“I just sat on my bed and cried,” says Helena Rowland, softly and soberly, as the pain comes flooding back. The 23-year-old is thinking back to a moment alone in an Auckland hotel on the morning of a World Cup final in which she had been set to star.
Seven days prior to a November showpiece, Rowland’s tournament was ended by serious injury. The 23-year-old had enlivened the first half of a last-four encounter with Canada, bouncing back from a tough quarter-final against Australia in monsoon conditions to star as England built an early lead that proved crucial as they survived a significant semi-final scare.
