Adam Collins' match report
England’s net run rate is 2.27, according to Sky, while West Indies’ is 2.28. But that will be immaterial if England keep playing as well as this. They were right on it throughout, and poor old South Africa were only on it for 20 minutes. Thanks for your company, and – if your name is Malcolm, Cressida or Andrew – for your emails. The OBO will be back in about six hours to see if England’s men can be as ruthless as the women.
England go top of Group A, and although they will lose that spot tonight if West Indies beat Sri Lanka, they will go through to the semis. South Africa go home, which is less than their talent deserves.
Well, that was crushing. England not only had seven wickets up their sleeve, but 35 balls as well. SA did well to get back into the game with those three wick wickets, but Knight and Jones didn’t blink and added 27 off 23 balls. The Player of the Match is Nat Sciver, for those sensational figures of 4-1-4-3. And England have played so well that they had someone take a hat-trick and not be Player of the Match.
England win!! By seven wickets
Amy Jones, showing supreme confidence, takes a step down the track and belts a four to settle it.
14th over: England 83-3 (Knight 14, Jones 10) Ismail returns, drops short, and pays the price as Jones cuts for four, before Knight pulls out another of her textbook straight drives. It’s all over bar the hugging.
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13th over: England 72-3 (Knight 9, Jones 4) Amy Jones, so impressive behind the stumps, brings the same cool temperament to the crease, working the ball around for singles. van Niekerk’s golden arm, as Mark Butcher calls it, has conjured up two wickets, but England need only 14 now.
12th over: England 69-3 (Knight 8, Jones 2) There’s hardly room for a captain’s innings here, so Heather Knight plays a captain’s stroke – a straight drive, oozing calm authority. That’s the shot of the night.
11th over: England 62-3 (Knight 3, Jones 1) Another good over for SA, so England have now managed 10-3 off the last four overs. Foony game, cricket.
Wicket!! Beaumont c Klaas b van Niekerk 24 (England 60-3)
Here they go, here they go – Beaumont sees a full toss, tucks in, and holes out. Game on!
10th over: England 59-2 (Beaumont 24, Knight 1) So a sudden change, from 52-0 off seven overs to 7-2 off the last three. Could England be about to choke?
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Wicket! Sciver b Daniels 2 (England 58-2)
Oooh.. Sciver makes the same mistake as Wyatt, getting too far over to off and being bowled round her legs. South Africa have the faintest of sniffs.
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9th over: England 58-1 (Beaumont 24, Sciver 2) Well bowled van Niekerk, but her instant impact suggests that her strategy may have been misguided – too many seamers. Is it too late?
Wicket! Wyatt b van Niekerk 27 (England 55-1)
Where’s the breakthrough? Here! van Niekerk brings herself on and strikes first ball, as Wyatt lines up a lap and gets too far across to the off side, leaving her leg stop exposed. She made 27 at a run a ball, excellent stuff.
8th over: England 55-0 (Wyatt 27, Beaumont 23) Again Daniels puts the plug back in, but where’s the breakthrough?
7th over: England 52-0 (Wyatt 26, Beaumont 21) Beaumont has great wrists and she knows how to use them – a flick into the on side for two off Klaas, a straight drive for four, and that’s the fifty partnership. The game is almost up.
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6th over: England 41-0 (Wyatt 21, Beaumont 15) On comes Moseline Daniels with her left-arm medium, and the change of angle helps, producing four dots, a one and a two.
5th over: England 38-0 (Wyatt 20, Beaumont 13) A tidier over from Klaas, but SA need wickets.
“Glidden?” says Andrew Benton (2nd over). “You just reminded me of the Glidd of Glood.” Nice. You won’t believe how many times I had to type glidden to stop the sodding spell-check turning it into gladden.
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4th over: England 35-0 (Wyatt 18, Beaumont 12) Beaumont comes to the party with a lovely easy clip to the midwicket boundary. Ismail, perhaps trying too hard, then serves up a half-volley outside off which Beaumont blazes through extra cover for four more. The last ball is pulled for two, and England’s total after four overs is more than SA managed off the first ten.
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3rd over: England 24-0 (Wyatt 17, Beaumont 2) Kapp restores order for the first half of her over, but then Wyatt bludgeons a length ball through the woman at cover. She is threatening to finish this off all on her own.
2nd over: England 18-0 (Wyatt 12, Beaumont 1) At the other end it’s the equally experienced Shabnim Ismail, who has a nightmare. The first ball goes for four byes, thanks to a bobble; the second is glided (glidden?) for four, as the ball goes through third man’s hands; the fourth is slashed for two; the fifth slashed for four. Great batting from Dani Wyatt, all controlled aggression.
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1st over: England 4-0 (Wyatt 2, Beaumont 1) The experienced Marianne Kapp takes the new ball and finds some away-swing, but the England openers go down the track to reduce it and get busy with a few singles.
The win predictor is giving SA a 7pc chance of winning this. Harsh, but fair.
So England need 86 to win, or 4.3 an over. They can afford to be old-school, but it might be wiser to go for it and not invite a fine attack to get on top.
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Wicket! Hat-trick!!!! Fourie b Shrubsole 4 (SA 85 all out)
“You beauty, Anya Shrubsole!” says Nasser, and he’s not wrong. Fourie swings to leg, hits only thin air, and the ball takes the top of leg, so Shrubsole has a hat-trick to go with the cover of Wisden. A suitable end to a chaotic innings for SA, and a very satisfying one for England. But it’s not over till the other side bat. See you shortly.
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Wicket! Klaas c Beaumont b Shrubsole 0 (SA 85-9)
Two in two! Klaas has a go at a length ball and gives Beaumont a comfy catch in the covers.
Wicket! Ismail b Shrubsole 1 (SA 85-8)
Ismail goes for the big heave, as she has to, and loses her off stump.
19th over: South Africa 85-7 (Ismail 1, Fourie 4) Fourie almost gets caught at mid-on, but squeezes it through for a much-needed four.
“I’d just like to clarify,” says Malcolm Parks, “that I sent my previous email when only two wickets had fallen. Things seem to have escalated a little since then! I guess we may still get 20 overs each, but it doesn’t seem too likely at the moment. I’m also following along with the chess match happening at the moment, which is intriguing in its own way. I am hopeless at chess, just like I am hopeless at cricket. And football. I like to think of myself as a true attendee connoisseur. Preferably with wine.” Don’t we all, Malcolm. Your health.
18th over: South Africa 79-7 (Ismail 0, Fourie 0) A double-wicket maiden! And Sciver finishes with figures of 4-1-4-3. That’s not a bowling spell, it’s a pin number.
Wicket! Tunnicliffe c Winfield b Sciver 4 (SA 79-7)
A slower ball, and Tunnicliffe holes out too, to mid-on. Sciver has three for 4. Sensational bowling.
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Wicket! Tryon c Ecclestone b Sciver 27 (SA 79-6)
Just when danger looms, England snuff it out. Sciver tempts Tryon into another big hit and her pull goes straight up in the air, to give Ecclestone the simplest of catches. Shame.
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17th over: South Africa 79-5 (Tryon 27, Tunnicliffe 4) Tunnicliffe, making her first appearance of the tournament, just has to get the single and hand the strike back to Tryon. She manages it and Tryon cashes in, with a drop-kick six down the ground followed by an inside-out six over extra cover. So much better.
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16th over: South Africa 65-5 (Tryon 14, Tunnicliffe 3) Tryon plays and misses at Shrubsole, giving Jones the chance for another classy take, but then connects sweetly with a glide and gets four through the vacant slips. As an Englishman, born and bred, I am willing SA to bash a few more here.
15th over: South Africa 58-5 (Tryon 9, Tunnicliffe 1) So, 11 off the over, but SA pay du Preez.
Wicket! du Preez c Sciver b Gordon 16 (SA 55-5)
Ah shame. Mignon du Preez finds her range with a six, then pulls the next ball hard to midwicket, where Sciver takes a cool catch.
14th over: South Africa 47-4 (du Preez 10, Tryon 6) These two are SA’s last hope of respectability and they are warming to the task, with six off this over from Ecclestone. She’s the only bowler with typical T20 figures – none for 17 off three.
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13th over: South Africa 42-4 (du Preez 6, Tryon 4) The agony continues for SA, who have faced 78 balls and hit two of them for four, and one for six. It’s lucky bowling is their strong suit.
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Review!
For a catch, by Heather Knight, that may have skimmed the grass. “Can you rock-and-roll that for me please?” says a very authoritative Caribbean voice. “Clearly the ball bounces.” Not out.
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12th over: South Africa 39-4 (du Preez 4, Tryon 3) Another tight over, from Smith this time. These two batters can both strike the ball cleanly, and they are going to need to for the next eight overs.
Here’s Cressida Evans. “Just to let you know that the link thingy at the top of the Guardian page inviting us to email you doesn’t seem to be working.” Ah. sorry. Good old Grauniad. “I had to go back to an old Sri Lanka vs Eng men’s ODI to find your address... Dedication indeed, but you take all the cricket you can get from here in Bahia, Brazil. I won’t tell you how hot it is here, it always drives my London mates a bit bonkers. Tinky tonk, Cress.” Tinky tonk sounds like some of the shots we’ve seen this evening.
11th over: South Africa 36-4 (du Preez 3, Tryon 2) Ecclestone whistles through another over, to the consternation of South Africans and live bloggers.
“I am reading,” says Malcolm Parks, “and I am not the city of Reading, just in case there was any confusion.” Ha. “As is common at the moment whenever I follow women’s cricket, I am lamenting that this is not on free-to-air television somewhere. I have come to begrudgingly accept that the men’s game is going to be mostly restricted for the foreseeable future, but I had vaguely hoped that the women’s might be somewhere visible. Oh well, such is life!
“Positive start from England so far it seems, which is great. I have fingers and toes crossed that both teams get the full 20 overs tonight but suspect that might not be enough and some kind of sacrifice to an otherworldly horror might be required – probably worth it...”
10th over: South Africa 33-4 (du Preez 2, Tryon 1) They get through an over without losing a wicket, which feels like a triumph. But only two runs from it, and that’s a dismal half-way score. The opening bowlers, Sciver and Shrubsole, have joint figures of one for 8 off five overs. It’s T20, but not as we know it.
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9th over: South Africa 31-4 (du Preez 1, Tryon 0) So the collapse from the last game has continued. Come on SA, you can do better than this.
Wicket! van Niekerk run out 1 (SA 30-4)
And another! Oh dear, oh dear. Mignon du Preez played a handsome straight drive, Gordon got a hand to it, and it cannoned into the non-striker’s stumps. The review process took some time to give van Niekerk out, but she’d given herself out already and marched off. Horribly bad luck.
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Wicket! Kapp c Dunkley b Gordon 9 (SA 29-3)
Another one! Kapp goes big but not big enough, slicing a mow and presenting long-off with a straightforward catch.
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8th over: South Africa 29-2 (Kapp 9, van Niekerk 0) Another successful bowling change as Sciver grabs the wicket and concedes only a single and a leg-bye. England are right on top.
Wicket! Lee LBW b Sciver 12 (SA 27-2)
Nat Sciver returns and pings a full ball into Lee’s ankles. It looks a bit leg-side but it’s given and Lee, after some deliberation, doesn’t review, perhaps because she’s not been in form.
7th over: South Africa 27-1 (Lee 12, Kapp 8) Kirstie Gordon, star of England’s last match, is on, bowling slow left-arm into the wind, like an elegant version of Ashley Giles. And there are still too many dots – only off the last ball do SA find the quick single. If you’re reading, send me an email.
6th over: South Africa 24-1 (Lee 11, Kapp 7) Sophie Ecclestone comes on and Lee gets going at last, with two, from another misfield, and then six, just over the woman at deep midwicket (Dani Wyatt). That’s more like it. When the misfield happens, Mark Butcher says: ‘She just Sydney-harboured that one!’
If you’re wondering who Amy Jones is, have a read of this.
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5th over: South Africa 15-1 (Lee 3, Kapp 6) Kapp rides her luck, hits a cover drive that should be only a single, and somehow Tammy Beaumont helps it on to the boundary. Not a huge over, but a lot better for SA.
Not out!
It was Kapp, and she slid a foot back just in time.
Review!
For a stumping – sharp work by Jones again.
Missed!
Lizelle Lee, desperate to get the board moving, hits the ball straight up in the air – and gets away with it as mid-on comes charging in and can’t reach it.
4th over: South Africa 7-1 (Lee 2, Kapp 0) Ooh, that’s a maiden from Shrubsole. All but three of the 24 deliveries so far have been dots. SA badly need a big over.
3rd over: South Africa 7-1 (Lee 2, Kapp 0) An outstanding first over from Linsey Smith, with her left-arm slows, and a superb bowling change from Heather Knight. South Africa, who lost nine wickets for hardly anything in their last game, have continued in the same vein.
Wicket! Wolvaardt c Jones b Smith 4 (SA 7-1)
Laura Wolvaardt is a star but she hasn’t shown it in this tournament. She goes for another cover drive, gets a thick edge, and Amy Jones, standing up to Linsey Smith, takes a superb catch.
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2nd over: South Africa 6-0 (Lee 1, Wolvaardt 4) There was a leg bye off the non-LBW, so Wolvaardt has the strike and she tucks into Shrubsole straight away, with a crunching cover drive.
Review!
Anya Shrubsole reckons she’s got Lee LBW first ball, the ump doesn’t agree, and England have reviewed. Oh dear – it was going well down leg. And their only review has gone with it.
1st over: South Africa 1-0 (Lee 1, Wolvaardt 0) Nat Sciver takes the new ball and opens with four dots. Lizelle Lee finally finds a gap in the covers to take a single, but that’s a fine first over.
“Hi Tim.” Smylers, my dear old thing. “Thanks for your coverage. Gros Islet appears to translate as ‘big little-island’, which sounds like an oxymoron. Or some kind of weird attempt at compromise that doesn’t actually make sense to either side. How big is the place?” Hard to say from here (London). I’ll have to throw that one out to the readers.
Teams
Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika rings out around a windswept Daren Sammy Stadium, followed by God Save the Queen. If this was a singing contest, South Africa would be through already.
South Africa Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee, Marizanne Kapp, Dane van Niekerk (c), Mignon du Preez, Chloe Tryon, Shabnim Ismail, Faye Tunnicliffe (w), Yolani Fourie, Masabata Klaas, Moseline Daniels.
England Dani Wyatt, Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones (w), Nat Sciver, Heather Knight (c), Lauren Winfield, Anya Shrubsole, Sophia Dunkley Brown, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Kirstie Gordon.
Toss: SA bat first
Dane van Niekerk wins the toss and elects to bat. Heather Knight is honest enough to say that she would have done the same. The main thing is, it’s not raining.
Preamble
Evening everyone and welcome to the 15th match of the Women’s World T20. For South Africa, it’s a chance to shove England out of second place in Group A. For England, it’s a chance to get one foot in the semi-finals – and to get both feet on the field. They have yet to bat for ten overs in the whole tournament, let alone 20. They may wish Group A wasn’t taking place in Gros Islet, St Lucia, where it’s hot and humid and the likelihood of rain today, according to accuweather.com, is 49 per cent.
While Group B has been a doddle for its two superpowers, Australia and India, Group A has been more complicated, with four teams out of five in contention for the semis. West Indies are top with two wins out of two, helped by the fact that the gods are reluctant to rain on their parade. England have three points from two games, Sri Lanka three from three and South Africa two from two. So if South Africa win here, they go second, and if England win, they go top, but either of those scenarios may be short-lived, as Sri Lanka meet West Indies later this evening.
So this may well be, in effect, a shoot-out for second. And in the women’s game as much as the men’s, England and South Africa tend to be well matched. The last five meetings between them have been split 3-2 to England. In the World Cup 16 months ago, I had the pleasure of covering them as they laid on the highest-scoring women’s ODI in history. More of the same, please. Play starts at 8pm UK time, all being well.
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