Sciver returns to form as England close in on final

England Women are almost guaranteed a place in the final of the triseries at Chelmsford on Sunday. Only the worst series of disasters in Thursday’s double-header at Bristol can stop the hosts qualifying.

South Africa would have to beat New Zealand by a large margin in the first match, then New Zealand would have to beat England, again by a significant margin, so that England miss out on net run-rate.

A failure to qualify is less likely now that Nat Sciver is scoring runs again. After a lean few months, she made 59 off 37 balls to enable England to beat New Zealand by 54 runs in the second game of Saturday’s double-header at Taunton.

Sciver, as an all-rounder, gives the same balance that Ben Stokes does for the men’s team. To pursue the comparison further, Jonny Bairstow has a shadow in Tammy Beaumont, who opens the innings with similar aggression and wristy power – and both are reeling off centuries.

When Beaumont was bowled for 71 in the six-wicket loss to South Africa in Saturday’s opening game, it was her first “failure”, after scoring three successive hundreds.

One area of improvement for England, if they are to win the final on Sunday, is their catching.

Sciver, 25, was as big a culprit as any, dropping two opportunities in the deep when South Africa surprised England by knocking off their target in the final over.

England rallied well to beat New Zealand but they still missed a total of 10 catchable chances, though not helped at times in the second game by the setting sun.