England dominated the first of three T20 games at Northampton before the rain set in. It gives them an unassailable series lead 8-4 with 4 more points available.
Tammy Beaumont and Danni Wyatt are a knowing opening pair; they played tip-and-run at the start, but only Wyatt was able to get things moving fast, setting her side on the right route with 31 off 28 to see the 50 up. Beaumont, with less of the strike, mustered only 18 out of 72 by the time she was caught.
Nat Sciver announced her presence with an imperious cut four of her first ball. Her footwork stood out, deep in the crease to pull and cut; stepping firmly out to deliver the big blows. Though Heather Knight soon ran herself out off a misfield, Sciver completed the 10th over with a blast for six over extra. (82-1)
India did well to restrict the batters to five runs off the next two overs, but now Amy Jones cashed in with an innings of similar intent. The second half of the innings swung violently the hosts’ way. Sciver nearly beheaded Arundhati Reddy twice as she fiercely drove straight back at the bowler. 50 runs cascaded from bats inside four overs. It needed an outstanding catch low down by Harmanpreet Kaur, captain today, to stop Sciver (55 off 27!) – the fastest 50 by an English batter in this format. She and Jones added 78 off seven overs.
Indian players were rattled. We had the unusual sight of Sue Redfern signalling a no-ball when most of us would have told her it was a wide. She was right, of course: Shikha Pandey’s delivery failed to find the cut strip.
An even more outstanding catch ended Jones’ innings; she lofted to the long-on boundary where Harleen Deol caught the ball as she toppled backwards. With extraordinary presence of mind and physical control, she lobbed the ball high behind her, fell beyond the sponge, got to her feet again and launched herself in the air to complete a graceful swallow-dive of a catch. She smiled demurely as team-mates mobbed her.
Pandey finished with a good-looking 3-22, but her wickets came too late to affect the balance of play.
Sophie Ecclestone added her party piece at the end, a huge whack for six to make India’s task that shade harder.
The Reply
India had the batting strength to worry England, but Katherine Brunt had an answer. The second ball of the innings saw Shafali Verma step away towards the square-leg umpire to carve the ball over the third-man boundary. An edge dismantled her castle. Had Brunt divined her intention?
Not all was well in the England camp. As Smriti Mandhana wafted at a Brunt outswinger, Jones appealed for a catch. Knight asked for a review; As it started, Brunt was shaking her head, and she stands second only to Stuart Broad in the certainty of her case. Not out. Ball missed bat by many inches.
Sciver bowled an expensive over to Mandhana, but the sixth ball saw a second attempt at a hooked four. It landed in Sophie Ecclestone’s hands. (44-2). When Ecclestone took an easier catch in Sarah Glenn’s first over, India’s hopes darkened. So did the weather.
Players and umpires stayed out as the rain arrived, but when it started pelting, that was the end.
The official margin of 18 runs looks laughable in the context of the game, but that’s a quirk of the DLS method.
Scores: England 177-7; India 54-3 (8.4 overs)
England win by 18 runs (DLS method)
PotM: Nat Sciver
Points: England 8, India 4
Teams:
England
Heather Knight (Western Storm, captain)
Tammy Beaumont (Lightning)
Danni Wyatt (Southern Vipers)
Nat Sciver (Northern Diamonds)
Amy Jones (Central Sparks, wicket-keeper)
Sophia Dunkley (South East Stars)
Katherine Brunt (Northern Diamonds)
Sophie Ecclestone (Thunder)
Sarah Glenn (Central Sparks)
Mady Villiers (Sunrisers)
Freya Davies (South East Stars)
India
Harmanpreet Kaur (captain)
Smriti Mandhana
Harleen Deol
Deepti Sharma
Shafali Verma
Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper)
Sneh Rana
Shikha Pandey
Arundhati Reddy
Poonam Yadav
Radha Yadav
Afterthoughts
Lisa Keightley picked fourteen players to form her squad for the three decisive T20 matches. With England leading by only two points and six more available, she had to have the right combinations at hand to bring home the bacon. Her one surprise was to allow Kate Cross to return to Thunder after she had been the pick of the quicker bowlers, the one most likely to bowl the mean line and keep batters quiet. But she hasn’t appeared in a T20 since 2019. Danni Wyatt was preferred to Lauren Winfield-Hill at the top of the order; less of a shock there. Freya Davies (for Anya Shrubsole) and Mady Villiers were given their chance, though fate allowed them only one over each. Villiers nearly had a stumping, but reviews saw a heel just make contact with terra firma in time.
England paraded three spinners!
They had won 15 of the previous 19 T20 clashes between the two nations, and they continued a long run of victories at Northampton after batting first. But what do history and form tell us in the shortest form of the game? Very little.
Ellyse Perry
When ten Australians dipped out of the Hundred, one remained, Ellyse Perry. Now she too has announced she won’t be coming. The only possible bonus that could bring would be another English player put in her place.
