All change for the better? – No!
England, already one-up after the match at Canterbury, made the short-form series safe with a second win at Hove by 9 wickets.
Scores:
West Indies 81-9
England 82-1
The ECB website claims England won by 8 wickets. Ah! 9-1 = 8.
The game served to underline the sad disparity in strength between the two sides. Only Shemaine Campbelle (26) and Shabika Gajnabi (22) achieved double figures, as Lauren Bell and especially Em Arlott proved their ability with dominant analyses, 3-28 and 3-14 respectively.
In reply Danni Wyatt-Hodge failed again, to place a large question-mark against her name for Charlotte Edwards to ponder. She swung the bat lazily at Zaida James’s first left-arm slow delivery, missed and was bowled through the gate.
Sophia Dunkley and Nat Sciver-Brunt knocked off the runs with ease, Dunkley happy to take her time (24*/25), while her skipper flayed the ball all around the ground (55*/30).
Not much satisfaction to be had from a contest of this sort.
Match Three at Chelmsford
Charlotte Edwards made one change, introducing Sarah Glenn at the expense of Issy Wong, Unsurprisingly the West Indies showed four, reflecting their hunt for players who could support the skipper more effectively.
One of the more unlikely starts: Danni Wyatt-Hodge fell first ball for the second time running! And with exactly the same details on the scorecard: bowled Zaida James 0. She keeps being given chances.
The powerplay score of 24-2 was modest. Just after Heather Knight had wafted a 6, Nat Sciver-Brunt (37) tried the same, only to be caught in the deep off Hayley Matthews.
Knight was in prime form; Amy Jones (22) biffed fours, till she was deceived by the splendid Matthews and bowled. Was it significant that she came in one place above Alice Capsey, or was AC still seen as a likely bowler?
At 118-4 at the end of the 17th, England’s total barely looked enough. But at once Knight hit a four to reach her 50; she went on to make 66*; we were left wondering whether 144-5 was really enough. Against the current opposition probably; against other sides appearing over the horizon? Highly doubtful. Of the five batters dismissed, DWH (0), Sophia Dunkley (3) and Capsey (4), barely raised a ripple.
Reply
A second wicket fell first ball! Lauren Bell hit the off-stump to dismiss Qiana Joseph. That made three in two matches.
The rain which had interrupted the T20 finals in Taunton, reached East Anglia later. The score at the break: 97-3 off 15.4 overs. Of those Matthews had scored 66*, exactly Knight’s score!
With Matthews playing at her commanding best, England were in grave danger of losing this final game. By the time Bell had her pouched by Em Arlott in the deep she had scored 71 out of 113. But once again the frailty of the rest of the batting proved conclusive. As in the previous match only two other batters reached double figures, Realeanna Grimmond (15) and Shabika Gajnabi (14).
It’s profoundly sad. The players are all intent on producing their best. They want to support their gifted captain to the utmost, but the skills aren’t there. If I place lack of funding first among the excuses, it’s only one among many.
Once more, everything turned on if and when Matthews could be dismissed. She fell at 113-6; the rest of the line-up mustered a further fourteen runs.
England’s fielding was still a cause for concern. Complaints about the quality of the specialist coaches are hard to counter.
It also leaves questions about England’s best XI only partly answered. Social media has been full of unhelpful comments. A favourite chestnut is: ‘You can only play the team that’s put in front of you’. Profoundly true. But it will need all Charlotte Edwards’ experience and wisdom to decide which of her many alternatives are best suited to coming challenges.
Scores:
England: 144-5 (Knight 66*, Matthews 3-32)
West Indies: 127-8
England won by 17 runs
England take the series 3-0
Player of the Match: Hayley Matthews
Teams:
England: 1 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 2 Sophia Dunkley, 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt (captain), 4 Heather Knight, 5 Amy Jones (w-k), 6 Alice Capsey, 7 *Emily Arlott, 8 Sarah Glenn, 9 Charlie Dean, 10 Linsey Smith, 11 Lauren Bell
West Indies: 1 Hayley Matthews (captain), 2 Qiana Joseph, 3 Zaida James, 4 *Realeanna Grimmond, 5 Jahzara Claxton, 6 Shabika Gajnabi, 7 Aaliyah Alleyne, 8 Mandy Mangru (w-k), 9 Jannillea Glasgow, 10 Afy Fletcher, 11 Ashmini Munisar
Afterthoughts
It was good to see the Chelmsford ground packed. So that’s where all the Taunton supporters went for the day.
Now for the ODIs. This means a change of cast for matches that may well take a similar shape to what has recently passed. The first starts on 30 May at 13.00 BST. A reminder of the England squad:
Nat Sciver-Brunt, Alice Davidson-Richards, Amy Jones, Charlie Dean, Em Arlott, Emma Lamb, Heather Knight, Kate Cross, Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith, Mahika Gaur, Sarah Glenn, Sophia Dunkley, Tammy Beaumont.
Once more Edwards and Lydia Greenway have to decide whether to give everyone a chance or pick the strongest team each time. With only three matches on offer, they don’t have a generous choice. What can an individual prove in a single outing? And still only one keeper!
It remains to be seen whether Heather Knight will be fit enough to take part. Tammy Beaumont took the field for the WI innings.
It does seem a pity that, under the heading ‘Match Info’. the ECB’s website offers no information about the game beyond date and start-time. but finds room for the names and logos of twenty-four sponsors. That balance tells its own story. It fails to offer the venue for that first ODI, but is ready with a “win probability”. Gambling was an integral part of the game two hundred years ago.
