Kimberly in South Africa is home to the world’s largest man made hole, and by the halfway stage of today’s WODI there the England women were in a similarly sized metaphorical hole largely of their own making. I did not get to witness the South African chase due to having to go to the West Norfolk Eye Centre, in the grounds of Queen Elizabeth Hospital for my annual experience of the set of tortures collectively known as Glaucoma tests, a journey that as the weather though dull was not especially cold by December standards I opted to make on foot, rather than spend money on a bus fare (as it happened, even though it was pitch dark by then I also made the return journey on foot), however I was entirely unsurprised to find when I arrived back home that they had won at a canter. This post looks at the woes of the England innings.

A TERRIBLE START

Tammy Beaumont was dropped in the first over of the match, the other opener Sophia Dunkley struck one emphatic boundary, but was then caught at slip playing a terrible shot in that same opening over. Kapp also accounted for Beaumont, bowled for 11, again playing a very poor shot. Nat Sciver-Brunt was the third early victim, LBW and for my money culpable on two grounds – first it was yet another poor shot, and second she burned a review attempting to overturn it. Danni Wyatt-Hodge was fourth out, LBW to Nadine de Klerk, and the first not to be culpable in her own dismissal – it was a genuinely good ball. However she cannot be totally acquitted – she burned England’s last review, and it was stone dead. True the point of impact was above the knee roll of the pad, but Wyatt-Hodge is a fairly small woman, for all the power with which she can hit the ball on her many good days, so not much should have been read into that. Heather Knight and Amy Jones looked to be steadying the ship until Jones went on to the attack against Annerie Dercksen and succeeded only in picking out Chloe Tryon, a superb fielder who duly completed a fine catch to make it 77-5. The wickets continued to tumble, and when Knight was LBW to left arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba (the same way Alice Capsey had gone to be sixth out) for 40 it was 106-7. Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone, the two great England spinners, fought hard, putting on 67 together for the eighth wicket. Dean battled her way to the top England score of the day, an unbeaten 47, raising the total to 186, still dismal, but not as bad as it had looked like being. While England are still ahead overall in the multi-format series they need to realize that in a 50 over innings there are occasions when all out aggression is not the right approach. Dunkley in particular got out in a way that suggested an inflexible commitment to unbridled aggression. Marizanne Kapp is a model of consistency with the ball, and her opening spell in the next ODI will probably pretty much match this one ball for ball – and England need make sure it does not do so wicket for wicket as well.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Some of these pictures come from yesterday either side of work, but most were taken during this morning’s walk, when the weather behaved rather curiously – it started bright and sunny and then became very misty – usually when one gets mist and sunshine on the same day it happens the reverse way around, mist first, then the sun breaks it up…