Faulty team selection costs England win
A tremendous test match petered out into a tame draw after a day of lurching fortunes.
England failed to complete the job – why?
Pre-match I suggested Lisa Keightley could do worse than pick three spinners. I contend that the way the fourth day unfolded this view was correct.
England winkled eight batters out, but could get no further. Sneh Rana (80*) and Taniya Bhatia (44*) put on a magnificent match-saving partnership of 104 for the ninth wicket.
England’s selection was proved to be wrong. Sophie Ecclestone was required to bowl an exhausting 38 overs, to complete a match total of 64. She took another four wickets, but by the end her arm had almost loosened itself off its shoulder. And there are six more matches to come in quick succession.
Heather Knight offered herself for 15 overs and took a single wicket. At the other end the quicker bowlers toiled away on an increasingly unresponsive wicket with a Kookaburra ball that gave up the ghost early on.
It’s an old cricketing adage that bowlers operate best in pairs. There was no Sarah Glenn, no Mady Villiers to share the load with Ecclestone and offer variety – the ball turning the other way with finger-spin, and the same way with wrist spin. Had either or both been operating, the over-rate would have stepped up considerably, requiring the batters too concentrate even harder ball by ball.
Ecclestone wasn’t at her best against the left-handers; Villiers might well have preferred to face them challenging the outside of their bat.
The final proof of my argument came when the umpires called the last hour. At once Knight brought Georgia Elwiss on to bowl for the first time. What had been her role as conceived by the head coach? She paid a touching tribute to her pal Sophia Dunkley at the cap-presentation. Apart from that she batted No 7, offering a short innings of 5 off 11 balls, and fielded. She can’t have been happy about that.
The five quicker bowlers managed three wickets between them, Nat Sciver taking two of them at minimal cost.
How the day went
Katherine Brunt stole the limelight once more with a breathtaking diving catch at long-on to dismiss the threatening Shafali Verma. Verma had already stroked her way effortlessly to 63 when Ecclestone surprised her with her worst ball of the day, a full toss. (A lesson for all bowlers striving for greatness).
Ecclestone was responsible for dismissing both the other big scorers in the top order: she bowled Deepti Sharma (54) then caught Punam Raut (39) off Sciver. When Mitali Raj failed again (4) after lunch, England looked home and dry, Several Indian batters concentrated like fury only to suffer a lapse and play an unwise shot. They descended from 171-3 at lunch to 199-7.
But now they showed their true colours. England laboured as the score rose to 240 before Nat Sciver strangled Shikha Pandey down the leg side where Amy Jones took a fine low catch.
All over now; only two wickets needed. We can gather our belongings.
Oh, no we can’t! In strides Bhatia and adds that calm century with Rana.
England use up all their DRS appeals in vain. There are edges and near-misses, but they can’t achieve the vital break.
The game edges close to farce as the captains can’t agree on an early draw. In the end the umpires hatch a cunning plan, deciding that the light is too poor to continue.
Scores:
England 396-9 declared
India 231 and 344-8
Match drawn
2 points each
