Tag: Charlie Dean

The All Too Vincibles

This afternoon saw the match between Oval Invincibles and London Spirit women’s teams. Invincibles were already eliminated, while Spirit needed a win to apply pressure to Manchester Originals for the third qualifying spot (Southern Brave are already in the final, and Northern Superchargers have already booked their slot in the eliminator on Finals Day). This post looks back at the match.

AN INNINGS THAT NEVER GOT GOING

London Spirit won the toss and put Oval Invincibles in to bat. Of note for them was the presence of Kate Coppack, a pace bowler who was making her Hundred debut. The Invincibles simply never got going, though Coppack’s only visit to the bowling crease yielded eight runs from five balls. Medium pacer Eva Gray and off spinner (and Spirit skipper, and possible successor to Natalie Sciver-Brunt as England skipper) Charlie Dean each recorded 2-12 from their full allocations of 20 balls. Six of the runs Dean conceded came from the 18th and 19th balls she bowled, which were also the 98th and 99th of the innings as a whole. In addition to her bowling and captaincy Dean held two catches, one of them an absolute worldie, leaping into the air and grabbing the ball with an outstretched hand and then keeping control of it as she fell to the ground. Invincibles finished their 100 balls with 108-8 (and it was almost nine down – the last ball was an LBW given on the field, sent upstairs and only confirmed as not in fact out after all the players had left the field). Only Marizanne Kapp with 32 from 25 balls and Paige Scholfield with 22 from 21 balls had made significant contributions with the bat.

A THUMPING WIN

When you have a small total to defend pretty much everything has to go right if you are going to do so. Thus it was a particularly dire warning sign for Invincibles when Kira Chathli (born in Southwark and based at The Oval for all domestic cricket other than The Hundred) was gifted a fast start by Joanne Gardner who let through a four when the ball barely had enough on it to cross the rope, and it should have been an utterly basic matter to limit the damage to a single. Chathli took control of proceedings from that point on, and though the other opener, Georgia Redmayne, took a little longer to find her stride she too played impressively. By the end of the Power Play Spirit were 47-0 and the writing on the wall could have been no clearer had it been in Arial Black 500 Point, bold faced letters. The pace hardly slowed with the field going back. By the time 50 balls, the official half way stage of the chase, arrived Spirit were 93-0. Chathli completed a magnificent 50 with the second six of her innings, having also hit seven fours along the way, and got there in a mere 26 balls. That six also took Spirit past the 100 mark on the 53rd ball of their innings. Redmayne and Chathli both got out with victory a shot away, but Charli Knott put the 62nd ball of the innings away for four to give Spirit an eight wicket win with a barely credible 38 balls to spare. Originals will need to hand Superchargers an even bigger thumping tomorrow to displace Spirit, and this being Spirit’s fifth win of the tournament it officially eliminates Trent Rockets and maintains a proud record in this tournament of no team with a mere even record of four wins and four losses ever qualifying for Finals Day. Charlie Dean was named Player of the Match for her bowling, fielding and captaincy. Full scorecard here.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

All Change at the Top for England Women

A look at who could/ should be appointed to the recently vacated roles of coach and captain of the England women’s team, plus a photo gallery including a splendid comma butterfly.

Two announcements have come out in recent days, neither remotely surprising to any follower of cricket. John Lewis has been fired as coach of the England Women’s team after overseeing the disastrous recent women’s Ashes tour, and the captain of nine years, Heather Knight, has resigned that role. This post looks at possible replacements.

THE COACH

This is a short section since Charlotte Edwards, who has established an outstanding record as a coach since the ending of her own legendary playing career, is apparently interested in the job. If those recruiting have their heads screwed on the process should thus be very straightforward – “name your price, Charlotte” or words to that effect.

THE CAPTAIN

There is no immediately obvious successor here. Natalie Sciver-Brunt, the current vice-captain, is of similar vintage to Knight, and cannot be considered a long term option. Similarly Tammy Beaumont and Danni Wyatt-Hodge are both too old to be considered anything other than short term fixes. I can see two candidates who have enough experience while also being likely to be around for years to come, and both of whose places in the side as players are beyond question. Charlie Dean, off spinner and useful lower order batter, would be my choice for the role. The other candidate who I consider to be in the mix is Sophie Ecclestone, the best in the world at what she does and clearly possessor of a good cricket brain.

PRELUDE TO PHOTO GALLERY – COMMA

I was nearing the end of my morning excursion when a glance at the giant buddleia bush near the Eastgate Bridge over the Gaywood River was rewarded with the sight of a comma butterfly basking in the sun (today is the first official day of northern hemisphere spring, and by that point I was warm enough that my jumper was in my bag and I was in short sleeves).

PHOTOGRAPHS

Now for the full gallery…

England Women Reassume Control in South Africa

An account of yesterday’s ODi between the South Africa and England women’s teams and a photo gallery.

At 8AM UK time yesterday morning the second One Day International in the current multi-format series between the South Africa and England women’s teams took place at Durban. This post looks back at that match.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN INNINGS

England won the toss and put South Africa in to bat. Protea skipper Laura Wolvaardt confirmed that she would have put England had she won the toss.

Kate Cross replaced Lauren Bell for England, and her metronomic accuracy proved an excellent counterpoint to the pace and fire of Lauren Filer with whom she shared the new ball. England soon had two early wickets, Tazmin Brits and Sune Luus each having their stumps rearranged by Filer. From 14-2 the proteas appeared to have launched a very effective recovery when Wolvaardt and the up-and-coming Annerie Dercksen took the total into the 70s without further loss. However now came the period that effectively settled the match. Spinners Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone tore out the middle order in an extraordinary period in which 72-2 and on the road to recovery became 76-7 and definitively doomed. Dean took four of the wickets with her off spin, including performing the hat trick (her victims for this achievement were Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk and Sinalo Jafta, none of whom would be considered not to be a front line batter), while Ecclestone, for once subordinate in destruction, nevertheless claimed the prize scalp of Wolvaardt, clean bowled for 35. Chloe Tryon did her best to save something from the wreckage, scoring an impressive 45 before Ecclestone had her caught by Tammy Beaumont. That was 127-9, and the last pair of Khaka and Hlubi boosted the total by a further eight before Hlubi was bowled by Ecclestone to end the innings. Dean had 4-45 from her full 10 overs, Ecclestone 3-27 from 7.3 overs and Filer who had added Nonkuloleko Mlaba, clean bowled, to her two opening scalps had 3-32 from six overs, all three bowled.

THE ENGLAND REPLY

To have any chance of defending such a small total South Africa needed early wickets, and the England opening pair of Tammy Beaumont, playing her 100th successive ODI, and Maia Bouchier ensured that no early wickets fell. By the end of the 10 over opening power play England were 57-0. 12 more runs came before Bouchier was dismissed, and although Beaumont and Knight followed quickly at 80 and 82, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt-Hodge took England to the brink of victory. Just seven further runs were needed when Sciver-Brunt was LBW to de Klerk. New batter Amy Jones struck her first and third balls for fours to give England victory by six wickets with 26 OVERS to spare. The ODI segment of the series is thus level at 1-1 with one more match to come. Charlie Dean was named player of the match.

PHOTOGRAPHY

My usual sign off…

New shoes bought today – so far, so good – I have done my afternoon walk in them (I bought them near the end of my morning walk).

All Time XIs – Closed Underground Stations

An all time XI all whom connect to defunct London Underground stations. Also a large photo gallery.

The main feature of today’s post is an all time XI every player of which can be connected back to a former London Underground station. In each case I elucidate the connection. Unfortunately a major rain interruption prevented the T20I between the England and Sri Lanka women’s teams providing as much news as seemed likely. England won by 12 runs on the DLS method, after SL’s innings was reduced to six overs (rain had reduced the match to 17 overs per side, and then 3.1 overs into the SL response more rain fell). The DLS adjustment, helped by England having scored incredibly fast in their innings, left SL needing 45 off 17 balls on the resumption and they never looked like getting them.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. *WG Grace (right handed opening batter, right arm bowler of various types, captain). His case for inclusion on cricketing grounds needs no stating. He gets in by dint of his first given name, William, which links to King William Street, the first northern terminus of what was then the City & South London Railway, which was abandoned in 1900 when the line was extended northwards.
  2. Frank Hayes (right handed opening batter). He scored 13,000 runs at 35 in FC cricket, though barring a debut century his test record was very ordinary. Between 1883 and 1885 the Metropolitan District Railway as it then was ran services to Windsor, and one of the intermediate stops was Hayes.
  3. Ernie Hayes (right handed batter, leg spinner). A fine all rounder whose Surrey career lasted three decades. His closed station is the same is that of Frank Hayes.
  4. Clem Hill (left handed batter). At the time his test career ended he had scored more runs at that level than anyone else, and was also an athletic fielder. One stop west of Ealing Broadway in the days of District services to Windsor was a station known by two names in its brief history with that line, Castle Hill, another which we will see later in this piece.
  5. Marcus North (left handed batter, occasional off spinner). He averaged 35 at test level and 40 in FC cricket with the bat and had his moments with the ball. North Weald station was on the Epping – Ongar section of the Central line, which became part of London Underground post WWII and closed in 1994.
  6. Paul Winslow (right handed batter). A notable big hitter in his day. In the days the expansionist Edward Watkin the Metropolitan Railway was extended many miles northwest of London. Beyond Aylesbury was a junction at Quainton Road, with one branch leading to Verney Junction by way of Granborough Road and Winslow Road, the latter of which gets him in. We will see the other branch later.
  7. +Gil Langley (wicket keeper, right handed batter). A great keeper in his day. Langley was on the Windsor branch referred to earlier in this piece.
  8. Charlie Dean (off spinner, right handed batter). An excellent spinner and a useful lower order batter. The other name by which Castle Hill was known in that period between 1883-85 was Ealing Dean.
  9. Wes Hall (right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). A legendary fast bowler for the West Indies. Blake Hall was on the Epping-Ongar branch of the Central line, though it closed over a decade before the rest of the branch due to being so lightly used.
  10. Mark Wood (right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). A very fine and very fast fast bowler. Wood Siding was one of the stations on the Duke of Buckingham’s private railway, which Edward Watkin bought for the Metropolitan Railway, of which it remained part from 1899 to 1935. The terminus of this line, Brill, is 51 miles from Baker Street, the furthest from central London any of the lines now part of London Underground have ever extended (Amersham, the current record holder, is a mere 27 miles out).
  11. Esmond Kentish (right arm fast medium, right handed batter). A fine bowler, but a genuine number 11. South Kentish Town, which gets him into this XI, was on what is now the High Barnet branch of the Northern line. In the 1920s strike action closed Lots Road Power Station temporarily, and that caused services on various lines not to be able to run. When services resumed South Kentish Town did not reopen.

This XI is not too bad given the criteria – a good top five, a great keeper and an excellent bowling attack – Wood, Hall and Kentish to bowl seam, Dean and Ernie Hayes to bowl spin, and Grace and North as back up options.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

An Ecclesiastical XI

In view of some of the players and one of the commentators involved in the match I am currently listening to in the county championship I have created an ‘ecclesiastical eleven’. Plus the usual photo gallery.

With the match between Hampshire and Surrey in the current round of county championship fixtures featuring a Pope and two Abbotts (Sean for Surrey, Kyle for Hampshire) plus Mark Church in the commentary box I decided to select an ecclesiastical XI. These are players whose names have ecclesiastical connections. I have not picked any players who had ecclesiastical roles as well as being cricketers.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. Imam-ul-Haq (left handed top order batter). Averages just short of 40 in test cricket. An Imam is an islamic preacher.
  2. Jack Parsons (right handed top order batter, occasional right arm medium pacer). A superb player for Warwickshire either side of WWI, he averaged in the high 30s with the bat for over 10,000 FC runs. He was also a notably aggressive player.
  3. Ian Chappell (right handed batter, captain, occasional leg spinner). A superb captain, and had a fine record as a test match number three.
  4. Greg Chappell (right handed batter, occasional leg spinner, occasional medium pacer, ace slip fielder). One of the game’s all time greats with the bat.
  5. Ollie Pope (right handed batter, occasional wicket keeper). Has a superb county record and is beginning to establish himself as England’s number three. He scored 91 for Surrey in their first innings of the current match.
  6. +Rachel Priest (right handed batter, wicket keeper).
  7. George Pope (right arm fast medium bowler, right handed batter). Averaged 28 with the bat and 19 with the ball for Derbyshire in a distinguished career which was disrupted by WWII. Like so many of that county’s fine players he received scant recognition from the England selectors.
  8. Charlie Dean (off spinner, right handed batter). Our front line spinner, starting to make a name for herself in the England women’s team. A dean is a church official.
  9. Ian Bishop (right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). A great fast bowler before injuries ruined his career, and also a useful batter.
  10. Kyle Abbott (right arm fast medium bowler). An excellent bowler who broke in to the South Africa side only after he had already agreed a Kolpak deal with Hampshire. His decision to honour that Hampshire contract ended his international career, but his record for the county has been superb.
  11. Harry Dean (left arm fast medium bowler). Only three test matches for him, in the 1912 Triangular tournament, but he took his first class scalps at 18 a piece. The fact that he bowled with his left arm lends the attack extra balance.

This XI has a powerful top five, a keeper batter at six, an all rounder at seven, two bowlers who bat at eight and nine and two tail enders. The bowling attack is strong and well balanced, and I would expect this side to give a good account of itself in most conditions.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

The ecclesiastical figure who came closest to making the XI was the reverend David Sheppard, scorer of three test centuries, but the top order batting available to me was strong, and he was not the greatest of fielders. Australian leg spinner Lloyd Pope has a decent but not outstanding record in limited overs cricket and a dreadful one in red ball cricket, so I could not accommodate him. Sean Abbott missed out as I rated Kyle the superior bowler of the two Abbotts, and I wanted the front line spinner, the extra pace of Bishop and the left arm of Dean. Kevin Dean had a respectable record for Derbyshire, but not enough to challenge his namesake Harry. I await reader suggestions with interest.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

The ROATeNSE

My take on a form of dismissal that is quite wrongly deemed controversial. Run outs at the non-striker’s end are a form of dismissal fully sanctioned by the laws of cricket.

The title of this post refers to the running out of a non-striker who backs up too far too early (Run Out AT The Non-Strikers End with the lower case e slipped in to make it pronounceable – ROA (as in road) – TeNSE. When someone effects this form of dismissal there is always a lot of controversy, with many seeing it as sharp practice while others recognize it for what it is, a form of dismissal which has full sanction under the laws of cricket and for which the batter, and the batter alone is to blame. I look at in more detail in the rest of this post.

NOMENCLATURE

This type of dismissal is often termed a ‘Mankad’, which derives from Mulvantrai Himmatlal ‘Vinoo’ Mankad of India, who was the first to make such a dismissal in a test match. Surviving members of the Mankad family are split on the issue, with a grandson having recently declared in favour of the use of the term and a son having even more recently declared against it. My own feeling is that one of the foremost of all test match all rounders (reached the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets at that level in just 23 matches, a figure bettered only by Ian Botham who got there in 21) is ill-served by being chiefly known for his association with this type of dismissal, and also using the fact that he was the first to do it in a test match conceals the long history of this type of dismissal, going back at least to the 1830s and 40s when one Thomas Barker (Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire) did it a number of times in matches at various levels. The serious alternative to ROATeNSE for me is “bowler’s stumping”, putting it on a par with a keeper stumping a striker who misses the ball when out of their ground.

A FAILED ROATeNSE

Some of those opposed to this mode of dismissal claim it requires little skill, so I now mention a recent Big Bash League incident involving Australian leg spinner Adam Zampa. Zampa was into his delivery stride when he altered course and attempted to run out an encroaching non-striker, but it was given not out because his arm was beyond the vertical – he made his decision a fraction too late. Zampa, in defiance of the opinions publicly expressed by coach David Hussey, refused to apologize for his actions, insisting rightly that he had been correct to go for the dismissal. The fact that the mode of dismissal can be fluffed shows that it does require skill.

A SUGGESTED REWORDING

In order for greater clarity I would change the wording of the section of the laws devoted to this dismissal, ruling that until the ball has actually been released the bowling crease belongs to the bowler, and the non-striker leaves it at their own risk. This form of dismissal is part of the game and will remain so – batters need to learn that even at the non-strikers end they need to keep their eyes on the bowler and not make an early move out of their ground, and to accpet being run out if they leave themselves open to this form of dismissal. A few months ago Deepti Sharma (India) dismissed Charlie Dean (England) by this means in an international match. My sympathies were entirely with the bowler: not only had Dean been serially leaving her ground early when at the non-strikers end (over 70 times in her innings), her offending had grown worse following the dismissal of Amy Jones which made her senior partner, and Deepti Sharma just before the over in which the dismissal occurred had spoken to the Indian captain, so Dean really should have been alert to the fact that such a dismissal was on the cards.

PHOTOGRAPHS

England Women Poised For Series Win Over Kiwis

An account of yesterday’s second ODI between the England and New Zealand women’s teams plus some recent photographs.

There is no cricket happening today (except in that two-bit tournament taking place in Dubai), bu yesterday saw the second of five One Day Internationals between the England and New Zealand women’s teams. This post looks back a wonderful, low scoring contest.

THE PRELIMINARIES

Katherine Brunt was rested by England for this match, Danni Wyatt coming in to the side to make her 200th appearance in an England shirt. New Zealand won the toss and put England in.

THE ENGLAND INNINGS

The innings began with a maiden bowled by Jess Kerr to Lauren Winfield-Hill. In the second over Tammy Beaumont cracked three boundaries against Sophie Devine before deciding to shoulder arms to the final ball which came back off the pitch just enough to hit the stumps. Knight joined Winfield-Hill and the prospered for a time, until Knight fell for 18. Thereafter wickets fell at regular intervals, and at 146-9 England looked doomed. At that point Tash Farrant joined Wyatt who had shown signs of finding her best form, and now did so with a vengeance. Farrant scored 22 and helped the last wicked to put on 51. Wyatt on her return to ODI action scored 63 not out, with the only other score above Farrant’s 22 being 39 from Winfield-Hill. Hannah Rowe and Leigh Kasperek took three wickets each.

THE NEW ZEALAND INNINGS

Suzie Bates started as though this was going to be easy for New Zealand, but at 40, of which she contributed 28 she was well caught by Wyatt off Kate Cross. The decision went upstairs, but the catch was definitely clean. Sophie Ecclestone got Maddy Green in her first over to make it 63-2, and in the very next over Cross accounted for Lauren Down (22) to make it 64-3. Sophie Devine and Amy Satterthwaite put on 21, but Satterthwaite never got going, and at 85 her innings ended for 1, a third wicket for Kate Cross. Brooke Halliday joined Devine, and at 111-4, 87 needed for victory, the rain got heavy enough for the umpires to take the players off. The players returned to the field with New Zealand facing an adjusted target of 183 from 42 overs, meaning that they needed 72 from the last 18 to win. Natalie Sciver produced a superb delivery to bowl Devine for 28, making it 114-5. Then Charlie Dean, a 20 year old off spinner making just her second international appearance accounted for Katey Martin (6), Hannah Rowe (7), the big scalp of Halliday (29) and Kasperek (10), and New Zealand were 161-9, with nos 10 and 11 Lea Tahuhu and Jess Kerr together at the crease. With one ball of the 39th over to go the score had inched up to 169, at which point Tahuhu aimed a drive at Tash Farrant and succeeded only in chipping the ball straight to extra cover where Heather Knight made no mistake, and England were home by 14 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method. Charlie Dean had 4-36 from eight overs, an outstanding performance which settled the match. The Player of the Match Award went to Danni Wyatt who had followed her 63 no out that gave England an outside chance of winning with an immaculate fielding performance. Ultimately, given that four kiwis reached 20, but Brooke Halliday was their top scorer with 29 this was the right call, and in one it was fitting that on a landmark day for her Wyatt got the award, but also Charlie Dean’s outstanding spell deserved recognition and there was certainly a case for at least a shared award. England lead the series 2-0 and will have a chance to take an unassailable lead tomorrow in the 3rd ODI. There are not many innings in which she bowls in which Ecclestone is other than the most threatening spinner on show but yesterday against New Zealand was definitely one. Full scorecard here.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…