England miss out
India edge opener as Women’s World Cup begins
India gave England an exhibition of the clean ball-striking and athletic fielding that made this Women’s World Cup so keenly anticipated, as they condemned the tournament hosts to a 35-run defeat in Derby yesterday.
England captain Heather Knight put India in, and they amassed 281 for three with the help of a sumptuous 90 by World Cup debutant Smriti Mandhana. It would have been England’s highest successful one-day international chase, and they fell short largely due to four regrettable run-outs.
Fortunately for England, it is not how you start tournaments but how you finish them that counts. With six games of an eight-team group stage remaining, there is ample time to repair the damage and win a third home World Cup.
“We didn’t get our lengths right and we let India get off to a flier, and credit to them for punishing us for not quite bowling where we wanted to,” said Knight. “I don’t think it was anything to do with ‘freezing’ or anything like that.”
The players’ focus must stay on winning, but there is also a grander aim this summer: to attract a new audience to the women’s game and capture the imagination of younger generations. Judging by the youthful faces at the County Ground yesterday, this quest started promisingly.
The tournament was billed as a watershed moment in the women’s cricket ‘revolution’ – an exciting word that is misleading. For one thing, the women’s game is not looking to overthrow the existing order, or even to directly challenge their male counterparts.
Neither has the game’s development in England been sudden and tumultuous, but more like a long march to professionalism inspired by Rachael Heyhoe Flint’s 1973 world champions. In those days, players were required to roll the pitch and remove the covers themselves. One feels certain that Baroness Heyhoe Flint, who died in January, is in England’s thoughts this summer.
How the survivors of that triumphant side, honoured with commemorative medals at lunch, must have marvelled at the scale of yesterday’s occasion: a full house, live television coverage and dozens of volunteers making sure the numerous families in attendance enjoyed their day. Nor was there much white heat to this revolution as ‘Blazing June’ gave way to generous cloud cover in Derby.
Encouraged by the overhead conditions, Knight sent India in first. If the hosts thought India would flounder in foreign climes they were mistaken. Mandhana feasted on some short Katherine Brunt bowling: she was hooked from the attack after her first two overs were dispatched for 24.
England dismissed any notion of camera-induced stage fright in the tournament build-up. After all, this is a generation of players brought through playing domestic games on the box.
Whatever the reason, though, they struggled to bowl the right length as India raced to 59 off the first 10 overs, shots racing to the boundary on a scorched outfield. Mandhana was the dominant opener, a full array of backfoot shots propelling the 20-year-old to 50 from 45 balls.
After the early flurry of boundaries, Mandhana and Punam Raut settled into a more serene rhythm as they passed 100 for the partnership. England finally found the breakthrough with 144 on the board as Mandhana pulled straight to Danielle Hazell at mid-wicket off Knight’s bowling.
That brought captain Mithali Raj to the crease, playing in her final World Cup. She cut a relaxed figure while waiting to bat on the sidelines: pads on, head buried in a paperback as if she were playing in a village game.
Raj soon got going, with a change of ends doing little to improve the economy rate of England’s most expensive bowler Brunt. Raut remained at the crease as India’s cornerstone, but was given a life when Anya Shrubsole shelled a straightforward catch at midoff. Danielle Wyatt made no mistake at deep square leg a few overs later, however, and Raut was on her way for a 134-ball 86.
Raj was soon past 50 for the 47th time in one-day internationals, a new women’s record ahead of former England skipper Charlotte Edwards. Handily supported by Harmanpreet Kaur and a ragged England showing, India set the hosts a daunting target. Raj was caught off the final ball of the innings, but the damage was done.
Sarah Taylor, returning to the England fold after a self-imposed absence for a stress-related illness, was moved up the order to open with Tammy Beaumont.
After a steady start, bustling seamer Shikha Pandey struck, taking the scalp of Beaumont after she edged to first slip. Before too long, England were two down when Taylor dragged Pandey straight to mid-on.
All-rounder Natalie Sciver is a potential game-changer for England, but could only manage 18 before gloving a sweep to wicketkeeper Sushma Verma off Deepti Sharma’s spin.
India rejoiced as a video referral sent her back.
Fran Wilson and Knight steadied England’s innings, but progress was slow. Nevertheless, hope remained with wickets in hand. Hearts sank among home fans when Knight was run out by a direct hit from Kaur, just as she was starting to go through the gears in her innings of 46. Wyatt followed her for just nine, presenting Sharman with an easy caught-and-bowled chance.
Wilson passed 50 with an inventive ramp shot, as England left themselves 76 to win from the final 10 overs. Their momentum was halted, however, when Sharma threw down the stumps to run out Brunt with another exceptional piece of fielding.
The impressive Wilson was still going strong on 81 until she was run out by bowler Ekta Bisht after straying out of her crease at the non-striker’s end – a cruel and unnecessary dismissal from which England failed to recover.
Jenny Gunn became the fourth victim of a run-out, before Shrubsole and Hazell perished as England limped to 246 all out.