Day: March 9, 2022

Dubai, March 09, 2022 (PPI-OT):The West Indies pulled off another upset as they beat England by seven runs to secure their first-ever ICC Women’s World Cup victory over the defending champions.

After edging out hosts New Zealand in their opening encounter, West Indies were 81 for no loss before Sophie Ecclestone’s incredible 21st over saw three wickets fall to halt their momentum.

But Shemaine Campbelle and Chedean Nation put on 123 for the fifth wicket to set England 226 to win, six more runs than Heather Knight’s side had ever chased down to win a World Cup game.

The 2017 winners stuttered frequently in reply before a 61-run partnership for the ninth wicket between Ecclestone and Kate Cross seemed to be taking them to victory, however two wickets in four balls in Anisa Mohammed’s 48th over snatched it for the West Indies and left England winless from their first two games.

The West Indies won the toss and chose to bat but rode their luck after England dropped five catches.

Deandra Dottin was saved when Lauren Winfield-Hill put her down off the very first ball of the game before Tammy Beaumont dropped Hayley Matthews on eight off the bowling of Anya Shrubsole.

Matthews responded by dispatching Brunt for two fours in the seventh over and punished Cross for failing to hang on to a caught and bowled chance when she was on 33 by crashing her for six two balls later.

Ecclestone’s spin was introduced in the 17th over, but it was in her third over that she made a real impact.

Her 13th delivery was unlucky for Matthews as she was caught at third by Shrubsole, departing for 45 from 58 balls including two sixes.

Three balls later, Dottin had to go after being run out by a direct hit from Danni Wyatt as Kycia Knight went for a run that was never on.

Captain Stafanie Taylor was then sent back for a golden duck and in five balls the West Indies had slipped to 81 for three and two new batters were at the crease.

Campbelle broke the boundary drought, striking the first four for 10.2 overs but Knight was then caught by Wyatt who rocked back as she held on to a powerful shot to leave the West Indies 98 for four after 26.1 overs.

Campbelle and Nation went about rebuilding, and benefitted from a bucketful of extras, Brunt conceding five wides for the second game in a row.

More dropped catches and a missed run out hampered England, Ecclestone’s figures of four maidens, three for 20 overs a lone bright spot from a disappointing display in the field.

The 100 partnership between Nation and Campbelle came up off 139 balls Nation contributing 38, Campbelle 53 and extras the rest.

Nat Sciver got the breakthrough with a low full toss as Campbelle chopped on for 66 from 88 before Chinelle Henry fell for a two-ball duck as the Windies clawed their way to a hard-fought 225 for six.

After bagging a duck in the opening defeat to Australia, Winfield-Hill’s batting woes continued but this time she could consider herself very unlucky as Dottin took an early contender for catch of the tournament, an outstretched right hand in a full superwoman pose dismissing the opener for 12.

Captain Heather Knight was then caught behind for five off the bowling off Matthews, the initial check for a stumping showing Knight got bat on ball.

The West Indies also missed chances but they were able to capitalise when it really counted.

Sciver, a centurion last time out, went for just two sending a slog sweep to mid-on before Amy Jones’ desire to get the run chase going backfired, Matthews taking a good low catch to reduce England to 72 for four.

Beaumont survived an lbw review on 44 but her reprieve did not last long as she was trapped in front by Mohammed for 46 to deepen England’s troubles.

A promising partnership of 60 between Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt came to an end when the former went for a big shot and was caught by Taylor.

Wyatt would soon needlessly follow with Brunt also departing as England lost three for two.

But the tailenders put England into a winning position before Cross was cruelly run out at the non-striker’s end to bring Shrubsole to the crease and when she was bowled by Mohammed the West Indies could celebrate a second nail-biting win.

Scores in brief

West Indies beat England at University Oval, Dunedin by seven runs

West Indies 225/6 in 50.0 overs (Shemaine Campbelle 66, Chedean Nation 49 not out; Sophie Ecclestone 3/20, Nat Sciver 1/49)

England 218 all out in 47.4 overs (Tammy Beaumont 46, Sophia Dunkley 38; Shamilia Connell 3/38, Anisa Mohammed 2/24)

Player of the Match: Shemaine Campbelle (West Indies)

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
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Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
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Dubai, March 09, 2022 (PPI-OT):England captain Heather Knight admitted her side are fighting for their life in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 after starting their title defence with two narrow defeats.

The 2017 champions lost by seven runs to the West Indies after opening their campaign in New Zealand with an agonising 12-run defeat to Australia.

A sloppy display in the field allowed the West Indies to post 225 for six and despite losing wickets in clusters, a stand of 61 between ninth-wicket pair Sophie Ecclestone and Kate Cross looked to be steering England to an unlikely victory before two wickets in four balls brought them crashing back down to Earth.

England now face an uphill task if they are to secure a semi-final spot by finishing in the top four and cannot afford any further slip-ups with South Africa up next on Monday, but Knight was quick to remind their doubters that they are far from out of the tournament.

She said: “I think we need to have a knockout mindset now – that next game is crucial to our World Cup hopes against South Africa.

“So we have to bring that mindset of needing to win every game and that simplifies things.

“And hopefully that’ll sharpen people up, sharpen minds to what we need to do, because at the moment we’re fighting for life in this tournament.

“There’s a lot of experience in this group. We’ve lost games before and we know that we can’t dwell on defeat too much. Particularly close defeats.

“They can be sometimes a little bit tricky to park but we’ve got to make sure we park them, take what we need to and go into the next game and give it everything.”

After dropping five catches, missing a run-out chance and conceding 23 wides, Knight was at loss to explain a floundering fielding display that ultimately cost them the game despite still holding the West Indies to what was a below-par total on a good wicket in Dunedin.

She added: “It wasn’t [like] us. I think there’s a lot of things that are in our control that we could do a lot better.

“Not too much concern, a bit of frustration and I think when it’s close you look at how many things you could do differently, and we could have saved runs taking catches in the field.

“We know the standards we set as a fielding group, and we have to be better.”

Anisa Mohammed clinched the West Indies’ first-ever World Cup win over England, deflecting a difficult caught-and-bowled chance off Ecclestone onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end to run out Cross and then yorking Anya Shrubsole to spark the celebrations.

Stafanie Taylor’s side have now won two nail-biters in succession, after edging hosts New Zealand by three runs in their first encounter, and Mohammed revealed those victories have given the team the belief they can lift the trophy come the end of the tournament.

The off-spinner said: “To win the two games against the top teams in this tournament is definitely a motivation for us.

“And it gives us that confidence knowing that if we can defeat the top teams then going forward, once we play our best game, we can go all the way in this tournament.

“I know a lot of teams are counting us as underdogs, we have not been playing a lot of good ODI cricket lately, but we have nothing to lose.

“So it’s just a matter of us coming out here, having fun and keep believing in each other and keep believing that we can win matches and I’m sure that we have quite a lot of teams to surprise in this tournament.”

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com

Dubai, March 09, 2022 (PPI-OT):Catches win matches – a staple for commentators, a curse for fielders, and a recurring feature of England’s seven-run loss to the West Indies in Dunedin.

Five chances were put down as the West Indies made 225 for six before the Windies got in on the act with three drops of their own.

Those fielders’ blushes were overshadowed somewhat when Deandra Dottin once again put herself front and centre of the highlight reel with a one-handed grab at backward point an early contender for catch of the tournament.

England’s woes in the field were apparent from the very first ball, Lauren Winfield-Hill dropping Dottin off Katherine Brunt – a chance that she really should have taken and a mistake that set the tone.

Tammy Beaumont, usually a safe pair of hands, then put down the dangerous Hayley Matthews on just eight and Matthews compounded England’s error by smacking Brunt for two fours in the next over.

With 10 overs gone, Matthews and Dottin had put on 58 and the latter would get more runs, but not before another catch was shelled.

Kate Cross could only smile ruefully to herself after seeing a caught and bowled chance slip through her fingers with Matthews now on 33.

But that smile was wiped from her face when Matthews slammed her for six two balls later with England failing to heed the warning that the West Indian batter would continue to punish them if she was given more lives.

Matthews was finally dismissed for 45 from 58, after smashing four fours and two sixes, with Sophie Ecclestone making the breakthrough with the first ball of her incredible third over.

Shrubsole took the catch to dismiss Matthews, sparking a mini collapse as a direct hit by Danni Wyatt sent Dottin back to the dugout for 31.

Captain Stafanie Taylor did not trouble the scorers, going for a golden duck as Ecclestone’s over saw three wickets fall for no runs, reducing the West Indies to 81 for three.

After Kycia Knight went for six, the West Indies rallied through Shemaine Campbelle and Chedean Nation.

Shrubsole became the latest England player to suffer under the high ball as she was slow to react at third and another chance went begging with Nation on 24.

Two balls later, a run-out chance was missed when Wyatt hurled one into Amy Jones behind the stumps and although she whipped off the bails, the ball had slipped away just as England’s chances would do.

Shrubsole was then the culprit again, this time dropping Campbelle on 53 before Nat Sciver eventually ended what was a crucial 123-run partnership five balls later.

Defending 225, the West Indies were not immune from dropped catches although their first came almost five overs in.

Shamilia Connell missed out on an early wicket as Beaumont was spilled at slip by Anisa Mohammed after mistiming a shot.

Connell was the unlucky bowler again with Dottin testing her patience after palming the ball out of her own reach when Winfield-Hill was on 11.

However, the England opener fell two overs later when Dottin more than made up for her earlier mistake, and in some style too.

Adopting full superwoman pose, Dottin stuck out a left hand and as if by magic or magnetic pull the ball stuck in her palm.

It was a catch worthy of winning the tournament, but Dottin will likely settle for defining the match.

Aaliyah Alleyne put down a tough chance which would have dismissed a struggling Jones, whose one off 15 was a study in hesitancy but the West Indies then tightened up their fielding, tying knots in an increasingly frustrated England.

Almost fittingly on a day where not much went right for Heather Knight’s side, Mohammed deflected her attempt at a difficult caught and bowled chance from Ecclestone’s powerful drive onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end, running out a stranded Cross in the most unfortunate fashion.

That moment turned the game once again as the ninth-wicket pair’s stand of 61 looked to be snatching victory from the jaws of defeat with just nine runs from 18 balls needed before disaster struck.

England could not atone for their failures in the field but should have been chasing far less and will rue a sloppy display that saw them concede 23 runs in wides alone.

The defending champions now face an uphill task to secure a semi-final spot after opening their campaign with back-to-back defeats and must bounce back against South Africa on Monday.

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com

Dubai, March 09, 2022 (PPI-OT):Jhulan Goswami is focused on delivering the goods for her team rather than impending personal milestones as India prepare to take on hosts New Zealand in Hamilton.

Goswami is just two wickets away from overtaking Lyn Fullston of Australia as the most prolific wicket-taker at ICC Women’s Cricket World Cups.

The right-arm seamer took two for 26 against Pakistan in India’s opening 107-run win to stretch her tally to 38 wickets across five tournaments since 2005.

“I’m not aware of how many wickets I have, but it is important as a senior member of the side, to go there and perform well, give a good start, give an early breakthrough,” the 39-year-old said.

“That is my job and I want to stick to my role, that is the important thing and if you play a long time, you are going to achieve a few individual milestones.

“That matters, that gives you a lot of joy, but what is important is how you contribute for the team – that’s the most important thing for me and I always believe in that.

“For me, if I’m doing well but my team is not winning, that is not a good thing for me. I enjoy when I contribute and the team wins.

“I enjoy that more and I want to stay strict in that and personal individual milestones don’t matter much to me, because I am absolutely a team player and I always try that.

“I contribute as much as I can and whatever milestones are achieved – I will definitely try to enjoy those.”

India are well-settled in New Zealand having played the White Ferns in a five-match ODI series in Queenstown prior to the tournament starting.

New Zealand came away 4-1 winners but getting the match practice was just as important for India as they look to peak when it matters most against the home side.

Goswami said: “That was our plan – just before the World Cup – to acclimatise with these conditions and these wickets and come back and play fresh in this World Cup.

“Tomorrow’s match is a totally different ball game. It’s a fresh game, and it’s a World Cup game and definitely we’re looking forward to make sure that we do well.”

Both sides are hoping to win back-to-back matches after New Zealand recovered from a shock loss to the West Indies first up to defeat Bangladesh in a rain-affected game.

All-rounder Amy Satterthwaite took three for 25 to restrict Bangladesh to 140 for eight, indicating there is a new lease of life for the 35-year-old at her fourth World Cup.

And with Goswami and India captain Mithali Raj on their fifth and sixth tournaments respectively, there is plenty of inspiration in the opposition when it comes to longevity.

Satterthwaite said: “Another World Cup [for me] is pushing it quite a way out. I think I’ll take it one year at a time.

“But I think they’ve certainly been an inspiration to many to be able to play for as long as they have and I’m sure there’s people out there that have looked at how long they’ve been able to continue to ply their trade and think, ‘I can do it too.’

“It’s a real inspiration what they have achieved so far, and I’m sure they’ll be remembered as some of the greatest players of all time.”

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com