Now the team are ready to defend the title in the Caribbean and although, unfortunately, I'll be watching from the sidelines, it's another excellent opportunity to showcase women's cricket with the semis and final to be played alongside the men's games.

The women's tournament kicks off at Warner Park, St Kitts next Wednesday and I thought I'd share a few thoughts on the teams with you.

However, those tours were great opportunity for some young graduates from the England Women's Academy to break into the squad and the India tour concluded with victory in the Twenty20 series which put great momentum and confidence into the squad, which will be boosted by the return of Holly Colvin, Claire Taylor and Sarah Taylor for this tournament.

Claire has been a rock for the team for a number of years and it will be exciting to see how she does after a winter off. Having won the Player of the Tournament at the World Cup and World Twenty20 last year, all eyes will be on her.

Claire Taylor is back to add experience and quality to England's batting line-up

Charlotte Edwards will continue to lead from the front, providing valuable runs to keep the girls on track, and Katherine Brunt, the spearhead of the attack, will be fired up and can, with her passion, inspire the team to try and repeat their successes of 2009.

Of the newer faces, my pick for the one to watch is Danny Hazell. I mentioned her in my blogs from India and I think her talent and no-fear-of-failure attitude could bring her to the fore as a match-winner. If it doesn't happen on this tour, it will in the near future.

West Indies My wildcard choice. Although they are currently only ranked fifth in the world, they have home advantage, lots of confidence after beating England and have had plenty of match practice leading up to the tournament.

They have players who could be dangerous in this format, including Pamela Lavine and Deandra Dottin and especially Stafanie Taylor, a seriously talented cricketer, who averages 47 and has a strike rate of 122.25 in Twenty20 cricket and took eight wickets in the recent three-game series against Sri Lanka.

She has the ability to turn games by scoring quickly and aggressively or by taking wickets and should not be underestimated.

Australia They are always in the mix to win and play a tough and exciting brand of cricket. Although Karen Rolton has retired, they still have a number of experienced players in the ranks who know how to bring games home for their side and although they are missing their leader in Jodie Fields, they are in a strong position after their recent ODI series win against New Zealand.

It's hard to single out an individual, but I am going to go for Shelley Nitschke, who is a class player and offers a lot with bat and ball. She chalked up plenty of runs against the Kiwis in the Rose Bowl series including an innings of 113 not out which will certainly stand her in good stead.

New Zealand Another strong unit, who made it to the World Cup and Twenty20 finals last year. More recently, they managed to beat Australia 5-0 in a T20 series but the Aussies came back with a clean sweep in the one-dayers, so it's difficult to predict how they will play.

They have some big-hitting batters like Aimee Watkins, Nicola Browne and Suzie Bates and if they fire, could be very difficult to handle.

Aimee Watkins (centre) hopes New Zealand can go one better than last year

Lucy Doolan is an all-rounder who plays with ease and freedom and although she has just returned from injury, she will relish being back on the big stage. Sophie Devine, meanwhile, is not only a top quality opening bowler - she recently hit 72 off 84 balls against Australia, which shows how handy she can be down the order.

India They have the current number one bowler (Jhulan Goswami) and batter (Mithali Raj) in the women's game and pushed England close in the recent T20 series in India, so it will be interesting to see how they approach the tournament.

The talent they possess suggests they are capable of taking home the trophy, but hey haven't done much on the global stage in recent years.

Harmanpreet Kaur is an attacking batter who made 84 against England and is capable of hitting aggressively over the top - I feel she has a lot more to bring to the table. They also have Gouher Sultana who, for me, is one of the best spinners on the circuit and it's only a matter of time before she is up there at the top of the rankings. She is a very clever bowler, who could win games for India.

South Africa They are in the same group as England, Australia and West Indies and could find it very tough to get through.

They will be determined to make their mark but will have to rely on talented youngsters like 16-year-old Chloe Tyron to support more experienced stars such as Alicia Smith and Cri-Zelda Brits to give them a chance of winning games.

West Indies beat them 3-0 recently so it will be interesting to see if they are able to raise their game.

Pakistan An upcoming team, who have defeated Sri Lanka and West Indies to establish themselves as an emerging force. The tournament will be tough for them too, but it will be a good chance to see how they are improving.

Sri Lanka Although they are underdogs, they have had lots of practice in the recent series against West Indies, although they were on the wrong end of a clean sweep. New Zealand and India look too strong for them, but it will be interesting to see how they go against Pakistan.

I might have to do quite a bit of that because I picked up an ankle injury stepping on a ball in training before we left for India. It hasn't settled, so I'm going to be wearing a special walking boot for two to three weeks - I'm not sure it will look good with skinny jeans!

That's the nature of sport, and it will now be in the selectors' hands as to whether I'm picked for the ICC World Twenty20.

I think both sides have players to look out for in the future.

For India, I think Harman Kaur bats with a lot of freedom. I watched her play against Australia at the World Cup last year and thought then that she was one to keep an eye on and the 84 she scored against us in the final ODI showed she is capable of pacing an aggressive innings.

I also think Gouher Sultana is a great left-arm orthodox spinner, she has lots of subtle variations and the ability to pick up wickets.

On our side, as I mentioned in a previous blog, youngsters Danielle Hazell, Danielle Wyatt and Heather Knight were all on their first tour and showed the ability to perform at this level. They have many years ahead of them playing for England and I believe they will continue to do well.

A personal highlight of the tour came when we stayed at the stunning Taj Lands End Hotel in Mumbai. It had a fantastic pool area where some of the girls tried to catch some rays, but I realised just how top-notch the hotel was when I found out Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni were staying there.

Alec Stewart and Sachin Tendulkar are Ebony's two favourite cricketers - photo: Getty

As soon as we heard Tendulkar was in the restaurant, four of us ran straight there and sat and drank tea until he was able to come over and talk to us. He had just scored a record 200 in a one-dayer against South Africa and we were totally in awe - some of us couldn't say much and just beamed from ear to ear.

I'm often asked who my cricketing idols are and I would have to say Tendulkar, along with Alec Stewart, are top of my list, so it was very special to meet him in person.

His record is amazing and speaks for itself; to have played 442 ODIs with an average of 45 - and 166 Tests - and still have the energy to break records shows why he is one of the greatest legends of the game.

Apart from meeting Sachin, we did manage do get a bit of shopping in at a mall in central Mumbai, where I picked up a few Indian tops and some nice pashminas to take home. The traffic was crazy, even worse than London, but the buzz of the city made me want to go back and see even more of it.

We also got to celebrate International Women's Day at the ground after the final game, which I really enjoyed. We were greeted in the traditional Indian way with flowers around our necks. I also got a handmade bangle, some mehndi on my hands (like henna tattoos) and had my palm read - it was a really nice way to finish off the tour.

Now it's back to the day job - I'm missing the sunshine already!

We weren't quite up to the necessary standard with the bat but Mithali Raj was the main difference - she showed why she is ranked world number one with four half centuries and an average of 143.5!

Personally, I felt in great form, but I didn't do as well as I would have liked for the team. I was very happy to get promoted from three to opener, which is where I love to bat (who doesn't fancy the hard ball coming on in the first few overs!!!), as the pitches have been pretty good despite a bit of swing through the air early on and Gouher Sultana managing to get some big turn with left-arm orthodox spin.

The wicket here at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai is fantastic and following our win in the last one-day game here, we are set up nicely for an exciting T20 series.

Although I have been to India twice before, this is my first time touring to different parts of the country and there have been some major differences in the crowds..

The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore was a large ground with a small number of relatively sedate supporters, but when we moved on to the ACA-VDCA stadium in Visakhapnam (Vizag), the lively, buzzing crowd lived for every ball, bringing the impressive venue to life.

It was amazing to hear the constant banging to a beat, cheering, waving and calling of your name and facing the first ball from the Indian fast bowler Jhulan Goswami, with the crowd going wild and having to concentrate on the little white ball coming towards my head was the best feeling I have ever experienced. I absolutely loved it!

Off the pitch it has been a quiet tour, not much time to do anything other than play, train, team meetings, weights or recovery sessions, but I was fortunate enough to find a few minutes to get to the Kali Temple, near our hotel in Vizag with Isa (Guha). It was an amazing experience to be allowed in and experience first hand the prayers and worship, and also to watch girls being taught classical Indian dancing.

We were also lucky enough to spend 15 minutes on the beach one evening, to experience the buzz of the local area at night.

Before I finish this blog a special mention has to go to Danny (Danielle Wyatt), Dani (Danielle Hazell) and Heather (Heather Knight).

Danny and Heather made their international debuts in the final ODI and showed the strength in depth we have in women's cricket in England at the moment.

Heather got us off to a flying start, opening the batting with composure and maturity to score 49. Yes, she is being fined for jug avoidance, although she claims she didn't realise she was on for a half century! Danny then scored a match-winning 26, playing smart cricket, which was delightful to watch.

I have to say, though, that Dani Hazell played for me the two shots of the series, a back-foot drive through cover from her first ball and a flat-bat straight back past the bowler off the front foot. These girls have great character both on and off the pitch and look like they will play a major part of the future.

Spending time with them off the pitch also reminds me why I enjoy playing and being part of a team, they all have a great sense of humour and are fun to be around, with lots of youthful energy to help keep our team in high spirits.

In particular Michael Vaughan, who was here working with the England Under-18's boys. He was kind enough to give us a team talk before our warm-up match which inspired me greatly. It was interesting to hear a fantastic England captain talking about taking responsibility, looking at yourself in the mirror and the challenges of trying to get to and stay on the top. A challenge which we are fully aware of and at the same time excited about.

So, after our inspiring talk before our warm-up match it was nice to get off to a good start, beating a Board President's XI comfortably, by over 100 runs. Our top order scored well, with Squirt (Sarah Taylor) and Lydia (Greenway) both cashing in with healthy half centuries, to get us a total of 273. For me personally it was not the greatest start, getting out by missing a straight one for one run, but to be positive I told myself it's always best to get them out of the way early.

On the morning of our first one-day international I was excited - it's always a great feeling to represent your country. I was given the number three spot of the legendary Claire Taylor, where I rarely bat at, so I was looking forward to the challenge.

I was also excited about facing Jhulan Goswami as I have admired her for many years and was looking forward to seeing how I faced up to her. We bowled first and Nunny (Katherine Brunt) and Anyanka (Anya Shrubsole) got us of to a great start bowling tight and throwing in a few aggressive bouncers. We performed well in the field restricting the Indians to 199, which we would be happy with on most days.

In our batting innings we got off to a slow start and lost Sarah Taylor early, meaning I was in against Goswami. She is one of the best female bowlers I have ever faced, bowling tight lines on off.

After we saw her off I was away. We needed to get on with it and managed to up the rate by hitting 16 off one over. I was gutted to get out to a low full toss lbw in the 60s, as I really needed to have stayed in and finished the job. This became more evident as we lost our last six wickets for 19 runs and fell short by 35 runs.

Although a poor batting performance, we are aware we are a quality squad and still have an opportunity to come back and win the series. Personally, it is always nice to make a few runs at number three and if I get more chances to bat, I will see if I can stick at it to take the game home...so I guess it's watch this space!

On top of the world
Two days after the World Twenty20 Final and I am still absolutely gobsmacked. The magnitude of what happened over the last few days hadn't really sunk in until breakfast yesterday.

Perfect setting for semi-final
So we're through to the Twenty20 semi-finals and will be playing at The Oval on Friday - for me, it's the perfect setting, my home ground, right where I grew up.

More competitive, more positive, fewer overs
It's really good to be back with the girls again. Although we have trained and played warm-up games together, there is always a buzz and excitement when you meet up as a group for the start of a tournament.

Team unity key to success
To say the past few days have been hectic would be somewhat of an understatement, although there was a moment when we thought we had lost the World Cup trophy on our return to England!

Dreaming of glory
Sunday is a massive day for all of us - without a doubt it will be the biggest day of our cricketing lives and something we have all been working so hard for. The majority of the England squad played in the 2005 World Cup when we didn't reach the final and I know that hurt.

More discipline, more aggression, more fabulous
So we arrived in Canberra after a long three-hour drive and got straight into our training session in preparation for our first World Cup match after the two warm-up games.

World Cup dream becomes reality
The start of the World Cup is finally here. This is something I have been building up to for the last five months since being selected, dreaming and thinking about it every spare moment and I am really excited.