The feel of the tournament as a whole was really different to the World Cup in Sydney as being at home meant we felt the full impact our success is having on all areas, from media coverage to the level of interest in our sport.

The support we received has been fantastic - well wishes from Gordon Brown and David Cameron and some of the England boys really kept us going and being able to fill up Taunton in the group matches and getting good sized crowds for the semi and final at The Oval and Lord's was great.

Hearing the chants for England every time we took a wicket sent chills down my back and was definitely a far cry from a few of the chants I remember a few years ago of 'Get back in the kitchen!'

Getting to the final from the thriller against the Aussies was amazing, especially as it dispelled any doubts about whether we were mentally up to the task, and the way Tails (Claire Taylor) and Beth (Morgan) batted really showed how far we have come as a team.

In the Sydney World Cup we weren't really under the same pressure when we played the Aussies as we had all ready qualified for the final by then, but the semi-final at The Oval was life or death and the excitement was incredible.

The final itself had a different emotional feel for the group. There were no tears at all and from a bunch of women that is saying something! As we all hugged and looked at each other there was mainly shock that we had done it; I think we were all just stunned and the feeling was surreal.

I guess the match itself was also different as we didn't make the same mistake as we did in the World Cup final when we let the Kiwis back in to have a sniff of victory - we just kept coming hard at them. Nunny's (Katherine Brunt) spell of bowling was full of fire, and brilliant to watch, especially her shoulder shuffling celebrations!

It is such a special unit to be a part of - more like a family than a group of friends - and I know this is a year I will look back on in years to come and realise how fortunate I am to be involved in this era of women's cricket and being able to watch the game go from strength to strength.

I enjoyed spending a moment with Tails after the presentation. She was lying on the floor with her stunning and very heavy sterling silver trophy, soaking up the atmosphere, and it dawned on me I was in the presence of an absolute living legend -and I felt I had to tell her that.

I have had the honour to play and win trophies alongside arguably the best female batter the world has ever seen. To win two player of the tournaments back to back under immense pressure and competition shows what she is made of and the rest of us batters behind her can learn a lot from her.

Later, the celebrations happened in style in London, which were topped off while I was boogying on the dance floor and heard a massive cheer from the other girls when the highlights of our game appeared on the the big screen. Quality!!!

We couldn't really get too carried away as we had a 9:15am photoshoot with the trophy next morning at my favourite bridge in the world, Tower Bridge. It was made even more special as the Mr Boris Johnson himself popped over to have a few photos with us, taking time out from his busy schedule as mayor.

But there is no rest for the wicked - we have today off and then it's back to business for our series against the Aussies, starting with training in Derby on Wednesday. I am really looking forward to it and think it will be closely contested; the Aussie girls are going to be pumped up and if the semi-final is anything to go by there will be a lot of exciting cricket.

I know our camp is up for it and we will have to approach it with the same intensity and discipline if we want to finish off the international summer in style.

It's already been a great year - one more trophy would make it just about perfect.

I know it's going to be a top-class wicket which should allow us to show off our skills before the men's game later in the afternoon.

We beat Pakistan by 60-odd runs in our final group game but didn't perform anywhere near our best and to get through to the final on Sunday we know we'll have to play much better against the Australians.

Unfortunately, I tweaked my hamstring, which meant I could train, but not sprint, so the last few days have been a little frustrating but have made me appreciate the benefits of having a full-time physio and strength and conditioning coach on board.

I am now back up to full speed thanks to the correct treatment and training programme - a luxury we have only had in the last six months, but which is obviously paying off and helping keep the team successful.

Ahead of our opening game against India, I was brimming with excitement. There were a lot of people in the ground when we arrived and it continued to fill as we warmed up.

There were cheers for us from all over the ground and although India can be a tough team to beat, we did so in style by 10 wickets, setting our mark on the tournament and providing a good buzz in the camp.

Looking back a year or so, we were lucky to fill even one stand, let along the whole ground and it's great for women's cricket that so many girls were there watching - I hope it continues for many years to come.

Next day, there was a bit of amazing news - that Lottie (Charlotte Edwards), our captain, had been awarded an MBE. I hadn't read the morning paper and when it was announced to the team, we were all absolutely delighted.

What can you say - there's no doubt she deserves it for what she has given the game, and her award also demonstrates how far the profile of women's cricket has risen.

Lottie has already lifted one trophy this year - and we're all determined to get past the Aussies and help her pick up another at Lord's on Sunday.

Following on from the World Cup there is a mixture of feelings. Obviously we hope to take as much as possible that led to the team's success down under, but we are also very aware this is a totally different format of the game and a completely fresh start.

Therefore if we intend to be successful we need to approach this with as much or even more intensity and discipline.

For a tournament it doesn't get any bigger, our first ICC World Twenty20, at home and alongside the men.

For us this will be a massive opportunity to showcase our talent and being alongside the men means both being given the credibility and an opportunity to win fans.

Having the semi-finals and finals prior to the men's games and televised is a massive incentive for us. There has already been a massive push in the women's game with the coverage and support received and here is an ideal chance at home to take it to the next level.

For me personally I am looking forward to the ICC World Twenty20, and hope to play a bigger part than in the previous World Cup.

I really enjoy this format of the game as it allows one to be positive. Again competition in the squad is close, so I will have to be prepared to take my chance when it comes.

Looking at the competition for the tournament, I feel there will be a lot of excitement and teams to watch.

New Zealand have many batters who can hit the ball easily out of the park and will put in a strong challenge.

Also Australia and India are teams who have talented players in all departments.

The exciting thing about Twenty20 is no team can become complacent, as any team involved can win on any day.

I think we have a good chance based on previous success and current form, but we will have to play one game at a time.

The trophy was packed separately as it is quite heavy but when we returned to Heathrow, it didn't come through the baggage reclaim, so we were all stressing that we had lost the World Cup, quite literally. Luckily it turned up 20 minutes later, cue lots of relieved England faces.

Things have calmed down a bit since we returned home, but I've enjoyed every moment since we won the final against New Zealand.

It was a very emotional moment, you never know what it feels like until it happens. From a personal point of view, I was disappointed about missing out on the final, but I still felt a huge part of the team - it definitely was a family effort, everyone played their part and I think that's the secret of our success, our unity as a team.

We spent a long time at the ground with the trophy presentations, taking photos and enjoying a few drinks. I also remember playing cricket on the pitch with a few random members of the crowd and generally being very silly.

There were plenty of messages of congratulations, including one from Andrew Strauss. It was really good to know the male cricketers were behind us too.

We returned to our hotel, got dressed up and had some drinks in the piano bar before going out dancing in Sydney until the early hours. However, we couldn't drink too much because we had to be ready at 9.00am for pictures on Monday morning.

I didn't look so great the next morning. Someone - and I still don't know who - had accidentally poked me in the eye when we were jumping and dancing around. I woke up the next morning with a horrible red eye - some of the girls said I looked like the devil. It's still pretty red now and it doesn't help that I wear contact lenses.

We managed to fly back as a team. Isa Guha and Jenny Gunn had been scheduled to return on different dates because they had flown out earlier to play club cricket in Australia, which really upset us because we all wanted to return together.

But our team management sorted out the flight at the last minute - and when I mean last minute, I really do mean last minute. We had all checked in and were set to say our goodbyes, but our manager Megan Smith did a brilliant job and managed to get them both on board.

The first thing I noticed when we arrived at Heathrow Airport was the police escort when we got off the plane. We were fast-tracked through accompanied by policemen - I thought 'what is going on here?'

Someone said there would be cameras present, so what's the first thing we all do? Run straight into the ladies toilets and get busy with our make-up, we're such a girly team.

We went to Lord's for a reception straight from the airport and as we entered the offices, the entire staff had gathered and welcomed us with a round of applause, which was a lovel moment for me. Hugh Morris and Giles Clarke were present, along with secretary of state Andy Burnham, as well as a lot of press, which is something we normally do very little of.

The World Cup victory is a fantastic opportunity to build support, to get people coming to our matches and to make them understand we play decent cricket. The media have their part to play too, more coverage will bring in new kids to the game and those new faces will filter through into the next generation.

I've got the rest of the week off, which I'll spend catching up with friends, along with a mini road-trip to go and see some of the other England girls in their home towns.

Then it's back into training on Monday and I have already written down my goals, the next one being the World Twenty20 on home soil in June.

My game is about attacking, so if there's a time to get into the first XI it will be in that tournament on home soil. But for now I'm going to enjoy some time off this week. Thank you to everyone for all your support over the past weeks.

Ebony was talking to BBC Sport's Pranav Soneji

The majority of the England squad played in the 2005 World Cup when we didn't reach the final and I know that hurt.

To be this close therefore to achieving our ambitions is so exciting - but also a little scary.

We know all about New Zealand, having played them in our first Super Six game last weekend. On that day, we won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch that had a bit of life in it for the bowlers. The outfield was slow and it required intelligent batting to set a total of 201-5. We then managed to restrict them to 170 all out with our girls fielding like demons.

Last Sunday, we had a much-needed day of rest, so it was off to Bondi Beach again with a few of the girls and team management.

It proved an interesting experience as, after being hit by a wave, I found myself facing our strength and conditioning coach Crumpy (Ian Crump) with my bikini top hanging half off - and exposing myself to half of Bondi Beach.

It was back into training next day for the game against West Indies at Drummoyne Oval and as we had been unbeaten in all the games to date, we knew if we won this we would qualify for the final.

Again we batted first and achieved a healthy total of 236-8, with Sarah Taylor making a well-played 78 and Claire Taylor batting aggressively for a quick half century. Again, we managed to finish the game of clinically, bowling them out for 90.

Our last Super Six game was against Australia, a televised match with a good crowd of over 2,000 and the North Sydney Oval painted pink for the McGrath Foundation Day.

Unfortunately, on this occasion we put in a poor performance to collapse from 106-3 to 161 all out, with 49 from Claire Taylor the only highlight. With not enough runs to defend, the Aussies finished things off in the 34th over.

It wasn't the best preparation for the final, but it was just one bad day and we are now spending time in training putting everything in place to play the Kiwis.

There are inevitably a few nerves at the prospect of playing in a World Cup final, but the overriding feeling is one of excitement that we could potentially be World Cup winners come Sunday night.

The other option doesn't bear thinking about!

Our first game against Sri Lanka saw a comfortable win with a 100-run margin. We posted 277-5 and managed to restrict Sri Lanka to 177-7. The highlights were the batters who put in some good performances with Tails (Claire Taylor) cashing in with her first century of the tournament, her third consecutive one against this opposition at a World Cup, and Caroline Atkins with a nice opening 50.

Although we won there were many areas as a team where we felt we needed to be more disciplined, including being more aggressive batting in the last 10 overs and tightening up on the fielding.

Recovery after the games included ice baths and work in the swimming pool to ease muscles and lactic acid.

To make the most of the last afternoon off, the team decided to give our youngest member a mini makeover, and put in a collection to get some nice highlights and a sexy-looking cut. So myself and Anyanka (Anya) Shrubsole spent the afternoon together in the hairdressers for a fresh and fabulous look.

After this point the schedule has become play... train... play ...train, with no days off. Our focus has become recovery, picking up extra hours of sleep where possible and relaxing.

Sue our physio is also making sure we stay hydrated by giving us random urine tests and weighing us in and out of games and training to see how much fluid we have lost.

Our next game was against India, our biggest match in the group. We were going to be tested by a good team and we needed to look good for the TV!

We played at North Sydney Oval and the Indians batted first on a good track. They looked good and despite a flamboyant burst from Amita Sharma at the end of the innings, we kept them under 200, getting them all out for 169. We managed to knock them off comfortably with Tails and Shaggy (Caroline Atkins) each finishing on 69 not out.

The last game in our group was another televised match against Pakistan, and it was my first World Cup game. Surprisingly, although I was excited, I felt calm which I was happy about. I knew I would be opening the batting which I enjoy and my goal was to spend as much time as possible at the crease as there may not be many opportunities. I therefore needed to make the most of it.

We lost the toss and they elected to bat on what looked like another road. They got off to a good start putting away anything short, and using their wrists well.

However the spin twins Holly Colvin and Laura Marsh turned things around doing the business with Laura bowling amazingly well on a flat track and picking up some amazing figures of 5-15 off her 10 overs. We restricted them to 78, after they had been 51-1.

So it was a 10-minute changeover and I was out there. I really enjoyed the experience, the pitch played nicely and I was seeing the ball well, which allowed me to play some nice shots.

I was out for 18 trying to take on an off-spinner to get them to put the field back. Lottie (Charlotte Edwards) and Lydia (Greenway) finished the job off clinically in the 23rd over for two wickets down which has now left us top of our group.

We are set to play New Zealand on Saturday in the first stage of the Super Sixes. They are also currently unbeaten so it will be a tough contest.

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.

We left Heathrow on 19 February with the one goal of staying awake for the 11-hour flight between London and Bangkok and sleeping on the second leg to Sydney. This was intended to help us cope with the different time zones - but I found it hard to avoid dropping off and had to put up with 'Crumpy', our strength and conditioning coach, poking in me in the ear to wake me up again.

Once we arrived in Australia, we caught up with the England girls who had already been out here for a while playing grade cricket and then went to support them in their last game - as well as checking out some of the Aussie players we might be facing in the World Cup.

But the moment I had been looking forward to was getting out onto grass for our first practice. I had built it up in my head to be the best net session I had ever taken part in and it turned out to be.....absolutely awful! I couldn't work it out. A few days before I felt like hot stuff training in Guildford, but now I couldn't time a ball to save my life.

They were right. Over the next few days I too every opportunity to face bowling or throw-downs in the nets and eventually things started to feel right again.

We had three games lined up before the World Cup against New South Wales Breakers, Australia and West Indies and it was great to play in the first as I hadn't been out on the field running around since our training camp in Bangalore last November. I had learnt so much in India, including fielding tips from former South Africa coach Ray Jennings, and was eager to try it all out - I couldn't wait.

The Breakers batted first but 'Nunny' (Katherine Brunt), our opening bowler, was on top form, finding a perfect line and length and moving it off the pitch. We gelled as a unit, managed to dismiss them for 99 and managed to knock off the runs comfortably.

Afterwards, it was time for the dreaded ice baths. They are something I dislike, but I'm fully aware that every little percentage helps us towards our ultimate goal of reaching the World Cup final on 22 March.

We were given the next day off, possibly the only one for the whole tour, so some of us decided to head to Bondi Beach. The waves were fierce, but the weather was nice and hot, so it was a real fun treat.

Game two was a much tougher challenge, playing Australia, the World Cup holders. We knew not to expect too much as it was only our second match together and some of us were still acclimatising. They made 214 batting first, with Alex Blackwell making 91 not out, but we were delighted to get Australian captain Karen Rolton lbw for a first-ball duck.

We started our innings well and Lottie (Charlotte Edwards) made 72 and at 150-5, the game was set up nicely, but a few silly run-outs meant we were all out for 189. We were absolutely gutted, having laid the foundations for a good, solid win.

This was a massive wake-up call for the girls. We know we're a good side, but we can't afford mistakes like giving away wickets with run-outs. Still, it was a good lesson to learn before the start of the real competition and we bounced back yesterday with a 116-run victory over West Indies.

We start the tournament against Sri Lanka on Saturday and now that the batters and bowlers have all had time in the middle, we are confident we can do well in the first round.