England Women Continue Winning Start to Home Season But…

A brief look back at the closing stages of the first ODI between England Women and Pakistan Women, which took place yesterday.

Yesterday saw the first ODI between the England and Pakistan women’s sides (the day before should have seen a T20I between the men’s sides but unremitting rain all day long led to the authorities at Headingley concluding an hour before the scheduled start time that it would not be possible to get the match on and abandoning it). I was at work for the majority of yesterday’s game, but did get the closing stages.

A SCRAPPY SUCCESS

Pakistan look in with a chance for over half their batting innings, but having got the target below 100 at what should have been a manageable rate with six wickets standing they lost both incumbent batters in quick succession. The over that killed any prospect of a Pakistan revival was a wicket maiden by Sophie Ecclestone which meant that after nine of her ten overs she had figures of 3-24. Although the Pakistan tail reduced the deficit they never looked like challenging in the closing overs. They survived until the final over, but by the time the last ball was bowled they needed 38 from it to win the match, and only scored one of them, so England won by 37 runs. However, it was undeniably slipshod from England’s bowlers, with Extras contributing 40 to Pakistan’s total, including 31 in wides, and a better side than Pakistan would certainly have punished them for this. I missed the batting efforts, but that no one got to 50 (Capsey’s 44 was the highest score of the match) tells a story. So far in three T20Is and one ODI between these sides there has been one individual half century – Wyatt’s 87 in the third T20I, and she was dropped on 12 in that innings. Ecclestone’s 3-26 from 10 overs secured her the Player of the Match award. Full scorecard here.

PHOTOGRAPHS

I have a fine photo gallery to share today…

This is some variety of Frog Leg Beetle.

England Women Complete Series Sweep Over Pakistan Women

An account of England Women’s victory over Pakistan Women earlier today, a victory which gave them a 3-0 series sweep. Also a photo gallery.

While Surrey were pushing for victory over Worcestershire – duly completed a few minutes ago – my attention was elsewhere for a period in the middle of the day – the third and final T20I between the England and Pakistan women’s teams got underway at 1:00PM. This post looks back at that match.

THE ENGLAND INNINGS

England again found themselves batting first. They started slowly but accelerated well, initially through Danni Wyatt, who was lucky on 12, when Muneeba Ali failed to hold on to a catch behind the stumps, and punished Pakistan heavily for the lapse, ultimately scoring 87 off 49 balls. Amy Jones scored some quick runs late on, and the innings had a farcical ending when there was almost a run out when the batters came back two on the final ball, and then an actual run out when they took on a third to celebrate the reprieve. England were 176 all out to the last scheduled ball of their innings.

THE PAKISTAN REPLY

Pakistan started solidly, though a bit slowly, the openers passing 50 together. However, they both fell in the space of a few balls and two more wickets fell quickly as 60-0 became 73-4. The fifth wicket pair batted well up to a point, but were always falling further and further behind the required rate. Eventually 39 were needed off the last over, and with Sophie Ecclestone to bowl it there could only be one outcome. The final margin was 34 runs, and England had won the series 3-0. Wyatt was Player of the Match for her scintillating innings, and Amy Jones was Player of the Series.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

Swan parents with cygnets (eught images).

England Women Maintain Winning Start To Home Season

A look at the second T20I of the three match series between England Women and Pakistan Women, and a large photo gallery.

Yesterday night saw the second match of the three match T20I series between the England and Pakistan women’s sides. England had won the opener comfortably.

THE ENGLAND INNINGS

Natalie Sciver-Brunt returned to the England XI after missing the series opener. Diana Baig (the first name came about because her mother was a fan of Princess Diana) returned to the Pakistan XI. In spite of England’s dreadful start with the bat in the first game Heather Knight had no hesitation in opting to bat when she won the toss at Wantage Road. England were not entirely convincing, and for most of the innings it didn’t look like they would get much beyond 130. However 17 runs off the last five balls of the innings (Ecclestone scoring 7* off three balls and Danielle Gibson then hitting the last two balls of the innings for four and six to finish with 18* off 10 balls) pushed the total to 144.

THE PAKISTAN REPLY

Pakistan were soon 9-2, but then Sidra Ameen and Muneeba Ali had a respectable partnership. Ali gave Ecclestone a return catch which made the left armer, at a mere 25 years of age, England’s all time leading wicket taker in the format, surpassing Katherine Sciver-Brunt. All rounder Nida Dar (the overall all time leading wicket taker in the format) then fell LBW to Sarah Glenn for 1 and it was 41-4 and Pakistan were in deep trouble. Sidra Ameen and Aliya Riaz then put on 19 together before Sidra Ameen was run out after a mix-up and it was 60-5. From that point on it was all England. Heather Knight having noted that the spinners were proving more testing than the seamers gave Alice Capsey a bowl (though the skipper’s own off spin was not deployed). Capsey picked up the wickets of Aliya Riaz for 19 and Diana Baig for a duck in her first over, and Pakistan were 71-7, with Capsey looking at figures of 2-1. Sarah Glenn then accounted for Fatima Sana for 8 to make it 72-8. The ninth scraped at seven runs, three of them off Capsey, before Ecclestone got both the last two wickets in the space of three balls as Pakistan ended up 79 all out, beaten by 65 runs, a record margin for a T20I at the ground. Ecclestone finished with 3-11, while Capsey’s all round contribution of 31 and 2-4 won her the Player of the Match award. A full scorecard can be viewed here and amore detailed look at the numbers thrown up by this match can be seen here.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

This pic and the next two come from a library book I read and enjoyed.

England Women’s Unusual Route To Victory

A look at yesterday’s T20I between the England and Pakistan women’s teams, the curtain raiser for the home international summer. Also a vast photo gallery (I have two more ready to go, a third at the pre-editing stage and more pictures on my camera).

The international cricket summer got underway yesterday with a T20 international between the England and Pakistan Women’s teams. This post looks at what happened in that match.

ENGLAND FIGHT BACK FROM ABYSMAL START

I missed the early part of the match due to a West Norfolk Autism Group commitment, so I cannot comment on the nature of the dismissals suffered by England near the start. However, I do know that at low water mark they were 11-4, not a position from which many sides have recovered in a T20I. By the time I was able to tune in Heather Knight and Amy Jones were restoring the situation (Knight made 49, Jones 37), and their good work was continued by Danielle Gibson and Sophie Ecclestone, Gibson in particular playing a superb innings to score 41* off just 21 balls. Ecclestone finished on 18*, also scored very quickly, and in the end England has 163-6 from their 20 overs. Not a mammoth total in a T20I, but more than Pakistan Women had ever successfully chased, and quite remarkable after such a dreadful start.

GLENN THE BOWLING HERO

Pakistan started brightly, but wickets began to fall too early for comfort. The slow decline of the Pakistan innings became a crash when Sarah Glenn came into the attack. Glenn took 4-12 from her four overs, a new career best in the format for her, and Pakistan were almost out of it at 89-9. The crash of wickets included a horror spell of three balls for the Pakistan skipper, in the course of which she ran her batting partner out, and then lost her own wicket to a poor shot. The tenth wicket pair did their best, but with over 70 runs needed and them being already well behind the clock it was always a matter ‘when’ and not ‘if’. They cobbled together a stand of 21, before the last wicket went down, giving England a win by 53 runs. England won comfortably in the end, but Pakistan had given them a scare or two along the way – definitively winning the Power Play overs in the England innings and arguably winning that same period of their own innings. Ultimately Knight, Jones, Gibson and Ecclestone rescued England from an awful start with the bat, and Glenn’s outstanding spell with the ball was the clincher when Pakistan batted.

PHOTOGRAPHS

I have absolutely masses of photographs to share, having been posting about the trip to Pensthorpe for the last week, while gathering many more pictures in this splendid Norfolk spring weather (as I type this I am sat outside in shorts and t-shirt, with the temperature officially 24 degrees, and a light breeze blowing, and temperatures have been hitting the low 20s consistently for some days)…

England v Pakistan Final ODI At Halfway

A look at the cricket world, especially the England v Pakistan ODI, an all-time England ODI team and lots of photographs.

INTRODUCTION

The final ODI between England and Pakistan has reached its halfway stage. I will look at that and other stuff in this post.

CRICKET STUFF

England departed from their usual practice and decided to bat first after winning the toss at Headingley. They have amassed 351-9 from their 50 overs, a good but by no means unassailable total. Big scores from Joe Root and Eoin Morgan were at the heart of things, and there were contributions all down the order. Shaheen Shah Afridi took four wickets but paid dearly for them (82 being hit of his ten overs). The real bowling star was Imad Wasim with 3-53 from his 10 overs. This is a close one to call, but I think England have just enough on the board and will defend this total.

Elsewhere Afghanistan bowled Ireland out for 210 and have just started their reply. Paul Stirling made 71 and William Porterfield 51. Fast bowler Dawlat Zadran and medium fast bowler Aftab Alam each took three wickets and highly rated legspinner Rashid Khan took 2-45 from his full 10 overs.

Pakistan Women have won a T20 match against Pakistan with four wickets and two balls to spare. Tazmin Brits made 70 not out for South Africa and had support from Nadine De Klerk (36) and Sune Luus (28 not out). Offspinner Rameen Shamim took 1-20 from her four overs and while medium pacer Aliya Riaz took 1-26 from her four. Pakistan lost their top three cheaply but Iram Javed (55) with good support from all-rounders Nida Dar (32) and Riaz (30) did the job. South Africa’s opening bowlers Shabnim Ismail (2-12) and Mosaline Daniels (3-13) were outstanding but none of the other bowlers did anything.

Update: I am now rather more confident of England’s ability to defend their score as Chris Woakes has bagged three quick wickets, thus far without cost.

The cricket section of the BBC website is offering you the opportunity to pick your all-time England ODI team – click the screenshot of mine below to do so:

The overall most popular selections will be announced on The Tuffers and Vaughan show tomorrow (unfortunately I shall be in bed by then, but I will look it up on Tuesday).

RAINBOW

This appeared outside my bungalow yesterday evening…

MORE STAMPS

I have been continuing to mount my stamps.:

P1230955 (2) — Work in progress – a new page begins tot ake shape.

FINAL PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

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	Comrie 2024 –… on Scotland 2022: Homeward B…
	Thomas on 49