Tag: Women’s Cricket World Cup

A One Woman Show at Indore

A look back at today’s Women’s World Cup Match between Australia and South Africa, and in particular its defining performance, an incredible display of leg spin bowling by Alana King. Also a photo gallery.

This post is devoted to today’s match at the Women’s Cricket World Cup, between Australia and South Africa to decide who would finish top of the league stage, setting up a semi-final against fourth placed India, while the losers would face England in the other semi-final. Yesterday, which should have been Sri Lanka versus Pakistan, saw only 4.2 overs of play before the rain finally and decisively settled things, underlining yet again the folly of using Colombo as a venue in that city’s wettest month and the further folly of making all matches there day-nighters when the rain is generally at its worst in late afternoon/ early evening.

7-2-18-7

The heading for this section is simply the figures in standard Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets form recorded by Alana King for the nearest thing to an absolutely perfect display of leg spin bowling that you could ever hope to see.

King came on to bowl with South Africa looking a bit rocky at 43-2 after 11 overs, and by the time she rattled Nadine de Klerk’s stumps with the last ball of 24th over (her seven overs being numbers 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 of the innings) the Proteas had subsided to a miserable 97 all out. The one wicket not to go to King in this period, that of Ayabonga Khaka was arguably the leggie’s by proxy as well – in the previous over bowled by King there had been five dots and then a single off the sixth ball as de Klerk, who was batting competently, demonstrated her opinion of Khaka’s chances against King. Khaka was on strike to the fourth ball of the following over, bowled by Ash Gardner, and was comprehensively bowled by the off spinner. King took four of her wickets before conceding a run, and her final figures of 7-18 were an all time record for a World Cup match and an all time ODI record for an Australian woman, relegating Ellyse Perry’s 7-22 to second place and current bowling coach Shelley Nitshke’s 7-24 to third.

After what had happened in South Africa’s innings there was very little chance of an upset. South Africa did take two early wickets, but a 75 run stand between Georgia Voll and Beth Mooney did most of the work for them, and some good blows by Annabel Sutherland after the stand was broken did the rest. Sutherland hit each of her first two balls to the boundary, and after one dot ball she then got her fourth ball away for the two runs Australia still needed. The margin was seven wickets, and Australia had taken only 16.5 overs to knock off the runs. There was of course only one candidate for Player of the Match.

South Africa have overall been very convincing in this phase of the tournament, but in both their first and last matches they came a cropper against quality spin – in their first match England’s spinners shared the wickets as the Proteas slumped to 69 all out, while in this one Alana King almost single-handedly destroyed them. They now have to face England in the semi-final. In view of what has happened today England must be looking at ways to include leg spinner Sarah Glenn. One possibility if they feel like going all in on ‘spin to win’ would be to rest Lauren Bell for the semi-final and rely purely on Natalie Sciver-Brunt’s medium pace for any seam they might need.

PHOTOGRAPHY

My usual sign off…

I was pleased to get a few pictures of this massed group of birds flying overhead.
These fungi were growing in The Walks, close to St James’ Leisure Centre
Decorative ironwork in King’s Lynn town centre

The Annabel and Ashleigh Show

An account of today’s match at the cricket world cup between the Australia and England women’s teams and two photo galleries.

Today’s match at the women’s cricket world cup saw a revisit to international sport’s oldest continuously maintained rivalry, that between Australia and England. This post looks back at the match.

THE ENGLAND INNINGS

Both sides were already qualified for the semi-finals but:

  1. This match could easily be a dress rehearsal for bigger match later in the tournament.
  2. Whoever emerged victorious from the encounter would temporarily displace South Africa from top spot in the table and
  3. No game between this particular pair of opponents can ever be described as meaningless.

Australia were missing Alyssa Healy with a calf strain, and her place at the top of the order went to Georgia Voll, while Beth Mooney took over the wicket keeping gauntlets and Tahlia McGrath assumed the captaincy (Mooney and McGrath are absolute regulars in the XI, so Voll for Healy was only the change in personnel). England were unchanged from the side that just prevailed over India at this same venue last time out. Australia won the toss and chose to put England in to bat.

England started fast, with Tammy Beaumont in particular playing impressively. However Australia soon adapted to the conditions, realizing that pace off was the way to go. Annabel Sutherland, the fastest of Australia’s bowlers was expensive early on, but once she worked the surface out and focussed on slower balls she bowled very well, and emerged with 3-60 from her 10 overs, her 13th, 14th and 15th wickets of the tournament, putting her two clear of Deepti Sharma at the top of the wicket takers list. Ashleigh Gardner fared well with her off spin as well, claiming 2-39 for the innings. Beaumont’s 78, which fizzled out after a blazing start, was the only innings of real substance for England, though a spirited partnership between Capsey and Dean, numbers seven and eight in the order, somewhat revived England in the closing stages. England ended their innings on 244-9.

PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERLUDE

Fungi at Fakenham Church
Fungi near QEH (13 pics total)

THE AUSTRALIAN CHASE

With a modest total on the board England needed a good start, and they got it. Lauren Bell bowled Phoebe Litchfield with the third ball of the inning, Linsey Smith accounted for the other opener Voll in the fourth over and for Ellyse Perry in the sixth over at which point the score was 24-3. When Nat Sciver-Brunt took a catch off Ecclestone to dismiss Mooney for 20 it was 68-4, and Ashleigh Gardner was joining Annabel Sutherland. Their partnership turned the game, slowly at first, and then very rapidly. By the closing stages the only questions where whether both batters would reach three figures, and if so who would get there first. Gardner did reach three figures, off the 70th ball of her innings, and in the end Sutherland just missed out, though Gardner had tried to create the opportunity for her team mate to get there. In the end after the 41st over had start with a two and a single that took Sutherland to 98 not out but left her off strike, Gardner, who had blocked the last three balls of the 40th over to give Sutherland a shot at the landmark, straight drove the third ball of the 41st over for the winning runs, ending with 104 not out from 73 balls, including 16 fours, while Sutherland’s 98 not out took 123 balls and included nine fours and a six. Their stand was worth an unbroken 180 from 24.4 overs. England had their moments during the match, but against this Australian combination having one’s moments from time to time is simply not good enough. Sutherland’s 3-60 and 98 not out earned her Player of the Match, by a short head from Gardner (2-39 and 104 not out).

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

This morning was a sunny one, and I spent a lot of it walking. This Egret was directly across the Great Ouse from Harding’s Pits
This pair of Egrets were near the Nar outfall.
This heron with two cormorants for company was on a concrete block just off the west bank of the Great Ouse, more or less opposite Purfleet Quay
A freight locomotive in the siding near my house this morning.
A particularly elegant little fungus, with a long thin stem and a parasol like cap.
I revisited the site of that fungus later and it was still there.