England women won the toss and elected to bowl

Australia women – 132-6 (Meg Lanning 55, Natalie Sciver 2-22)

20 overs

England women – 127-7 (Tammy Beaumont 32, Charlotte Edwards 31, Megan Schutt 2-15)

20 overs

Australia women won by 5 runs

———————————————–

England missed the chance to end Australia’s ICC Women’s World Twenty20 dominance after losing by five runs in their semi-final in Delhi.

Australia’s hopes of a fourth consecutive title were under threat when Charlotte Edwards and Tammy Beaumont began England’s pursuit of 133 with an opening stand of 67 in 10 overs.

But, like they did in chases against India and West Indies, England suffered a collapse and lost seven wickets for 50 runs to be restricted to 127 for seven.

Meg Lanning produced the innings of the match, hitting 55 from 50 balls, to ensure Australia posted 132 for six after they struggled to build on an explosive start.

Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole were thrown off their lengths early by an attacking opening stand of 41 from 33 balls from Alyssa Healy and Elyse Villani which contained nine boundaries.

But pace off the ball did the trick for England and pegged Australia back, Natalie Sciver striking with her third delivery after she was accidently floored by a Brunt throw from mid-off that hit her on the temple.

She got back on her feet to trap Villani lbw and, in the next over, Healy went in identical fashion for 25 off 15 balls attempting to reverse sweep Laura Marsh, who took 1-18 from four economical overs.

England then put the squeeze on Australia, conceding just four fours in the final 10 overs, all to Lanning who was strong on the off side.

Sciver ended Lanning, who survived a run-out chance on 20, and Ellyse Perry’s stand of 36 when the latter hit the first ball of her new spell to midwicket.

Lanning was dropped by Sarah Taylor on 45, a tough opportunity from a thick edge, and reached her half-century from 45 balls.

England finished strongly in the field as Sciver and Shrubsole ran out Alex Blackwell and Lanning, from deep midwicket and long-off respectively, and then started positively with the bat.

Edwards and Beaumont, who heaved the first six of the match over fine-leg, took 40 from the six-over powerplay and looked comfortable until the former hit Kristen Beams to extra cover for 31.

Taylor added 22 with Beaumont and drove a six to leave 45 runs needed from 42 balls, but a cluster of wickets saw the rate rise and England’s hopes fade.

Beaumont, with 32, and Heather Knight holed out, either side of Perry bowling Sciver, and Taylor looped up a catch to Healy behind the stumps from an attempted reverse scoop off Rene Farrell.

That left England up against it and, despite Brunt breathing new life into the chase by hitting a six and four, 21 runs from the final 12 balls proved beyond them.

Report courtesy of the ECB

]]> http://4theloveofsport.co.uk/2016/03/27/england-women-ruthless-against-pakistan/ Sun, 27 Mar 2016 19:58:24 +0000 http://4theloveofsport.co.uk/?p=13016 Continue Reading →

West Indies women won the toss and elected to bat

West Indies women – 108-4 (Stefanie Taylor 35)

20 overs

England women – 109-9 (Afy Fletcher 3-12, Shaquana Quintyne 3-19, Tammy Beaumont 31, Charlotte Edwards 30)

20 overs

England women won by 1 wicket

England moved closer to an ICC World Twenty20 semi-final place after beating West Indies by one wicket in a last-ball thriller in Dharamsala.

Charlotte Edwards’ side, having won their first two Group B matches, were coasting along on 59 without loss in the ninth over of their pursuit of 109.

But a dramatic collapse of eight wickets for 42 runs left them requiring seven off the final six balls, bowled by Deandra Dottin.

Anya Shrubsole took four runs off the first three deliveries before being bowled by Dottin, but a wide was followed by a Rebecca Grundy single and a bye to get England over the line.

Natalie Sciver kept a cool head when wickets were tumbling around her and finished the chase unbeaten on 19 from 22 deliveries.

England’s third consecutive win left them top of Group B, two points clear of Pakistan who they play in their final outing on Sunday.

England, having lost eight wickets when chasing only 91 to beat India on Wednesday, initially came racing out of the blocks.

Beaumont and Edwards struck 10 fours and one six between them, helping to lift England to 48 without loss at the end of the six-over powerplay, but their dismissals sparked a dramatic passage of play.

Spinners Afy Fletcher and Shaquana Quintyne did the damage, returning figures of 3-12 and 3-19 respectively.

Fletcher ended Beaumont’s Twenty20 international-best 31 by trapping her lbw and also removed Sarah Taylor after Edwards went to Quintyne in similar fashion to her opening partner for 30.

After Heather Knight became Fletcher’s third scalp, Stafanie Taylor removed Lydia Greenway and Danni Wyatt with the score on 83 to leave 26 still required from 33 balls.

Brunt took England closer by adding 18 alongside Sciver but another twist was to follow when she and Jenny Gunn departed with eight still needed.

Shrubsole hit two twos until she went, leaving Grundy and Sciver to steer England home in nail-biting fashion.

Earlier Shrubsole and Gunn bowled with control during impressive four-over spells, each taking a wicket and conceding only 11 and 15 runs respectively, to retsrict West Indies to 108 for four after they won the toss.

The Windies found the going tough on a slow wicket and were reliant on a partnership of 52 in eight overs between Taylor and Dottin.

Brunt delivered a wicket-maiden in the second over, having Hayley Matthews caught by Sciver for nine, but was hit for back-to-back fours by Quintyne twice during a positive powerplay that brought 34 runs.

Quintyne and Taylor added a patient 41 in 8.5 overs until the former hit Sciver to Gunn at long-on to depart for 29 off 28 balls.

Skipper Taylor and Dottin upped the tempo, hitting 35 and 22 respectively, but fell to Shrubsole and Gunn in the final two overs that went for only eight runs.

England women won the toss and elected to bowl

India women – 90-8 (Heather Knight 3-15, Anya Shrubsole 2-12)

20 overs

England women – 92-8 (Etka Bisht 4-21, Harmanpreet Kaur 2-22)

19 overs

England women won by 2 wickets

England women held their nerve at the death to secure a two-wicket win over India at Dharamsala and close in on an ICC Women’s World Twenty20 semi-final place.

Charlotte Edwards’ side looked to be cruising when Heather Knight’s 3-15 restricted the tournament hosts to 90 for eight before England raced to 42 for one during their powerplay.

But Ekta Bisht took 4-21 and fellow spinner Harmanpreet Kaur 2-22 as England struggled to deal with the turning ball, and some questionable running between the wickets aided India’s cause further as seven wickets fell for just 45 runs.

Anya Shrubsole was then dropped by Kaur at cover in Veda Krishnamurthy’s penultimate over before slashing the winning boundary through backward point off the following delivery.

Having convincingly won their tournament opener against Bangladesh, England maintain their 100 per cent record in Group B and can book a semi-final place if they defeat the unbeaten West Indies on Thursday.

With Danielle Hazell ruled out for the remainder of the tournament through injury, Knight was asked to open with her off-spin and Vallaswamy Vanitha skied the third ball of the match to Lydia Greenway at mid-on

Natalie Sciver dropped Smriti Mandhana off Shrubsole in third over, but the bowler swiftly gained revenge when she bowled Mandhana through the gate for 12 with an off-cutter.

While the bowling was excellent in restricting India to 21 for two from the powerplay, England’s early fielding was unconvincing as Danni Wyatt dropped Shikha Pandey at deep cover.

Pandey received a third life when the umpire failed to spot that she had gloved Rebecca Grundy to Sarah Taylor behind the stumps, but she failed to take advantage as Katherine Brunt held a brilliant catch at deep midwicket to hand Knight a second wicket.

The dangerous Mithali Raj made 20 before falling to Sciver’s first ball, with Greenway taking a sharp catch at point.

Knight bowled Krishnamurthy for two with one which ripped back through gate from around the wicket and Shrubsole came back into the attack and immediately had Jhulan Goswami caught behind for the same score to leave India reeling on 65 for six.

Anuja Patil and Kaur rallied with a 22-run stand from 21 balls before both run out in final over.

England were clear favourites at halfway and, although Edwards fell cheaply to Bisht in the third over after a leading edge was taken by wicketkeeper Sushma Verma, Tammy Beaumont and Sarah Taylor shared a brisk stand of 32 from 21 balls.

That should have put the result beyond doubt, but the pair fell to successive deliveries from Kaur, with Beaumont following three successive boundaries with a skier to Patil at square-leg on 20 before Taylor advanced down the track and was stumped by Verma for 16.

Knight and Sciver steadied the ship with a 20-run partnership before the former was stumped on seven charging at Bisht, and Greenway fell lbw first ball.

Sciver chipped a tame catch to Raj at short cover in Bisht’s next over to depart for 19, and Bisht affected her fifth dismissal when Danni Wyatt was run out by a direct hit.

Jenny Gunn was also run out for seven after a mix-up with Brunt, and Shrubsole then smashed a Krishnamurthy full toss to Kaur, who fumbled the chance as England scrambled home.

Report courtesy of the ECB

Hazell, who featured in England’s 36-run win against Bangladesh in their opening match of the tournament, will return to the UK to start a rehabilitation programme.

England Women’s Head Coach, Mark Robinson, said: “This is obviously very disappointing news for Danielle.  She was an important component of the bowling attack, especially given her excellent current form and the conditions here in India, but we are fortunate to have such a talented and experienced replacement in Laura Marsh.  We are looking forward to welcoming Laura into the squad later in the week.”

Marsh will join up with the squad in Chennai, in time for England’s fourth and final ICC Women’s World Twenty20 group match against Pakistan at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday 27^th March.

England’s ICC Women’s World Twenty20 squad in full:

England’s ICC Women’s World Twenty20 2016 Fixtures:

ICC Women’s World Twenty20 2016 Knock-Out Stage Fixtures:

* Double-header matches with ICC Men’s World Twenty20 semi-finals and final

Report courtesy of ECB

England women won the toss and elected to bat

England women – 153-7 (Charlotte Edwards 60, Jahanara Alam 3-32)

20 overs

Bangladesh women – 117-6 (Nigar Sultana 35, Salma Khatun 32*)

20 overs

England women won by 36 runs

Charlotte Edwards made her first format fifty since September 2014 as England women began their ICC Women’s World Twenty20 campaign with a comfortable 36-run win over Bangladesh.

Edwards’ 60 formed the backbone of England’s 153 for seven in Bangalore, a total which was always far too steep for their opponents.

England made a strong start after Edwards won the toss and chose to bat, with the skipper and Tammy Beaumont taking 44 from the powerplay.

Natalie Sciver, Danni Wyatt and Katherine Brunt then made useful late contributions, while England’s bowling unit never let their opponents get anywhere near the required rate from the moment Brunt started with a wicket maiden.

The 36-year-old Edwards and Beaumont hit the ground running, with the latter cutting Jahanara Alam to the fence in the first over before both hit boundaries off Nahida Akter and Beaumont then clubbed Salma Khatun down the ground for six in the fourth over.

Jahanara gained revenge with the first ball of the next over as she bowled Beaumont, who missed aiming a heave across the line having made 18 from 14 balls.

Edwards continued to be aggressive after the field went back, hitting boundaries either side of the wicket off Jahanara.

Sarah Taylor was stumped for nine attempting to charge Fahima Khatun and Heather Knight was caught and bowled by Khadija Tul Kubra for one.

But Edwards whipped Kubra through mid-on, then took a single to midwicket in Rumana’s next set of six to bring up her 11th T20I fifty.

Edwards was dropped off Khatun as the spinner failed to grasp a sharp caught-and-bowled chance but Sciver was soon caught in deep by Nahida Akter in the same over for 27.

Rumana had Edwards stumped late on for 60, but Wyatt thrashed 15 from eight balls and Brunt smashed 17 off the same number of deliveries as England passed 150 on Asian soil for only the second time in T20Is.

Both fell in Jahanara’s final over as the Bangladesh captain finished with 3-32.

Brunt bowled Sharmin Akhter at the end of the first over of the Bangladesh innings and although Fargana Hoque was spilled by Wyatt at square-leg in Anya Shrubsole’s next over, England were always in control.

Jenny Gunn’s first over went for eight, but Shrubsole had Ayasha Rahman caught by Edwards at mid-off for two at the other end as Bangladesh mustered just 21 for two from the powerplay.

Fargana’s luck finally ran out when she hit Danielle Hazell straight to Sciver at short midwicket for 19, and Rumana Ahmed was sent packing for an identical score after being run out by Edwards’ direct hit.

Salma and Nigar Sultana then shared a sprightly 64-run stand for the fifth wicket, although the asking rate was always too steep for them to affect the outcome of the contest.

Sultana was stumped late on for 35 off Shrubsole, whose 2-27 were the pick of the bowling figures, with Salma finishing unbeaten on 32 in a Bangladesh total of 117 for six – their highest in T20 Internationals.

England women face hosts India in their second Group B clash at Dharamsala on Monday.

Report courtesy of the ECB