England Women v India Women 2nd ODI Taunton on Wednesday 30 June
Hartley: “Belter Of A Day For Cross” Whose Five Wicket Haul Hands England Women An Unassailable Lead
As heard on radio Sports Xtra (commentators Alex Hartley, Isabelle Westbury and Daniel Norcross); and viewed via social media (Isabelle Westbury tweeting for Kate Cross): England went 2-0 up in the three-match ODI series.
*Before the match, England’s vice-captain Natalie Sciver spoke to ESPNcrickinfo (Valkerie Baynes.) Commenting on her match-winning 74*, during the opening ODI, had ‘played her usual game…. with added patience.’
On the day, All-Rounder Sciver (19) bagged her milestone 50th ODI wicket (dismissing Shikha Pandey (2). Pandey was caught behind by Amy Jones. Sciver anticipated tougher competition from India as the multi-format series continued.
England’s Kate Cross (5/34) reportedly had a ‘belter of a day’, according to Hartley.
Cross took five wickets, breaking a mainstay 68-run partnership between India’s ODI captain Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur, as vice-captain. At that point, commentators stated that India had ‘thrown away four wickets for 33 runs’; making a competitive score – ‘around the 250-260 mark’ – seem unlikely.
*Bagging five of India wickets, Kate Cross’ 3rd; 5th wickets fell to mis-timed balls struck too soon causing vertical catches – known as ‘blinders’ or ‘skiers.’ *Cross’ 3rd wicket dismissed Harmanpreet Kaur (19 off 39) who was caught-and-bowled from a good-length delivery on middle stump. Similarly, Cross’ 5th wicket dismissed Sneh Rana (5) caught by Heather Knight fielding at extra cover. *Separately, Cross’ 4th wicket dismissed Deepti Sharma (5) who lobbed a dolly caught by Sophia Dunkley. Later, Dunkley’s good fortune continued, not only running out India’s skipper following a mis-field; but also setting a new record with her bat (see below.) Spinner Sophie Ecclestone (3/33) skittled Poonam Yadav’s (10) stumps, taking her third wicket with the final ball of India’s innings.
Summary
*Commentating on England’s reply, Norcross summarised that India looked ‘on top’ for most of England’s innings with ‘quality fielding’ that bought them back into the game. After skipper Heather Knight (10) and Amy Jones (28) were dismissed, the match sat on a ‘knife-edge.’ Playing her second ODI, Sophia Dunkley (73* runs from 81 balls) was said to have played a ‘significant innings’ to rescue England. *Dunkley finished with top-score of the day and setting a new sixth-wicket record partnership of 92 runs with Katherine Brunt (33* from 46) – for England in one-day internationals. Norcross added that Dunkley and Brunt ‘absorbed the pressure’ that was needed to see England safely across the line – ‘creeping to victory’ with 15 balls to spare.
Commentators added that earlier, India’s middle-order batters took too much time, reflected by their lower strike rates
Result: England Women 225-5 beat India Women 221 by 5 wickets. England Women take the ODI series 2-0 with one ODI game remaining (see below)
*India 221 (50 overs) Mithali Raj 59, Shafali Verma 44, Smriti Mandhana 22, Harmanpreet Kaur 19, England bowling: Kate Cross 5/34 Sophie Ecclestone 3/33, Natalie Sciver 1/27; Fow 1-56, 2-76, 3-77, 4-145, 5-160, 6-168, 7-178, 8-181, 9-192, 10-221 *England 225/5 (47.3 overs) Sophia Dunkley 73*, Lauren Winfield-Hill 42, Katherine Brunt 33*, Amy Jones 28; India bowling: Poonam Yadav 2/63, Jhulan Goswami 1/25, Shikha Pandey 1/27, Sneh Rana 1-32; Fow 1-16, 2-48, 3-82, 4-92, 5-133,
Scorecard & videos at https://www.icc-cricket.com/match/31726#scorecard
Multi-format points Tally: England Women 6pts India Women 2pts
Next match: 3rd ODI at Worcester on 3rd July
