A win is a win is a win. Bangladesh imploded with the bat, but England bowled well, fielded with nip and verve, and Jones and the middle-order recovered their nerve after the rush-of-blood of the first few overs. As a bonus, the debutants performed nicely and looked relaxed, Jones was tasty behind the stumps and Sciver, Knight and Shrubsole eased into third gear. They’re now top of Group A. But it’s back to the batting drawing board for bottom-of-the-table Bangladesh, they need to find someone to stick with Ayasha.
Player of the match: Debutant Kirstie Gordon for her 3-16.
That’s it from me, though you can follow Sri Lanka’s progress against South Africa on various other channels from midnight GMT. Sleep well!
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9.3 overs England 64-3 (Jones 28, Knight 11) Knight stretches out her front foot and bang, she sweeps the ball for four. And then again, a swish off her legs, another boundary, as two of the Bangladeshi fielders end up cuddling as they try to stop it.Next ball Jones and Knight scamper a single and it’s handshakes all round..
ENGLAND WIN BY SEVEN WICKETS - DUCKWORTH LEWIS
We’re back on...Kubra takes the ball with nine needed.
The revised target is 64 - England need nine to win from 42 balls.
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Clock ticking here as Sri Lanka v South Africa due to start at midnight GMT.
I have news, thanks to Palf on twitter - four overs lost, restart in about five minutes.
A makeshift rain-shifter does the business on the pitch at St Lucia - a rope dancing around between two golf buggies. Time ticking away here - think there will be a revised target....
High praise for Amy Jones!
Don't know who's been coaching @amyjones313 @LightningKS @WarwickshireCCC @englandcricket but has good technique and looks sharp and natural. Great to see @WorldT20 #WT20 #ENGvBAN #Cricket
— Jack Russell (@jackrussellart) November 12, 2018
Hmmm -will we/won’t we... the covers are being pulled away as the England team lounge in the dug-out. Amy Jones having an animated chat with Mark Robinson. Ah - the stumps are being put back in.
The umpires take the players off with England well ahead on Duckworth-Lewis. The groundstaff are sprinting on with the covers. Is this curtains?
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9th over England 55-3 (Jones 28, Knight 2) Jahanara takes the ball and England have to face something a little faster. She bowls wide of the crease, resplendently fierce in black headband and slows the scoring - just three off the over. And the rain starts to fall....
8th over England 52-3 (Jones 22, Knight 1) Damn, I thought Sciver was gong all the way to the finish. She’d just toe-ended a four from Kubra before going for the charge with far too much momentum to rescue herself. Brave flight from Kubra
WICKET! Sciver stumped Joty b Kubra 23
Sciver charges at Kubra and is stumped by a smart bit of work behind the stumps.
7th over England 46-2 (Jones 25, Sciver 19) The short haired legspinner Fahima fizzes the ball in. Jones and Sciver are wary for the first three balls. Then Sciver squares up, kneels, and plays that sweep shot again. Four all the way. Nine more from the over.
6th over England 37-2 (Jones 22, Sciver 13) Kubra is thrown the ball by Salma. Sciver shuffles across the stumps and sweeps, at an almost impossible angle. Then Kubra goes wider and Sciver upper-cuts for a couple more. Then a straight bat. I lurve watching her bat - problem solving at every turn.
5th over England 30-2 (Jones 21, Sciver 7) Sciver boom-boom: she pulls Salma for four with some relish. Then Jones lifts her high - but the soggy surface restricts her to two. Nine from the over.
4th over England 21-2 (Jones 17, Sciver 2) Rumana’s over is full of lucky escapes for England. First Jones just makes her ground going for a second run; then she skies it and the wicketkeeper Shamima Sultana runs round towards point just getting her fingertips to it. In her attempt to grab it she falls flat on her face, cutting her nose on the grill of her helmet. We spot the Bangladesh physio again. Nigar Sultana Joty pulls on the substitute gloves and in the intervening period a message seems to come out from the England dresssing room. NO HURRY or something of that ilk?
3rd over England 14-2 (Jones 12, Sciver 0) Wily Salma finding huge turn and interspersing that with an arm ball. England looking all at sea - breathe girls, breathe.
WICKET! Beaumont c PInky b Salma 2
A big fat wide ball that Beaumont cuts inelegantly to point.
2nd over England 12-1 (Jones 10, Beaumont 2) A huge appeal by Bangladesh for a stumping to Rumana’s second ball. Jones takes a monster step forward but then, the third umpire shows, at the speed of light she moves her back leg so very elegantly over the line, just beating the keeper. An inside out slog later in the over beats the fielder to the boundary for four.
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1st over England 6-1 (Jones 5, Beaumont 1) The slight figures of Salma bowls five super balls, but the sixth is wider, and is cut to the boundary by Amy Jones. An unexpected start. Game on perhaps.
WICKET! Wyatt lbw Salma 0
England review the first ball of the innings, but its out! England lose their review and their big-hitter as Salma finds some turn.
A disciplined display by England with the ball and in the field. None of the debutants looked overawed, with particular congratulations to young Kirstie Gordon and her 3-16.
For Bangladesh, a booming innings by Ayasha, whose power and certainty (if not her running) has given them hope. Just a wee glimmer though. England need 77 to win.
And then there’s this. Pah! Personally I love a sundowner under grey northern skies.
Dreamy sunset out the back here. Inside, Bangladesh 71-9 in the 19th. #WT20 pic.twitter.com/5hcCaYhquZ
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) November 12, 2018
20th over: Bangladesh 76-9 (Khadija Tul Kubra 2, Salma Khatun 3) Bangladesh bustle five runs to add to their total, surviving a run out from the last ball of the innings.
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19th over: Bangladesh 71-9 (Khadija Tul Kubra 0, Salma Khatun 0) Another two-wicket cracker for England. Ecclestone is whalloped for six by Jahanara Alam over long on, but keeps her calm. The next ball Jahanara tries again and is caught. England supreme.
WICKET! Jahanara Alam c Knight b Ecclestone 12
A slice, and a catch made simple by Knight.
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WICKET! Fahima Khatun run out 2
Head in hands, miscommunication disaster. Khatun was slow, Sciver super-speedy with the throw.
18th over: Bangladesh 65-7 (Rumana 9, Lata 0) The outfield is sluggish, but I don’t think it is this sluggish. Classy four by Rumana though through mid-off, classy in any circumstances.
17th over: Bangladesh 57-7 (Rumana 9, Lata 0) Two runs, two wickets in the over for Gordon - not bad for a 21-year old on debut.
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WICKET! Lata c Knight b Gordon 5
Lata swings... top-edges... and is caught ingloriously by Heather Knight at cover.
WICKET! Rumana c Dunkley b Gordon 10
Straight down Dunkley’s throat at long-off - tasty!
16th over: Bangladesh 53-5 (Rumana 9, Lata 0) Bangladesh rotate the strike where they can but it has been a careful over by Ecclestone as Knight patrols the covers. Obvious frustration for Lata who is struggling to get much bat on ball.
15th over: Bangladesh 51-5 (Rumana 9, Lata 0) Well the fifty comes up for Bangladesh, but they only have five overs left... a typically tidy over by Heather Knight as the music gets going in St Lucia, and the rum starts to flow.
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14th over: Bangladesh 49-5 (Rumana 8, Lata 0) A four for Rumana before Smith, top untucked from her trousers, takes her maiden wicket.
WICKET! Sanjida c Ecclestone b Smith 0
And a neat catch abover her head at mid-off by Ecclestone does for Sanjida - having a go as the grains of sand fall. A first wicket for Smith too!
13th over: Bangladesh 43-4 (Rumana 3, Sanjida 0) The breakthrough England needed: Ayasha had just swept Gordon with some precision for four - and there was always a danger that her stop-start approach might have become more start-start.
WICKET! Ayasha c Wyatt b Gordon 39
A first international wicket for Gordon! Ayasha wellies the ball into the deep where it is nicely caught by Wyatt at knee height
12th over: Bangladesh 38-3 (Rumana 2, Ayasha 35) Ayasha drives Sciver beautifully but the ball goes into first gear and practically starts reversing as it sees the rope. Her gameplan of going over the top proving very wise. She just needs to up the tempo.
11th over: Bangladesh 26-3 (Rumana 1, Ayasha 31) Ayasha takes a stride down the pitch and swings an Ecclestone ball away for a handsome six. She has two modes, it seems. All out attack and mouse-like defence. Which is exciting, but perhaps not overly useful right now as the overs tick away.
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10th over: Bangladesh 26-3 (Rumana Ahmed 1, Ayasha 24) And someone whose name isn’t Ayasha gets a run! At the half way stage, Bangladesh are on the slow side of tortoise.
9th over: Bangladesh 24-3 (Rumana Ahmed 0, Ayasha 23) Ayasha hurt her ankle during that run-out debacle and receives some treatment from the physio. The Bangladesh run-rate dips to 2.67 and we hit slight techical difficulties as the Sky feed goes down... bear with us... ...
WICKET! Joty run out 0
Oh dear, what a mix up - both batters ended up at the same end. A lovely cut by Ayasha, but as she runs, she slips and then heads back to her crease without noticing that Joty is charging down towards her. Joty takes the hit.
8th over: Bangladesh 24-2 (Joty 0, Ayasha 23) And now we have Ecclestone... who tosses it up, on the money, sure and safe until - POW - Ayasha shimmies, and cuts hard and fast, for four.
7th over: Bangladesh 18-2 (Joty 0, Ayasha 17) England ringing the changes - Knight brings on Gordon, in Mad Max shades. Ayasha, longest ponytail in the game, watches three balls then swipes at a wider one and pounds it over the long-on boundary boards for six.
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6th over: Bangladesh 12-2 (Joty 0, Ayasha 11) Knight persists with Shrubsole from the other end, who continues to pound in hard. It really does look hot out there, long shadows stretching over the ground. Wow - that came from nowhere, a huge six backward of square by Ayasha - that would have been six even if the boundaries had still been out.
5th over: Bangladesh 5-2 (Joty 0, Ayasha 4) Knight turns to spin and throws the ball to Linsey Smith, one of England’s three debutants. Just one off the over, which is tidy, but doesn’t carry the threat of Sciver or Shrubsole.
4th over: Bangladesh 4-2 (Joty 0, Ayasha 3) Knight refuses Shrubsole a review for a huge lbw appeal. It looked pretty tight from here ... but actually the replay says not out. Vast amounts of banana swing for Shrubsole. Joty is then hit on the gloves by a nasty lifter - some unpredictable bounce for England to exploit here. The Bangladesh physio comes out with the magic spray and Joty is ok to continue.
3rd over: Bangladesh 3-2 (Joty 0, Ayasha 2) A terrible start here by Bangladesh, especially as the sluggish outfield will make scoring difficult. A fine over by Sciver and a super catch for Jones standing in for Sarah Taylor.
WICKET! Pinky c Amy Jones b Sciver 0
A smooth diving take by Amy Jones, as Pinky hangs her bat out for some catching practice.
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2nd over: Bangladesh 2-1 (Pinky 0, Ayasha 1) What an over from Shrubsole. After the wicket we have a huge appeal for lbw, then Pinky just gets a bat down in time to keep out the next ball. A one-handed, one-kneed drive from Pinky to the last ball of the over brings no runs. But survival.
WICKET! Shamima b Shrubsole 0
Wooh! Huge inswinger takes out Shamima’s stumps
1st over: Bangladesh 1-0 (Shamima 0, Ayasha 0) Sciver pulls out of her first attempt at a delivery, but the first real one is on the stumps. And that marks a blue-print for the rest of the over, balls swinging gently away. The only runs come from a wide down the legside. Heavy going for Bangladesh.
Play about to begin as we listen to the national anthems. I’m rather keen on Bangladesh’s, chilled and jangly though a bit long..... the ground is looking a picture by the way. And here come the bumptious drums of our very own GSTQ.
Nat Sciver to bowl the first over.
The teams:
England: Danni Wyatt, Tammy Beaumont, Natalie Sciver, Heather Knight (capt), Lauren Winfield, Amy Jones (wk), Anya Shrubsole, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Kirstie Gordon.
Bangladesh: Shamima Sultana (wk), Ayasha Rahman, Jahanara Alam, Fargana Hoque Pinky, Nigar Sultana Joty, Rumana Ahmed, Sanjida Islam, Lata Mondol, Fahima Khatun, Salma Khatun (capt), Khadiza Tul Kubra.
In case you were wondering, the last time England played 3 debutants in the same match was in 2013. There were actually 4 debuts that day - Nat Sciver, Lauren Winfield, Tash Farrant and Amy Jones. #WT20 #ENGvBANhttps://t.co/N57tJF500X
— Raf Nicholson (@RafNicholson) November 12, 2018
England desperate to win here, with games against South Africa and West Indies coming next. Here are the remaining Group A games:
Today: England v Bangladesh (8pm GMT); Sri Lanka v South Africa (d/n) (00:00 GMT, 13 Nov)
14 Nov: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh (8pm GMT); West Indies v South Africa (d/n) (00:00 GMT, 15 Nov)
16 Nov: England v South Africa (8pm GMT); West Indies v Sri Lanka (d/n) (00:00 GMT, 17 Nov)
18 Nov: West Indies v England (8pm GMT); South Africa v Bangladesh (d/n)(00:00 GMT, 19 Nov)
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Interesting that England have gone in with so many spinners when Knight doesn’t expect the pitch to spin much. Ebony Rainford-Brent’s (metaphorical) key revealed a firm pitch.
Sky’s dress code for the tournament meanwhile has all gone a bit pink princess: purple tops and cream bottoms for women, pink tie, blush shirt, cream slacks for men. Rather dapper actually.
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AND WE HAVE THE TOSS: England win and will have a bowl.
“Its been hard work,” says Heather Knight, “We’ve had to be inventive [in the rain]. Three players will make their debut - three left arm spinners, we’re really excited.”
Salma Khatun, the Bangladesh captain, confirms that they would have had a bowl too. They go into the game with the same side that bowled very well against West Indies.
A delayed start here at St Lucia - will keep you posted as soon as we know more. The television pictures are showing the groundstaff raking sawdust over damp patches, in the same way you might cover over embarrassing patches in a pet shop. Ah - news: the toss will be at 745 GMT, with the proposed start time 8.15. And best of all, the sun is shining!
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Here’s Raf speaking to Sophia Dunkley back in the summer.
Sophia Dunkley is also about to make her England debut. I interviewed her back in July when this was all still a bit of a pipe dream. Not anymore! #WT20https://t.co/o8GfLWaXyh
— Raf Nicholson (@RafNicholson) November 12, 2018
Still no official conformation that the match is on but England have capped three players: 23-year-old left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, 20-year old all-rounder Sophia Dunkley and 21 year old slow left-armer Kirstie Gordon.
Ah, an update from Adam Collins at the ground - things are looking up. The authorities have had the good wheeze of bringing in the boundaries to the minimum allowed - 55 metres - and therefore be rid of the excess moisture on the outfield. Genius!
Good solution: the far side is sodden so the boundaries will be brought in from 65 to 57(ish) yards over there. That is inside the playing conditions - minimum 55. The run-ups will require sawdust as well, but, whisper it... we’ll get some cricket. #WT20 pic.twitter.com/W1XyTzXlNG
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) November 12, 2018
Good Evening! We’re back in St Lucia, where England are due to take on Bangladesh – if only the weather would pull up its socks and play fair. Things, as I write, are still soggy with possibility. The sopping outfield at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium has been mopped and squeezed and generally tended to by the ground staff – it will be a late call to see if it is fit for purpose.
After England’s washout against Sri Lanka here on Saturday, they are desperate to get started in the competition. Despite the absence of Katherine Blunt and Sarah Taylor, they start as strong favourites against Bangladesh, who they have beaten in both their previous internationals. Bangladesh are rated ninth in the world – though they did give West Indies a scare on Friday night, before collapsing to the lowest score in the tournament’s history – 46 all out.
After the ICC decided that the logistics of moving the rest of the Group A games from St Lucia to Antigua were insurmountable, as well as questionable because of the weather forecast for Antigua, the rain will play a strong hand in the group. If it were to ruin all the games in Gros Islet, the two highest seeded teams, England and West Indies, would go through to the semi-finals. If only some games are washed out, things become more complicated.
The players, bored, bored, bored, of the gym have resorted to practicing against wheely bins under the cover of the stadium compound.
We’re back. 2.5 hours from the scheduled start. Who knows? #WT20 pic.twitter.com/cdzvKkCjBD
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) November 12, 2018
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