Women's World Cup

First topic message reminder :

This gets under way tomorrow, and I reckon deserves a thread of its own. It will be fully televised, which is great.

England have had a couple of good wins in the warm-ups, including thrashing NZ. They have however lost opening batswoman Laura Winfield for at least the first game, with a wrist injury. TBH it doesn't sound too good (protective case while assessing the damage) so she may well be gone for the tournament. If so, that's a big blow, as her opening partnership with Tammy Beaumont has been the strong basis on which England have built their more aggressive approach since a disappointing showing at the T20 a couple of years ago. They do though welcome back Sarah Taylor, who took time out from the game after that tournament, and has scored some runs in the warm-ups.

Not too sure what sort of form the other teams are in. I see Pakistan beat WI in a warm-up which is a bit of a surprise, and Elyse Perry reckons the Aussies haven't quite been hitting their straps, though that was before their latest warm-up where they secured a thumping win.

What was I saying ? Gunn and Marsh take 14 from Pandey...

Doubt Brunt could have done more than that. Spin for the last two I reckon now...

So 221 with one to go...

Sharma , surely ? Yes. Can they get 230 ?

228.

Good finish from Sharma ; good scrambling from Gunn and Marsh.

I reckon this is about 50-50. India will want a good start ; this is not the easiest pitch for stroke play.

Its certainly defendable but India have been in some form so would imagine them to chase this fairly comfortably.

Ill be very surprised if they do it comfortably ! They may well chase it down but I reckon they'll have to work ...

As I type a run out gets Raj and it's 43/2 ...awful running .

This partnership the real key now : Kaur coming off that big one and Raut pretty well set...

England are certainly keeping the pressure on.

Yes ! Gunn (what a useful cricketer she is !) and Marsh have given them nothing.

Kaur is the one who can win it off her own bat. If they can shift her...

Hartley a decent start. No Indian fireworks yet.

Really do not want to jinx anything but I am feeling more positive. Maybe 228 was not such a bad score on this ground.

Kaur going after the spinners now. This duel might just decide the game.

India are not looking all that composed out there, their running is very dodgy.

eirebilly wrote:India are not looking all that composed out there, their running is very dodgy.

True. But the ability of Kaur to hit sixes is the big worry for England : after what she did to Australia you think she really holds the key to this chase.

If they can pick her up then I think the run rate may prove tough for the rest of them. But if she bats another fifteen overs ...

Have to agree Alfie, England need another wicket very soon.

Getting the feeling things have turned India's way...

England looking a bit rattled ; too many loose balls coming at the moment.

Wicket could change things : but where is it coming from ?

Lets face it, India have been the best team in the tournament so it would be fitting if they win.

That said, I do hope England can still pull it off.

eirebilly wrote:Lets face it, India have been the best team in the tournament so it would be fitting if they win.

That said, I do hope England can still pull it off.

Not sure they have ...they've been beaten twice , quite heavily. England only lost one...think whoever wins this is a very true champion.

If the double the score at thirty holds India will win with an over to spare...

Fifty for Raut

India on top right now : but I do think a lot depends on these two. Couple of wickets now and it's all change.

India had a couple of off days granted but when on song, easily the best team for me. Starting to look a little grim for England now.

Really need a wicket soon though. Run out looks the best chance at the moment as these two are having little trouble with the bowling...

If I had to put money on it right now I'd say India have this.

It just seems too easy for India right now. There really is little that England can do with these two looking so solid.

Fifty for Kaur who seems to be bringing her team home...

If she brings this off after beating Australia singlehanded she will be up there with Tendulkar in the pantheon !

And she's out !

Hello, a chance here for England? That was some catch.

Now that changes it all : Hartley gets the key wicket - not for the first time.

Now we shall see how India's batting depth measures up.

I think this is game on...

Still a long way yet Alfie but the door is slightly ajar now.

A lot on Raut now to see it home. Run rate creeping towards six ; and England will be energized by that wicket.

Still it only needs one player to come in and play a brisk fifty : Krishnamurty has started well.

And I don't believe it - Sarah Taylor misses a stumping !

Power play up

I suppose that is a missed stumping? Very, very hard chance though. Raut gets a life though...

I would have to say that it is gone now for England. India have hit back well since loosing the wicket and look in complete control again.

eirebilly wrote:I would have to say that it is gone now for England. India have hit back well since loosing the wicket and look in complete control again.

I fear you are right ...though they need nearly six per over and Gunn has five overs left.

I'll give it two more overs before I concede and get some sleep.

Gunn will have to pull off something great to halt this momentum from India.

eirebilly wrote:Gunn will have to pull off something great to halt this momentum from India.

Aye. India currently 12 runs ahead of DLS, wickets needed for England

Just as it looked all over...two wickets.

Krishnamurthy should still steer India home from here. But it is keeping me up a bit longer

We are in for a finish

Krishnamurthy gone. India choking here

Krishnamurthy gone ! Three for Shrubsole

Getting tight...

Who needs sleep ?

Make that four for Shrubsole

Unbelievable. Really though India were cruising this...

Still India's to lose I think . Only takes a couple of boundaries and regular singles.

England need one more out now...

Can't believe that ...surely her foot was in the air ? Close but I think England are dead unlucky there...

Just 14 needed and the home team needs a miracle...

alfie wrote:Can't believe that ...surely her foot was in the air ?  Close but I think England are dead unlucky there...

Just 14 needed and the home team needs a miracle...

Benefit of the doubt to the batsman on that one is fair enough IMO. Too close to call

Pete C (Kiwireddevil) wrote:

alfie wrote:Can't believe that ...surely her foot was in the air ?  Close but I think England are dead unlucky there...

Just 14 needed and the home team needs a miracle...

Benefit of the doubt to the batsman on that one is fair enough IMO. Too close to call

Yeah maybe...gone now though.

Two wickets... ten runs...two and a bit overs ...nails bitten through...

Shrubsole gets Sharma

Five for Anya ...last pair now need 11 from 11


Glad I stayed up

OH MY GOD

And now a dolly dropped !

But never mind : Anya wins it for England

Told you 228 was plenty...

Amazing, that was some collapse from India. They were cruising to victory but take a bow Anya Shrubsole

Congrats to both teams ...a terrific final.

That BBC piece about Shrubsole as a girl inspired by a visit to Lord's proved prophetic .

Not much doubt about PoTM

Didn't see the match but does seem to be a case of one team losing their heads at the end whilst the other maintained composure.

Good and fortunate for the players and full house crowd to get the whole game in - a lot of rain not far away today.

congratulations girls, absolutely fantastic!! However India well and truly choked, they were cruising and threw it away!

JDizzle wrote:If England can somehow scratch their way to 220 they are still in this. Pitch is not easy to score on.

India all out for 219! Impressively precise!

Fantastic finale to the match. Indian collapse was one of which England's men would be proud. Well played England - India will wonder how they managed to lose that one!

A shame the only part of the ground that wasn't full was the members pavilion.

Those empty seats spoke a thousand words about the membership there...

So happy for the English women. Shrubsole held her nerve brilliantly under pressure, and India folded. As I said at the halfway point in the semi, the pressure of chasing in knock-out games can do funny things to you, and India never really got to the stage where the runs/balls equation felt completely comfortable, albeit it was always under control. Cracking match, and once it got going a cracking tournament, and a great advert for the game.

A few thoughts overall -

Women's cricket is an OK product, and the quality is definitely improving. It would benefit from a few bowlers trying to bowl genuinely fast (which I guess would be in the low to mid 80s mph) - quick enough that the short ball would present some risk.

Well played England in coming out on top of 3 classic one day contests (Aus in the group, SA sf and Ind final). Knowing how to win is a very good habit.

The tournament was a bit too long, and SL and Pakistan aren't yet up to a standard to compete with the top sides. The problem is that you have to give them the chance to compete to develop.

The wicket for the final was poor in terms of providing a spectacle - the lack of pace and bounce encouraged slower deliveries and reduced stroke play opportunities. While the match was a good contest, it was not necessarily a great showcase for what women's cricket now is.

dummy_half wrote:
Women's cricket is an OK product, and the quality is definitely improving. It would benefit from a few bowlers trying to bowl genuinely fast (which I guess would be in the low to mid 80s mph) - quick enough that the short ball would present some risk.

I agree with this. While the batting has in general come on leaps and bounds, and the spin bowlers have always been pretty good, the pace bowlers haven't really moved on much. I think the game could benefit from going down the same route as the men with new balls from both ends in ODIs, and indeed (see later point) keeping the quality of pitches up. I'd also add that fielding was a mixed bag: some excellent stuff, e.g. Sarah Taylor's keeping (as good as anything in the men's game IMO), some pretty embarrassing dropped catches and midfields were there too. Still work to do on that.

dummy_half wrote:
The tournament was a bit too long, and SL and Pakistan aren't yet up to a standard to compete with the top sides. The problem is that you have to give them the chance to compete to develop.

Yes, I'm not a fan of the elongated round robin format. It's good for Pakistan and SL to get a few matches under their belt, but it did feel a bit drawn out. The England-Australia game, for all its excellence, didn't really have a huge amount riding on it. Maybe you could reduce the length of the initial phase by splitting into two groups of four (to be expanded to five, etc., as of when it's needed).

dummy_half wrote:
The wicket for the final was poor in terms of providing a spectacle - the lack of pace and bounce encouraged slower deliveries and reduced stroke play opportunities. While the match was a good contest, it was not necessarily a great showcase for what women's cricket now is.

It wasn't as bad as the England-WI game from earlier to be fair, which was absolutely dreadful. But yes, both the final wicket and the England-SA semi were rather slow. The women's game needs quicker pitches more than the men I think, otherwise there's too little incentive for the pace bowlers and the batswomen who time the ball rather than whack it. The earlier pitches were better, but became more worn as the tournament went on. Perhaps inevitable, but something that could do with looking it IMO. See also above suggestion of having two balls.