("as a captain he is someone I cannot take my eyes off, you can almost see his mind ticking over"), Connor has her own ideas on leadership.

She knows precisely what she wants from her players, inter-action and involvement. She wants her players' input, particularly interesting will be that of the half dozen who have been wintering in New Zealand and Australia.

"Already what lots of them have e-mailed to me when they are describing their experiences Down Under is that by playing with and against Australians and New Zealanders they are no different from us, they too have hopes and dreams and fears and phobias.

"I want everyone on the squad to realise what we are up against. We are pitting ourselves against the best in the world in one-day cricket in the first leg, and the best in tests in the second. But if you are inherently competitive, you want that challenge. You want to take on the best. Fear of failure is something we have been trying to deal with over the last year or two and the attitude we have to adopt is to fight, even if we do lose."

Whatever the outcome in either leg of the tour, if Clare Connor has her way the opposition will know it has been a match. She and her troops are going to fight all the way.