Well done to England, especially Maia Bouchier who is a wonderful talent. I hope she gets a continued run throughout the tournament.
England are peaking at just the right time. Can they find that extra gear to topple Australia? We’ll find out together.
Til then…
1.42pm BST
Here’s a look at the Group B table:
1.36pm BST
That all happened so fast that I missed this email from Jeremy Boyce.
With apologies to Jeremy, here it is in full:
I’m guessing England will be disappointed to lose the toss and would have batted first had they won it, in the hope of blasting their run-rate in an upwardly direction. In the twists and turns of all that, could we imagine England bowling “soft” to give themselves a bigger total to chase down Baz-ball style ? All the same, if they bowl Scotland out cheaply they could still try and blast a victory. More to the point, if Lauren Bell ends up bowling to Olivia Bell (or vice versa) will you be describing it as a ding-dong encounter ? (I’ll get my coat)
1.29pm BST
England now sit top of Group B and have the best net run-rate of the lot.
With three wins from thee games, they have six points, level with South Africa but with a game to spare and a NRR of 1.72 compared to 1.38 from the Proteas.
The West Indies are in third on four points and have to play England in the final group game.
1.28pm BST
Finally, Heather Knight:
Really pleased. The pitch got a lot better. I thought we let them get a bit too many but actually we didn’t. We bowled really well.
Bouchier has stepped up. Hitting her first three balls for four.
It was just about getting there as fast as we could. Credit to them.
We want to keep winning and keep momentum going.
1.25pm BST
Scotland’s skipper Kathryn Bryce is up next.
Honestly, what can one say after such a shellacking? Let’s find out:
It’s been a tough tournament for us but such a massive honour to be here and lead the team out. There are only learnings that can taken moving forward.
It’s the basics and doing them over and over.
It’s always challenging when you play in a different stadium against a different team. The girls are getting used to that.
It’s been incredible. Loads of parents out here cheering no matter what’s going on.
[On Lorna Jack-Brown, who retires today] She’s been playing cricket for Scotland for 18 years. We’ll have a meal and celebrate the career she’s had.
1.18pm BST
No surprise that Maia Bouchier is the player of the match.
Here’s what she has to say:
I felt really good. It’s always easy batting with Danni. We stick to our strengths and run really well.
We got told about the 8th over about net run-rate and that we wanted to get it done by the 10th over. The bowlers did really well to keep them down.
Of course we want to take that trophy. We’ don’t want to think about other teams. We’re putting ourselves in a really good position.
It was really important for me to try and be still. I kept telling myself to be still and Danni kept reminding me. I back myself to go out and win us games.
Updated at 1.23pm BST
1.12pm BST
England win by 10 wickets with 10 overs to spare!
That was emphatic! And what an eventful over to close it out.
Bouchier raised her 50 having nailed a reverse sweep over point from Kathryn Bryce earlier in the over. Then there was a big appeal for lbw before over-throws added three to Wyatt-Hodge’s tally.
That brought the scores level and Bouchier put the finishing touches with a blistering sweep behind square that screamed to the boundary.
A perfect display with the bat. Will be hard to drop Bouchier after that.
10th over: England 113-0 (Bouchier 62, Wyatt-Hodge 51)
Updated at 1.18pm BST
1.07pm BST
9th over: England 100-0 (Bouchier 53, Wyatt-Hodge 47) Incredible scenes. Brilliant batting from Wyatt-Hodge who lifts a wonderful cover drive over a packed infield for four. Good running elsewhere adds five more to the total. Just 10 needed for victory.
1.03pm BST
8th over: England 89-0 (Bouchier 50, Wyatt-Hodge 37) Bouchier raises her fifty of 30 balls with a shuffle across her stumps and swish over fine leg for four. 10 fours in her knock, including one at the top of this Fraser over that was punished through cover. She’s been helped by some poor bowling. Scotland have varied between being too short and wide and too straight and full. Batters of this quality don’t often miss out. This is doing wonders for England’s NRR.
12.59pm BST
7th over: England 77-0 (Bouchier 41, Wyatt-Hidge 36) Scotland go to their leg-spinner, Maqsood, but she can;t stem the flow of runs. 11 off this over with a full toss scooped for four over the ‘keeper’s head by Wyatt-Hodge. There are three twos in the set as well as Maqsood struggles to find a regular line or length.
12.55pm BST
6th over: England 66-0 (Bouchier 40, Wyatt-Hodge 26) Another monstrous over to close out the powerplay. Kahtryn Bryce starts it with a short ball and Bouchier thrashes it with a sweetly timed cut for four. Wyatt-Hodge responds with a dazzling cut of her own and then follows that up with another boundary, this one in front of square. It’s just too short and wide from Scotland.
12.50pm BST
5th over: England 51-0 (Bouchier 34, Wyatt-Hodge 17) It’s raining boundaries! Slater comes back into the attack and Bouchier welcomes her with a spank that flies between cover and point. Too wide again from Slater. Bouchier collects two with a glance and then back-to-back fours. First a drive through the off side and then a heave over mid-on to bring up the fastest 50-run partnership of the tournament.
Updated at 12.56pm BST
12.46pm BST
4th over: England 36-0 (Bouchier 19, Wyatt-Hodge 14) The English are in a hurry. In truth, Bell has served up some dross and that over got rightly spanked for 18 with four fours peppered throughout. Her first ball was a full toss and got slugged over square leg by Wyatt-Hodge. The next ball was biffed down the ground for four more. A single brought Bouchier on strike and she nailed a cover drive after a dance down the track. Wyatt-Hodge then closed out the set with a thrash through point from a drag down.
12.42pm BST
3rd over: England 18-0 (Bouchier 14, Wyatt-Hodge 4) Slater’s been pulled from the attack and Kathryn Bryce comes into the equation. Her medium pacers are wicket to wicket and the English openers are content to work the singles. Four of them in fact. They look really comfortable out there.
12.39pm BST
2nd over: England 15-0 (Bouchier 13, Wyatt-Hodge 2) Bell’s spin opens the other end and she drops a sitter! I know they’re apparently ‘never easy’ but this is as simple as a return catch can be. Wyatt-Hodge spooned it back as if she was tossing it underarm and somehow Bell grassed it. Three singles means it’s a decent start for the Scottish spinner, but she really should have a wicket to her name.
12.35pm BST
1st over: England 12-0 (Bouchier 12, Wyatt-Hodge 0) England’s chase explodes out the blocks with a hat-trick of boundaries from Bouchier’s bat. First she helps on a bit of dross down the leg side before lashing a cut shot between point and cover. She saved her best for last as a textbook-perfect cover drive threads the needle in the off side. Slater recovered to land three consecutive dot balls, but that’s the first round conclusively going the way of the English.
12.20pm BST
Scotland post 109-6
England will fancy that. The final over, delivered by Bell, is a miserly one. She’s wicket to wicket and concedes six runs. There’s a chance for a return catch but it was one of those that had to stick. Lovely slower balls across a decent second spell sees Bell end with 1-16 from her four.
I doubt that’ll be enough. England will perhaps target an early finish to boost their net run-rate.
12.16pm BST
19th over: Scotland 103-6 (McColl 7, Fraser 3) Sciver-Brunt has bowled Fraser but the bails stayed on! And it wasn’t a clip. That properly made contact with leg stump! What’s worse is that it then trickled away for four byes. Jones won’t like that. Fraser then uses her luck to pop Sciver-Brunt for two over her head. Three singles elsewhere.
12.12pm BST
WICKET! Carter c Bouchier b Ecclestone 3 (Scotland 94-6)
Ecclestone closes out with a wicket to finish with 2-13 from four overs. What. A. Player! She’s just so good, isn’t she. It’s the extra bounce that did it again as Carter gets low to play the slog sweep. But the lift off the deck sees it catch the top edge and it sails tamely to Bouchier who catches without fuss in the deep. Five runs – all run – off the over. That’s another fantastic day out for the world’s premier bowler.
18th over: Scotland 94-6 (McColl 5)
Updated at 12.23pm BST
12.07pm BST
WICKET! K Bryce b Dean 33 (Scotland 89-5)
That’s the big one! Having just hit Dean down the ground for four, Bryce brings out the reverse sweep but gets in a tangle. Dean pushed it straighter and fuller and beat the swishing blade to find leg stump. There goes Scotland’s best hope of reaching a defendable target.
17th over: Scotland 89-5 (McColl 3)
Updated at 12.07pm BST
12.05pm BST
16th over: Scotland 82-4 (K Bryce 28, McColl 1) Bell bags a wicket but also drags down a hit-me ball that Bryce rightly spanks with a scything cut shot. So the over is worth six but England won’t mind as long as they keep chipping away.
12.01pm BST
WICKET! Jack-Brown b Bell 0 (Scotland 77-4)
Jack-Brown registers a duck in her final T20 game for her country! Oh cricket can be cruel. Still, it was a poor stroke. She wasn’t forward or back, stuck in her crease and in the end the full delivery snuck under the bat and knocked back her off stump.
Updated at 12.16pm BST
11.58am BST
15th over: Scotland 76-3 (K Bryce 23, Jack-Brown 0) Gibson’s first over in the World Cup started poorly with a long-hop that Bryce pulled for four. But she adjusted her line and bowled with more zip into the surface and Lister couldn’t generate enough power when she attempted to go over the top. A wicket and five runs off it, not a bad opening return.
11.57am BST
WICKET! Lister c Knight b Gibson 11 (Scotland 76-3)
The bowling change works! Gibson, into the attack, started with a long-hop that was spanked for four. But this one splices off the swinging bat of Lister and balloons into the covers. There’s the threat of a collision but Knight eventually takes charge and grabs hold as she tumbles to the ground.
11.53am BST
14th over: Scotland 71-2 (Bryce 18, Lister 11) Another good over from Scotland, this time from the seam of Sciver-Brunt. They’re building momentum with a 21-run partnership. Bryce pulls out a cute scoop that’s worth two. Four singles off the bat and a leg-bye to start has things ticking along.
11.51am BST
13th over: Scotland 64-2 (K Bryce 14, Lister 9) Scotland have their first six of the tournament as Lister smokes Glenn over the leg side boundary with a mighty slog sweep. Cleared the front leg and got a full swing of the bat, that was meaty! Three singles and a two to start the over add up to Scotland’s most productive set so far worth 11. There was also a bizarre run-out chance as Bryce got her bat stuck in the pitch as she was sliding it home. That meant she had to reach out with her hand to reach safety. A better placed throw from Bell in the outfield would have made things interesting.
11.46am BST
12th over: Scotland 53-2 (K Bryce 10, Lister 2) Bell returns and Jones remains standing up to the stumps. Better from the lanky seamer who finds a regular line outside off stump. She starts with three dots and then the Scots work a pair of singles. Lister crouches to the final ball and makes an audacious attempt at a scoop, but she can’t make contact. Great work once again from Jones with the gloves. She really is a cut above.
11.42am BST
11th over: Scotland 51-2 (K Bryce 9, Lister 1) Success for Ecclestone who had kept the Scots to just a single from her first three balls. That perhaps compelled S Bryce to force the issue. New batter Lister gets off the mark with a skip down the pitch and a single past extra cover.
11.40am BST
WICKET! S Bryce st Jones b Ecclestone 27 (Scotland 50-2)
Outstanding from Jones! That’s the world’s best wicketkeeper combining with the world’s best bowler. Brilliance all round. Bryce was completely beaten in the air as the ball dropped on her as she charged towards it. Enough turn beat the bat and Jones had the bails off in a flash. That was no easy take behind the stumps as she had to ride the bounce and then get her hands towards the sticks. Great work.
Updated at 11.54am BST
11.38am BST
Umpire’s review pending. Ecclestone might have Sarah Bryce stumped here….
11.34am BST
10th over: Scotland 49-1 (S Bryce 27, K Bryce 8) Half-way there and England will certainly be the happier of the two sides. Dean fizzes down another over of spin in next to no time and gives up just three singles. Kathryn twice shimmied across her stumps to swipe a single into the leg side, but there’s not enough power and it’s not placed into a gap to find the boundary.
11.30am BST
9th over: Scotland 46-1 (S Bryce 26, K Bryce 6) The Bryce sisters are together at the crease. New batter Katherine is off the mark with a lofted cover drive that is a thing of beauty. She picks up two singles elsewhere, with Sarah registering three of her own, so that Glenn over is worth nine.
Updated at 11.38am BST
11.26am BST
WICKET! Horley c Ecclestone b Sciver-Brunt 13 (Scotland 38-1)
Simple as! Sciver-Brunt, bowling into the pitch, gets one to hold just a fraction. It means that Horley is through with her shot far too early and the attempted lofted drive down the ground spoons tamely to mid-off where Ecclestone pouches it. England are on the board.
8th over: Scotland 38-1 (S Bryce 24)
Updated at 11.37am BST
11.23am BST
7th over: Scotland 34-0 (Horley 10, S Bryce 23) Another over whizzes by. Glenn into the attack and she’s through her work in a flash. her skiddy leg-breaks are straight and testing, but the Scots handle her well, collecting five comfortable singles.
11.20am BST
6th over: Scotland 29-0 (Horley 7, S Bryce 21) Well Scotland aren’t exactly exploding over the horizon, but they’re unblemished after the powerplay. A direct hit from Dean’s throw at the non-striker’s end would have changed that. Instead Bryce’s dive saw her home for a quick single. Three more singles from Ecclestone’s over means it’s a handy start for the underdogs, but they’ll want to kick on now.
11.17am BST
5th over: Scotland 25-0 (Horley 5, S Bryce 19) Sarah Bryce is in the groove now. She unfurled a gorgeous cover drive for four after charging to the pitch of a slower tossed-up ball from Dean. That was the shot of the game by a mile. From there it was all about manipulating the field; three singles and a couple for Bryce off her hips.
11.14am BST
4th over: Scotland 16-0 (Horley 4, S Bryce 11) They’re motoring through their overs. Helps when you’ve got spin at both ends, which is what they have now with Sophie Ecclestone into the attack. As you’d expect from the world’s number one bowler in this format she’s on the money from the very first. Zippy through the air, she gives up two singles, one a scampered single to Dean at mid-off who was caught day dreaming a touch.
11.11am BST
3rd over: Scotland 14-0 (Horley 3, S Bryce 10) Another over ends with a flashing blade, an outside edge and a boundary for Bryce. Charlie Dean’s first over is tidy – conceding two singles and a tight wide down leg – – until she dangles a teaser wide outside off stump. Bryce throws her hands at it and gets enough wood on it to see it fly down to deep third for four.
11.07am BST
2nd over: Scotland 7-0 (Horley 2, S Bryce 5) Lauren Bell’s first over in the tournament is a little all over the place. She’s lucky not to concede a wide with her first ball down leg as it clipped a pad. Just two runs off the bat means it’s not a bad return, but she’ll want to find her radar and target the off-stump more in her next set.
11.03am BST
1st over: Scotland 5-0 (Horley 1, Bryce 4) The final ball is edged for four, but it was a loose delivery from Sciver-Brunt that was wide outside off stump. Otherwise she was tidy, conceding just a single to Horley who steered one off her back foot behind point.
11.00am BST
It’s Sciver-Brunt with the new ball.
Nasser has just shared an interesting stat. Scotland have not hit a six all tournament. England have managed just one themselves so far.
10.54am BST
Anthems now.
Flower of Scotland up first, which is such a banger!
10.45am BST
Dunkley gets an opportunity with Capsey sidelined with illness. Bell’s seam replaces Smith’s spin.
10.42am BST
McColl comes into the picture with Chatterji missing out.
10.38am BST
No Alice Capsey, you might have noticed. That’s not the only change for England but it is the only enforced switch.
Capsey has been struck low by an illness that has afflicted several English players. Could that impact their performance?
10.37am BST
Teams
England: Maia Bouchier, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Sophia Dunkley, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Heather Knight (c), Amy Jones (wk), Danielle Gibson, Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean, Sarah Glenn, Lauren Bell.
“Let’s put a bit of pressure on them and enjoy our last game.”
So says the Scottish skipper Kathryn Bryce. Not exactly rooted in hard number crunching, but it’s as good a reason as any to kick off with the willow.
Heather Knight would have batted first as well. She cites the wear and tear on the pitch that’s already been used twice. Could be good for England to chase again.
England have their target in sight. A win today would effectively see them qualify for the semi-finals. But that’s not enough. Arguably the more important objective is to top the group and therefore avoid Australia in the first knock-out game. A win today over Scotland would bring them closer to their goal.
Of all the teams still in the fight for a semi-final berth from Group B – along with South Africa and the West Indies – England have the lowest run-rate. A better show with the willow today.
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