England Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final is now sealed and they did it with a performance that blended batting class, bowling discipline and sheer competitive will
They did not start off on the right footing. Amy Jones was caught behind off Chinelle Henry after having bowled the fifth ball in the match and Sophia Dunkley was then also caught, followed by an offspinner attempt of her own which was caught by Munisar off Drake with her sweetshops, as dumped prints trapped her bowled ball. Why early at Lord’s, in that heat in particular, faced by West Indies winding up with potential wickets falling by the wayside, did England require somebody to take responsibility in the middle of the text and start their innings? That’s what Danni Wyatt-Hodge did, and it flew off her hands.
Wyatt Hodge stepped into the ring on opening night in this tournament, and made a devastating impression with her century.Then she made another great impression when it mattered most, Wyatt-Hodge (continuing her heroics from opening night with a stunning century. She was elusive of the hit if it wasn’t quite there and had the elegance of one who knows her team’s needs as a batter. Her half-century came on the 32rth ball off her back foot, with the ball off the pads—and as confident as anything seen here this summer at Lord’s. A 65-run partnership with Alice Capsey saved the ship and when the heat finally got to her and Wyatt-Hodge lost her legs in a run-out she had scored 64 off 42 balls and was sitting 2nd on the league table for run-scoring, her 2nd appearance in the history of the tournament.
Heather Knight came on and instantly speeded things up, coming out for the visitors and bowling 43 off 26 for a quite purposeful and crisp shot-stromping batter with such clean shots that should remind all of what it’s important to have on this England side. With her team of Wyatt-Hodge, she put up 40 key runs before they both lost it in quick succession Knight went out, Wyatt’s collapsed to the ground. But England had got what they deserved. They bowlers were able to rise to a very substantial offering of 186 runs for 7.
To begin with the West Indies threatened to make a point of it. During the powerplay Deandra Dottin was brilliant with her 15 runs in off her first ball that included doubles of four and a thumping six over long-on. But Dean had the final say and tempted Dottin to make an over-hit attempt for the boundary, and from then, the chase began to go wrong. The middle order of West Inds were harshly dealt with by Charlie Dean/Sophie Ecclestone/Linsey Smith in the spinners’ world class combination of relentless accuracy and clever variation through the middle of the order in the middle overs.
The highlight of the evening, however, was when the fourth over of the West Indies chase gave us what we really wanted. Despite one shot of UltraEdge’s field with daylight between ball and bat, and the warning ‘play with the ball!’, captain Hayley Matthews was honest enough to be given out caught behind for 14 when England started a review. Matthews was quite clear in her display of dissent, not only from the umpiring bench on the ground, but also at the dugout — and with the fourth umpire outside the boundary. There were inevitable comparisons with last year’s Ashes Snicko controversy with Alex Carey but TV umpire Nimali Perera ruled. Matthews was gone and so too was West Indies’ best chance of a significant challenge.
Chinelle Henry and Jahzara Claxton, however, held up in the last 43 runs to bring some dignity to the fifth wicket stand, before heading 2-0 to scoring partnership accolades. But Henry was able to complete the match unbeaten on 51 while West Indies bowled out 148 runs shy, all of which they had to chase. They finished once again with a pretty good win, a spot in the semi-final and were riding a winning streak on a team that is certainly maturing at the right moment in this competition.
The path to the knockouts is still open and bumpy for West Indies. There’s no going back for England and right now it seems like a very ripe environment in which to gaze at them.
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