That could hardly have gone better for England. Sarah Taylor back in the runs, as well as keeping beautifully; the returning Laura Marsh taking four wickets; the dangerous Atapaththu out for one; Heather Knight maintaining her fine form; Lauren Winfield getting the party started with a confident cameo; and victory wrapped up in the 31st over, which is just what the Net Run Rate ordered.
The Sri Lankans did well to get to 200 without anything significant from their taliswoman, but their bowling was a clear case of plus ça change: eight bowlers, and only one of them, Kanchana, at all incisive. The Player of the Match is Marsh, who bowled well but surely played less of a part than Taylor.
Thanks for reading, if you have been; from the email, it’s been a little hard to tell – but hang on. We have a tweet! It’s from Mark Ireland. “Maybe everyone was up too late celebrating Canada Day yesterday?” he muses. “It’s why I’m following the OBO while still in bed.” Of course, that explains it.
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ENGLAND WIN!
Sarah Taylor finishes it in a rush, with another of her lofted drives. That is a thumping win, by seven wickets, with nearly 20 overs to spare.
30th over: England 198-3 (Taylor 66, Sciver 0) Anything she can do... Taylor dances down the track to play a lofted off-drive, then pulls off a reverse sweep. Athapaththu, too, follows up two fours with a full toss, which duly yields a third as Taylor blasts it to deep square. She then misses a cow-shot, but survives. Knight adds four more – and then gets out. It hardly matters, alas.
Updated
Wicket! Knight c Madhavi b Atapaththu 82 (England 198-3)
Just when England were toying with the bowling, Knight mis-hits to midwicket. It seems unlikely to affect the result.
29th over: England 180-2 (Taylor 53, Knight 78) Knight is having fun now, cutting Lokusooriya for four, flicking her for four more, and then slamming a full toss for yet another four past fine leg. The end is nigh.
28th over: England 166-2 (Taylor 53, Knight 65) Another full toss, this time from Atapaththu, and Taylor helps herself to four more to reach a fine fifty. Yes, the bowling has been tepid, but the situation was tricky – Taylor had taken time off unwell, and then struggled with the bat on her return. Her ex-team-mates in the commentary box are delighted for her.
27th over: England 161-2 (Taylor 49, Knight 64) Madhavi dishes up a full toss, and Knight sees it early enough to lift it just over the rope at midwicket. The crowd, who have been half-asleep, give her a great big cider-flavoured cheer.
26th over: England 151-2 (Taylor 47, Knight 56) Knight celebrates with a reverse swat for four off Athapaththu, through the mysteriously vacant slips. And when Taylor cuts for a single, it’s the 100 partnership off 18.1 overs. Commanding stuff.
25th over: England 144-2 (Taylor 45, Knight 51) Yet another change, as Madhavi, who is only 19, comes on to bowl slow-medium. Knight, unruffled, goes to 50 off 57 balls. She’s been calm and collected: a parfit gentle Knight.
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24th over: England 140-2 (Taylor 43, Knight 49) Sri Lanka are at least ringing the changes. Atapaththu, who went from heroine to almost zero with the bat, has a go with the ball. The milking continues, and England are more than two-thirds of the way there, with more than half the overs left.
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23rd over: England 134-2 (Taylor 41, Knight 45) More singles. Taylor, who took three fine catches behind the stumps, is doing her best to prise the Woman of the Match award from Laura Marsh.
22nd over: England 129-2 (Taylor 38, Knight 43) Taylor plays an elegant chip – a truffle fry? – but only gets a single for it as she fails to elude the woman at deep midwicket. Knight makes up for it with a crisp sweep for four. Now they’ve found fifth gear, England just need to stay in it.
21st over: England 120-2 (Taylor 35, Knight 37) England find the rope again as Lokusooriya overpitches and Knight eases a cover drive through the ring.
20th over: England 113-2 (Taylor 33, Knight 32) Four singles off Siriwardena’s over. Meanwhile, at Derby, Pakistan, chasing 170 to beat India, are 29-6.
19th over: England 109-2 (Taylor 31, Knight 30) Well, this is a start: Lokusooriya ties Knight down, and even induces an air shot. Billy No-Mates writes: is there anyone out there?
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18th over: England 108-2 (Taylor 31, Knight 29) Six singles from Ranaweera’s over. England are mixing their milking with trips to cow corner, and Sri Lanka badly need to make something happen.
17th over: England 102-2 (Taylor 28, Knight 26) Lokusooriya comes on, and Taylor greets her with a regal pull for four. The hundred is up, and so is the 50 partnership. At this rate, we may not see another drinks break.
16th over: England 94-2 (Taylor 23, Knight 25) Another big hit from Knight, who spots a half-volley from Ranaweera and deposits it in cow corner. This stand is already worth 44. And that’s drinks, with England cruising along at a run a ball, but Sri Lanka still in the game.
15th over: England 88-2 (Taylor 23, Knight 19) Ranasinghe drops short and Taylor is onto it like a predator. When all Sri Lanka need is wickets, it’s not clear why Ranasinghe is getting such a long bowl.
14th over: England 82-2 (Taylor 18, Knight 18) Kanchana gets her rest as Inoka Ranaweera comes on with her gentle slow left-arm. Knight imposes herself instantly with a lofted straight drive, but nearly perishes when she goes for a slog sweep and gets a bottom edge just past the leg stump. For the No.8 side in the world, Sri Lanka are doing pretty well here.
13th over: England 76-2 (Taylor 17, Knight 13) A few more singles off Ranasinghe. England may be starting to think about improving their net run rate.
12th over: England 72-2 (Taylor 15, Knight 11) Knight, mostly playing straight, takes a couple of twos square of the wicket off Kanchana, who may be in need of a breather.
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11th over: England 68-2 (Taylor 15, Knight 7) Ranasinghe restores order, allowing just three singles. But Sri Lanka have to take wickets here: the rate required is only three and a half.
10th over: England 65-2 (Taylor 14, Knight 5) Taylor strolls to the offside, exposes all three stumps, and plays a lofted lap for four. A classy shot to round off a sparkling powerplay.
9th over: England 60-2 (Taylor 10, Knight 5) Heather Knight, the England captain, is into the groove straightaway with a lap for four.
8th over: England 54-2 (Taylor 9, Knight 0) Kanchana has been expensive, but worth it: she has removed both openers. Sarah Taylor fights back with a flick off the pads that should go for two but gets four as Perera dives over it.
Wicket! Winfield c Ranasinghe b Kanchana 26 (England 50-2)
Well that is against the run of play. Winfield, who was going so well, skies a pull, perhaps because the wicket is a bit two-paced. Game on.
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7th over: England 44-1 (Winfield 20, Taylor 5) The first bowling change brings on Oshadi Ranasinghe, a non-nonsense flattish off-spinner. She makes the mistake of dropping short to Sarah Taylor, whose eye is in from keeping wicket so well earlier. Taylor pulls her for four.
6th over: England 39-1 (Winfield 19, Taylor 1) Winfield loses her partner but not her momentum, pulling Kanchana for four, imperiously.
Wicket! Beaumont lbw b Kanchana 12 (England 33-1)
Just when England were getting on top, Beaumont flicks across the line, misses, and departs, though it may have been a touch high.
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5th over: England 28-0 (Winfield 14, Beaumont 12) Winfield helps herself from the buffet: a straight drive for four, and a back-foot force for four more.
4th over: England 18-0 (Winfield 9, Beaumont 7) Tammy Beaumont comes to the party, pulling Kanchana through square leg, where, curiously, there is nobody to get in the way. Beaumont adds a cover-drive for two, and it’s already looking a little too comfortable for England.
3rd over: England 11-0 (Winfield 9, Beaumont 1) Weerakkody continues, Beaumont gets off the mark with a leg glance – and then there’s the first big hit of the innings, as Winfield lofts a not-bad delivery over midwicket for a near-six. She follows up with a cut for four. Chase on.
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2nd over: England 2-0 (Winfield 1, Beaumont 0) Ana Kanchana keeps Winfield quiet with her military medium, conceding only an offside wide. Sri Lanka had a slip in but took her out after four balls, which seems a shame, if only on the psychological front.
1st over: England 1-0 (Winfield 1, Beaumont 0) Sripali Weerakkody takes the new ball, angling it in from wide of the crease and keeping a tight line in the corridor of etc. Lauren Winfield gets things going with a glide to third man, and England now have more runs than Sri Lanka did after three overs.
LUNCH-AMBLE
Afternoon everyone and many thanks to Vish, who is both expert and entertaining. The bad news is, you now get me and I’ve never covered a women’s match before. The not-quite-so-bad news is, I have written a profile of a female Wisden Cricketer of the Year, and only two people can say that. My subject was Charlotte Edwards, a great player who is now a commentator, ricocheting from Sky to TMS.
As they eat their lunch, both these teams can be satisfied – England because they plugged away and never let a big partnership get going, and the introduction of Laura Marsh paid off handsomely; Sri Lanka because they too plugged away, refused to let the steady drip of wickets get to them, and reached 200, which gives them something to play with – but they will be rather ruing the fact that five players got their eye in and none reached 50. If you’re reading, send us an email – tim.delisle.casual [at] guardian.co.uk – and tell us where you are.
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ENGLAND REQUIRE 205 FOR VICTORY
50th over: Sri Lanka 204-8 (Kanchana 34, Weerakkody 5) A glorious shot from Kanchana take Sri Lanka to 199, as she steps across her stumps and sweeps Shrubsole over fine leg for six! Outrageous hit, right into the advertising board. Weerakkody gets cute, walking across and flicking one beyond short fine leg for two. A nice interlude in which Winfield ties Kanchana’s laces makes way for a leg bye that sees Sri Lanka finish on 204.
That’s all from me! Thanks for your company. Tim de Lisle will be here soon for England’s chase...
49th over: Sri Lanka 193-8 (Kanchana 27, Weerakkody 2) Naturally, a whole lot of scampering from Sri Lanka. The wicket ends a handy partnership of 45 and brings seamer Sri Pali Weerakkody to the crease, ODI average of 11 behind her. Good running gets her off the mark with two to ensure Kanchana keeps the strike for the final over...
WICKET! Ranasinghe c Wilson b Hazell 26 (Sri Lanka 190-8)
Ranasinghe tries to go high and long over cover but just goes high... Fran Wilson, safe as houses, takes what by her standards is a simple catch. A first wicket of the innings for Hazell.
48th over: Sri Lanka 189-7 (Ranasinghe 26, Kancahana 25) Ha wow – an awful, awful drop at fine leg. I say “awful” and “drop”: a top edge from Kancahana goes high into the crisp blue sky. Wyatt, one of the best fielders in the side, looks to have steadied herself under it, before pulling away completely and allowing the ball to bounce a matter of inches away from her right foot. Two balls later, Kanchana is back on strike and clubbing down the ground... where she’s dropped again! This time it’s Lauren Winfield, charging in from long off who can’t take the catch after putting in a dive. That’s three drops off Shrubsole’s bowling this innings...
47th over: Sri Lanka 183-7 (Ranasinghe 24, Kanchana 21)
Hazell on for Sciver, so presumably her and Shrusbole will close out this innings. Kanchana gets on one knee and tries to club one into the flats away to our left. Just a single to the sweeper on the leg side fence...
46th over: Sri Lanka 180-7 (Ranasinghe 22, Kancahana 20) Shrubsole’s got five overs left in the bag, though she’s not going to spend all of them. Rather than slower balls, she’s varying her length well enough so as to not be predictable.
A great return to the @englandcricket #WWC17 squad for the #SurreyStars @lauramarsh7!
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) July 2, 2017
She's taken 4-45 against Sri Lanka this morning. pic.twitter.com/1NpJCNoVLB
Current scene at Taunton
Brilliant atmosphere here today in Taunton! Great to host England twice in a fortnight! #WWC17 #ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/47CzjIvXk7
— Somerset Cricket 🏏 (@SomersetCCC) July 2, 2017
45th over: Sri Lanka 177-7 (Ranasinghe 20, Kancahana 18) Ranasinghe and Kanchana picking up singles but not quite able to really get anything worthwhile down the ground. A few pings out the middle are straight to the fielders set back at long on and long off.
44th over: Sri Lanka 173-7 (Ranasinghe 18, Kanchana 18) Nothing in the wickets column but a really mature 10 overs from Brunt. At another time, she might have tried too hard to see some stumps fly. Instead, with a use pitch in front of her, she cycled through her variations and has conceded just 25 runs.
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43rd over: Sri Lanka 169-7 (Ranasinghe 17, Kanchana 15) Well spied by Kachana. Sciver offers a bit of width and a few extra MPH so the right-hander swings and skews a bit edge down to third man for four.
42nd over: Sri Lanka 161-7 (Ranasinghe 15, Kanchana 9)
Four from the over as Brunt bowls a handful of Jeremy Snape moon balls (all the more impressive from a run-up as long as the pitch). Hazell still has four overs up her sleeve if Knight wants to take pace completely off the ball.
41st over: Sri Lanka 157-7 (Ranasinghe 14, Kanchana 6) Back 10 in play and Nat Sciver starts us off from the Botham End. Pace on the ball allows Kanchana to hit over the top of wide mid on for four. Therefore Sciver holds the rest of the deliveries back and asks both bats to force the issue. They decide against it. For now...
40th over: Sri Lanka 151-7 (Ranasinghe 14, Kanchana 1) A very tidy five-overs for England comes to a close with an edge beyond Sarah Taylor for four from Ranasinghe. Deliberately played, it has to be said. Even so, it’s just 16 runs from Sri Lanka’s Power Play.
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39th over: Sri Lanka 145-7 (Ranasinghe 9, Kancahana 0) So ends 10-overs on the bounce from Laura Marsh. The damage? Four for 45. She was brought into the side to combat Sri Lanka’s many left-handers and she’s bagged herself two of each.
WICKET! Kaushalya c Winfield b Marsh 3 (Sri Lanka 145-6)
“Yes Boggy!” comes the cry from every other fielder on the ground. A bit of air, a swipe and Winfield takes a simple catch at third man to remove the dangerous Kaushalya.
38th over: Sri Lanka 144-6 (Ranasinghe 8, Kaushalya 3) Over the last year, Katherine Brunt has been adding a few variations to her armoury. One of those is a back-of-the-hand slower ball, which sees her give it a bit more Katherine Grunt to get the ball down to the other end. She serves up three in the over and neither batsmen reads them effectively. Just two from the over...
37th over: Sri Lanka 142-6 (Ranasinghe 7, Kaushalya 2) Laura Marsh continues as she may as well bowl out with only two left, including this one. Ranasinghe starts this one off with a four to third man, down on one knee and sweeping around the corner with great purpose.
Worn pitches likely to play an increasing role at #WWC17. Run rate in the first 2 rounds of matches was 4.87 RPO. RR today currently 3.42.
— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) July 2, 2017
36th over: Sri Lanka 136-6 (Ranasinghe 2, Kaushalya 1) Second Power Play taken – a maximum of three fielders allowed outside the circle – and Katherine Brunt, on her birthday, has the pleasure of starting it. We hear she went for afternoon tea yesterday. Bloody love me some finger sandwiches. Just two conceded from the over: a wide to start and a leg bye that started as a potential LBW shout...
GRABBAGE
WICKET! What a catch from @fwilson07 at backward point! Live on Sky Sports 1 HD or watch our FREE STREAM: https://t.co/RdftLKHZls #WWC17 pic.twitter.com/YCSAHvBJ2v
— Sky Sports Cricket🏏 (@SkyCricket) July 2, 2017
35th over: Sri Lanka 134-6 (Ranasinghe 2, Lokusuriyage 1) Marsh might want to roll this pitch up and take it with her (provided it doesn’t fall to bits when she folds it over). Lokusuriyage is Kaushalya by the way, who biffed England all over Mumbai in that 2013 World Cup upset. Power Play to be taken, let’s see if she’s still got it...
34th over: Sri Lanka 133-6 (Ranasinghe 1, Lokusuriyage 1) Proper squeeze this. Power Play due in a couple of overs and, with that, expect a few more wickets. Excellent done from England’s twirlers.
WICKET! Manodara c Wilson b Knight 28 (Sri Lanka 130-6)
33rd over: Sri Lanka 130-5 (Manodara 28, Ranasinghe 0) Three-fer for Marsh. Similar to her first game of the World T20 in India: called in as an injury replacement fo Hazell and she returned three bits then, too. Quality operator.
WICKET! Madavi c Taylor Marsh 1 (Sri Lanka 130-5)
Another nick behind and another smart catch from Sarah Taylor. Sharp turn from Marsh, too.
32nd over: Sri Lanka 129-4 (Manodara 27, Madavi 1) Return of the lefties as Madavi. Knight keeps it wicket-to-wicket nudges a single to get off the mark.
31st over: Sri Lanka 125-4 (Manodara 24, Madavi 0) This time, a dab to third man that does go for four. Marsh has a bit more pace than Knight and evidently enough for Manodara to profit from.
30th over: Sri Lanka 119-4 (Manodara 18, Madavi 0) One run from Knight’s over. Frugal Fiona over here. Meanwhile, West Indies have been bowled out for 48. What a shower.
Best bowling figures for South Africa at a WWC
— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) July 2, 2017
4-0 Van Niekerk v WI today
4-14 Kapp v WI today#WWC17https://t.co/oXJC0wzEFA
29th over: Sri Lanka 118-4 (Manodara 17) Shame that Siriwardene’s innings came to an end because she’d just played the shot of the day: a picture-perfect lofted straight drive for four. Once bounce, high elbow, full face.
WICKET! Siriwardene b Marsh 33 (Sri Lanka 118-4)
Heave across the line and Marsh has her second! Bowled for it, all things considered: tempted Siriwardene into a sweep that simply wasn’t there with a bit less action on the ball.
28th over: Sri Lanka 113-3 (Siriwardene 29, Manodara 16) I’ll let you know when Heather Knight turns one, by the way. But she’s doing a job here. Three from that over. Hell of a lot of Sri Lanka frustration.
27th over: Sri Lanka 110-3 (Siriwardene 28, Manodara 14) 12 and 9 from her last two overs but one from this one, as Marsh sends down her fourth. Fairly uninspiring as Sri Lanka probably want to just bat out their 50 overs.
26th over: Sri Lanka 109-3 (Siriwardene 28, Manodara 13) More Knight, more dabs behind square that don’t quite reach their intended destination. Slow going at present – England looking to coerce a few mistakes...
25th over: Sri Lanka 105-3 (Siriwardene 27, Manodara 10) Risky but effective from Siriwardene, who drives aerially through cover – Knight’s dive good for the cameras, though. A late cut, very fine through third man, takes Sri Lanka to three figures.
West Indies Women are 42-6 in the 21st over.
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) July 2, 2017
😯https://t.co/HDbwoL6qbR pic.twitter.com/814Ks6Iqm4
24th over: Sri Lanka 94-3 (Siriwardene 19, Mandora 9) Heather Knight brings herself on – Hazell’s first spell is done, six overs 0-24 – and offers little by way of pace. Siriwardene daps down to third man but it only just makes it off the square for a single.
23rd over: Sri Lanka 92-3 (Siriwardene 18, Manodara 8) An inside-out cover drive is Perera’s lot this innings as she falls the ball afetr. But Dilani Manodara, another right-hander, pings her first two deliveries for four, through extra cover and through point. Some start...
WICKET! Perera c Taylor b Marsh 46 (Sri Lanka 84-3)
More sharp work from Taylor. Gorgeous delivery from Marsh – dip, turn, grip – and Perera edges through to the keeper.
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22nd over: Sri Lanka 80-2 (Perera 42, Siriwardene 18) Hazell looks like she wants some in the wickets column and goes searching. Siriwardene, once she gets the strike, uses some air and a bit of width to get her hands right through a slap-shot cover drive for four. Lovely stuff.
21st over: Sri Lanka 72-2 (Perera 41, Siriwardene 12) Laura Marsh on for the first time. She’s in the playing XI for Alex Hartley because of the volume of left-handers Sri Lanka have. Starts well: bit of agrip means driving is treacherous.
20th over: Sri Lanka 69-2 (Perera 40, Siriwardene 10) More Hazell, less party from a Sri Lankan point of view. Aside from that late cut from Perera a few overs ago (the only boundary she has conceded), it’s been all her. Some above the eyes. One from the over.
Sri Lanka 68/2 from 19 overs. Fantastic atmosphere here in Taunton and a crowd of over 3000 in to watch!#WWC17 #ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/2SPEvUHMtZ
— Somerset Cricket 🏏 (@SomersetCCC) July 2, 2017
19th over: Sri Lanka 68-2 (Perera 39, Siriwardene 10) Famous last words... Siriwardene stays in her crease, picks a full ball from Sciver and clouts it over mid on for a one-bounce four. And that’s drinks.
18th over: Sri Lanka 62-2 (Perera 38, Siriwardene 6) Run rate dips back below four an over for the last five as Sciver and Hazell keep the batsmen honest.
17th over: Sri Lanka 57-2 (Perera 35, Siriwardene 4) Sciver’s tying webs at the Beefy end. The tallest of the seamers, her variations are jumping at these little Sri Lankans [/Tony Greig].
Has anyone ever seen Nat Sciver and Ben Stokes in the same place at the same time?
— Alan Gardner (@alanroderick) July 2, 2017
16th over: Sri Lanka 56-2 (Perera 34, Siriwardene 4) Siriwardene’s the first right-hander of this line-up and Hazell has six straight at her. Aside from a two, worked neatly and slightly edgily down to third man, Hazell keeps the former Sri Lanka skipper honest.
15th over: Sri Lanka 54-2 (Perera 34, Siriwardene 2) Aside from that drop off Hazell’s first ball, Taylor’s been quite tidy and that catch was very crisp. She’s been training with Michael Bates – the great white rhino of English wicketkeeping. He’d have been proud of that one.
WICKET! Atapattu c Taylor b Sciver 1 (Sri Lanka 51-2)
HUGE! Yesterday’s woman is gone! Sciver entices a drive, but a bit of movement away draws the snick. Taylor, standing up, follows it brilliantly and takes a superb catch. Amends made.
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14th over: Sri Lanka 50-1 (Perera 32, Atapattu 1) Lovely back cut from Perera gets four behind square on the offside. Very nice stroke: waited for Hazell to offer a bit of width and threw her hands through it.
13th over: Sri Lanka 44-1 (Perera 27, Atapattu 0) Woman of the moment Charmi Atapattu comes to the crease on that dismissal. Considering she came in at 0-1 against Australia, this will no doubt be a more welcome platform for any heroics that might follow...
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WICKET! Hansika c Wilson b Sciver 17 (England 44-1)
It’s been coming. A few balls after a sliced sweep lands safely between Taylor, fine leg and third man, Hansika offers a hugh chance to cover, where Fran Wilson takes the simplest catch. The breakthrough.
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12th over: Sri Lanka 42-0 (Perera 26, Hansika 16) Second change, Dani Hazell looking to atone for her drop with some crafty offies. But it seems she’s passed on the drop bug to Sarah Taylor, who puts down an edge from Perera off the first ball.
11th over: Sri Lanka 40-0 (Perera 25, Hansika 15) Nat Sciver on first change, more cutters than a baking set. Just one, as a few grip and the odd one pops.
10th over: Sri Lanka 39-0 (Perera 24, Hansika 15) Another couple of fours, the second of which is a gorgeous extra cover drive, all along the carpet from Hansika. End of the Power Play, and it’s a good one Sri Lanka after those first three maidens.
9th over: Sri Lanka 31-0 (Perera 24, Hansika 7) Three runs from the over but shots in anger starting to becoming the norm. Hansika in particular looks more comfortable getting forward and trying to maneouvre into gaps. Meanwhile, carnage in Leicester...
Match 12. 7.2: WICKET! K Knight (0) is out, lbw Marizanne Kapp, 16/4 https://t.co/Myw9nl2JYl #SAvWI #WWC17
— ICC Live Scores (@ICCLive) July 2, 2017
8th over: Sri Lanka 28-0 (Perera 22, Hansika 6) Back-to-back boundaries finish that over, as Perera crushes one through point and then skews one over midwicket which just beats the fielder to the sponge.
7th over: Sri Lanka 19-0 (Hansika 5, Perera 14) All hail Hansika! Leans into a aerial drive that clears the fielders at midwicket and knocks her out of her slumber. Nae bad. No feet, all Hans.
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6th over: Sri Lanka 14-0 (Hansika 0, Perera 14) Eeeeesh drop! Danni Hazell spills a catch over her head as Perera tries to clear mid off. Shrubsole dragged her length back well to entice the shot but there was no timing whatsoever. Hansika’s still there, I think.
5th over: Sri Lanka 8-0 (Hansika 0, Perera 8) Back to the maidens we go. Brunt pushing in and getting some good carry.
BREAKING: Runs...
4th over: Sri Lanka 8-0 (Hansika 0, Perera 8) EIGHT OF THEM! Perera gets under one enough to plink it over the head of Tammy Beaumont at mid on for the first boundary of the day. The second follows the ball after, as Shrubsole offers enough width for Perera to scythe one aerially behind point.
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3rd over: Sri Lanka 0-0 (Hansika 0, Perera 0) A third maiden on the bounce! There was a whiff of a single into the leg side but some miscommunication meant it passed both these by.
PROJECTED SCORE: 0-0
— Dave Tickner (@tickerscricket) July 2, 2017
Great scenes at Derby
The @BCCIWomen and @TheRealPCB emerge for the anthems in front of a SOLD OUT crowd in Derby! #INDvPAK #WWC17 pic.twitter.com/PAqofTw3rV
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) July 2, 2017
2nd over: England 0-0 (Hansika 0, Perera 0) Second maiden on the bounce, this one by local hero Anya Shrubsole. Decent crowd in to see her – Somerset expect it to fill up throughout the day, possibly ticking over 3,000. Hasini Perera, another Southpaw, can’t land a glove on the Shrub.
1st over: England 0-0 (Hansika 0, Perera 0) Katherine Brunt to left-hander Nipuni Hansika gets us underway at Taunton. A slip in – Lauren Winfield – and a couple of appeals to clear the throats. None particularly close (even Brunt retracts one almost instantly). A maiden from the Sir Ian Botham Stand. Speaking of maidens and Beefy...
Super Sunday element to today, ablbeit with less Jamie (literally). Elsehwere, Australia and New Zealand are squaring of in Bristol, which you can follow here with Rob Smyth and Daniel Harris. India and Pakistan at Derby is a sellout, while South Africa and West Indies occupy Leicester. All eight teams in action today, all needing results. Get around it.
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Ground prep underway: portable net, cones and England support staff tossed into the back of tractors and driven away. A local choir have just given us a couple of tunes. One was Howard Huntsberry’s “Higher and Higher”. Belting tune. What a perfect excuse to rewatch this:
SRI LANKA WIN THE TOSS AND BAT FIRST
A smart move from Inoka Ranaweera. Granted, they posted 257 in their last match and couldn’t defend it, but England have struggled to hold their nerve in chases and, truth be told, it’s the best chance for Sri Lanka to get something from this.
We’ve got a used pitch that has already had 218.3 over, which perhaps explain the inclusion of Laura Marsh (though Alex Hartley, left arm spinner, misses out. Not sure why). Lauren Winfield returns up top with Sarah Taylor moving down to number five. Katherine Brunt as your second allrounder. Yes please, Clive.
ENGLAND: T Beaumont, S Taylor, H Knight, N Sciver, D Wyatt, K Brunt, F Wilson, L Winfield, A Shrubsole, D Hazell, L Marsh
SRI LANKA (not batting order): I Ranaweera, C Atapattu, S Siriwardena, S Weerakody, D Manodara, H Perera, E Lookusooriya, O Ranasinghe, H Madhavi, A Kancahana
PREMABLE
Good morning Taunton and wherever you are this fine OBO day! Hope it’s as sunny there as it is here. Vish here, your sherpa on all things England Women: fresh from some record-busting antics at Grace Road to see of Pakistan, are eyeing their second win of the Women’s World Cup. Standing in front of them – the side that shocked England as defending champions in the last World Cup.
Sri Lanka have come along way since that famous victory. Not all the stops en route have been pleasant. In 2015, a scandal involving senior officials highlight just how far there was still to go, for women’s cricket and women’s rights in the country. That’s why Chamari Atapattu’s knock against Australia, even in fairly comprehensive defeat, carries so much weight.
Even away from the cricketing context – highest individual score against Australia, the third highest in all women’s ODIs – Atapattu showed that Sri Lanka aren’t just here to make up the numbers. England are wary. Once biffed in the nose, twice be-careful-about-being-biffed-in-the-nose.
During the rain delay that washed out the rest of their match against Pakistan to hand them a DLS win by 107 runs, Sky aired highlights of that 2013 match in Mumbai. Knight, with one eye on the nearest TV, relived some bad memories. Worried, Heather? “It was four years ago.”We’ll take that as a no.
Still awaiting news of Lauren Winfield’s wrist (returning) and Anya Shrubsole’s knee (outgoing). England will be hopefuly the latter is precautionary rather than terminal for the purposes of this tournament.
