But our women are IN the final
Skipper Heather Knight celebrates as England win their World Cup semi-final
England’s women are through to the World Cup final on sunday after a run chase that veered from cakewalk to calamity and included all the emotions in between.
There were just three balls to go when no 10 anya shrubsole carted shabnim Ismail through the covers to inch England over the line by two wickets and reduce several members of the south african team to tears.
Yet it could easily have been Heather Knight’s team drying their eyes after they came close to blowing an apparently impregnable position in sight of lord’s, where they will meet either australia or India in front of a sell-out crowd of 26,500. One more win, and they can celebrate their first 50- over World Cup success in 24 years.
at 139 for two in pursuit of 219, England needed just 80 off 18 overs with eight wickets in hand. The only question was how quickly they would get them.
But sarah Taylor, who had earlier pulled off a brilliant legside stumping to get rid of Trisha Chetty, was run out for 54 by south africa captain dane van niekerk.
Then Knight, who slapped a full toss straight to square leg, and nat sciver, bowled round her legs, fell in the same over to legspinner sune luus. When Katherine Brunt was bowled on the charge by left-arm seamer Moseline daniels to leave England 173 for six, it was impossible not to think back to last year’s World Twenty20 semi-final against australia in delhi, where they collapsed in sight of a routine victory.
The game turned again when Fran Wilson ramped Ismail for four, and Jenny gunn used all the experience gathered over 138 one- day internationals to batter two boundaries. But there was still time for drama. Wilson was caught behind off Marizanne Kapp for 30, aiming another ramp, and with two runs needed laura Marsh was bowled by Ismail.
Cue shrubsole’s moment of glory.
‘I’m still speechless,’ said gunn, who had watched on from the non-striker’s end. ‘But we bat all the way down and that showed in how calmly anya came out.’
For Knight, the victory — England’s seventh in a row in this tournament after they lost their opening match to India — was the culmination of the work her side have put in since coach Mark Robinson controversially dispensed with captain Charlotte Edwards after the World Twenty20 disappointment.
‘ It’s special,’ she said. ‘ The lord’s final has been at the forefront of our minds. a sold-out final at home — there’s nothing better for me. Everything we’ve done in the last 18 months has been about being there.
‘The plan was to get to lord’s and sing our team song and we managed to do that.’
The south africans, who have grown in stature as the tournament has progressed, were inconsolable.
‘If you were in our changingroom you’d probably start crying too,’ said a red-eyed Van niekerk. ‘It’s tough, and to lose in a game so close hurts even more.’
The sense that they had missed a glorious opportunity to reach their first global final was compounded by dropped catches and 25 extras, including 17 in wides.
England’s bowlers, by contrast, gave away only four, with the new-ball attack of Brunt and shrubsole performing as well as they have done all tournament.
England can now sit back and await the result of tomorrow’s second semi-final at derby.
They have already helped take the women’s game to new heights over the past few weeks. Victory on sunday could be the start of something special.