Rwanda v England
The broad scope of this tournament was aways likely to lead to one-sided games such as this. But Rwanda played with huge enthusiasm.; they can be proud of their achievements thus far. They really enjoyed their first win over Zimbabwe.
England put in a clinical performance, a newly constructed team (four more changes, see below)) adding to the selectors’ quandaries in deciding the ideal XI.
They kept their opening pair of Scrivens and Heap, who rewarded them with a tournament-best partnership of 124. No airy shots from Heap today (64 off 35); instead power and timing all around the ground. She even outpaced her skipper (51/43, 5×4, 2×6).
Both of them were prepared to wait for the slower ball coming off a slowish pitch and put it away. Their hard hitting was achieved without the need for the fancy shots that infest the modern game.
On 47-0 Giselle attempted a Mankad, but fortunately for Heap she was still at home.
The only clear deficiency came in the second half of the innings. At halfway England had posted a daunting 105-0; in the second ten they added ‘only’ 78-5. But that is the challenge of the second-shortest form of the game the administrators have yet approved.
The Reply
In the field the bowlers showed a range of skills. Ellie Anderson (3-0-13-1) started with sharp outers that justified the two slips she was given. She has the build that the great Fred Trueman always approved of. Her wicket was a pearler: as Merveille Uwase looked for more away swing, she produced a straight one to castle her.
At the other end Alexa Stonehouse (2-0-9-2) had initial problems with her left-arm overs: twice she struck her own stumps to offer free hits. But then she found her line and length to win two lbw decisions with late inswing.
The real joy came with the sight of two highly skilled leg-spinners, Hannah Baker and Josie Groves. How often have we seen that combo playing for an England side post-war?
They caused a sequence of batters immense difficulties. Baker has a wonderfully loose wrist that brings her a lot of spin with, apparently, minimum effort (4-1-9-2). Groves stayed wicketless, but one run off two overs speaks for itself.
Emma Marlow needs more time to perfect her off-spin action; it’s a little hasty at present, but like everyone in this tournament she has time on her side.
Finally the captain reverted to two quicker bowlers. Ryana Macdonald-Gay (2-1-1-2) bowled her inners far better than in her previous spell. Then Davina Perrin had a chance to show her all-round qualities too, bowling with real pace (2-0-5-2).
That quality allowed Maddie Ward to display the highest skills with the gloves. Standing up, she took lifters and leg-side balls as if she was a clone of Sarah Taylor. She claimed a leg-side catch off RM-G, next a sharp catch of Baker, finally a magnificent stumping off Perrin.
Few of us can boast of an 18th birthday of that nature. And there’s a braai to celebrate later.
The fielding paid tribute to the work of the coaching team, who looked justifiably proud of their youngsters post-match. Perrin’s catch off her own bowling was quite stunning; she caught it an inch off the ground at silly-mid-on!
The verdict
This was a fine all-round performance by England, but they still await the real tests to come in the Super Sixes. Can they retain this quality under greater pressure? How will they react to batting second for the first time, with a large total staring them in the face?
Scores
England 183-5
Rwanda 45 (17 overs)
England win by 138 runs
Player of the Match: Liberty Heap
Teams:
Rwanda
Merveille Uwase (wk), Cynthia Tuyizere, Gisele Ishimwe (captain), Henriette Ishimwe, Belyse Murekatete, Divine Ishimwe, Giovannis Uwase, Rosine Uwera, Sylvia Usabyimana, Zurafat Ishimwe, Synthia Uwera
England:
Grace Scrivens (captain), Libby Heap, Davina Perrin, Seren Smale, Ryana Macdonald-Gay, Josie Groves, Maddie Ward, Emma Marlow, Ellie Anderson, Alexa Stonehouse, Hannah Baker
How things stand
The two top teams in each pool are as follows:
Pool A Bangladesh, Australia
Pool B England, Pakistan
Pool C New Zealand, West Indies
Pool D India, South Africa
