This week:

• Capsey shines for England at Taunton, but can England win the World Cup?
• Are Australia still favourites?
• Our predictions for the semi-finals
• A new combined trophy for the Women’s & Men’s Hundred
• The Women in Whites is out NOW!

By Jack Oastler

I came to Loughborough for the first time two years ago, and fell in love for a very specific reason. The mound in front of Haslegrave cricket pitch. That day, my local team Sunrisers were playing a friendly against The Blaze, and I saw my future – sat underneath the flag poles, with a picnic and friends, watching professional sport like I belonged.

About six months ago, they put a picket fence at the bottom of that mound. Hardly insurmountable – I think I could jump over it, and I’ve seen several people do exactly that this year – but it seemed to send a message. For whatever reason, somebody didn’t want us to sit and watch.

Still, when the ICC announced Loughborough would be hosting four warm-up matches for the Women’s T20 World Cup, I was excited. The tournament was in danger of overlooking the East Midlands, with Nottingham, Derby and Leicester all ignored in the main schedule, so this was much needed exposure for a region normally full of cricket.

I grew up in the middle of nowhere, well over an hour from my closest first-class county. I once got excited when Chris Woakes went to a pub 45 minutes from my house. So the idea of Laura Wolvaardt, Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail limbering up for a World Cup, a three minute walk from my University flat? Awesome.

Unfortunately, my flat was practically as close as I’d get. The weather was hardly great, but after Ireland did an admirable job of restricting the South Africans to 135-8, I decided to pop over to watch the chase. But when I eventually arrived at Haslegrave, I saw a line of people standing behind purple barriers. Behind the fence. Security guards dotted around. You could see the middle, but there was a mound-shaped blockage covering about a third of the outfield.

“No worries,” I thought. “I know my way around.” I confidently set off down the hill, only to see the road entrance to the pitch was also barricaded off. Back up the hill a bit, I found what seemed like a perfect spot, round the back of the computer science building which overlooks Haslegrave from one end.

For one glorious ball, everything was perfect – I had the best seat in the house as Ismail bowled Gaby Lewis. Immediately, though, a security guard – who sounded equally as confused as apologetic – told me he’d been asked to direct people back up to the hill. Where I was standing was practically a balcony – I don’t think I could have made it to the pitch if I’d tried. I’d like the job of the guy who gets to stand there, with a pretty perfect view, and tell people to move away.

My favourite spot to watch cricket on Haslegrave is a little mound outside the athletics centre, which lets you see over the hedge, just to the left of the wicket at the other end. That had been covered, too – by a sightscreen, but what I’d consider a comically large one.

Last week, I stood on top of that hill and watched from nearly behind the arm as Ben Stokes ran in to bowl. Maybe he thought I was an Australian spy. If I was a clever spy, though, I would have watched Ireland vs South Africa on Youtube with a cup of tea.

So it was back to the hill. Even right up against the barrier, as close as I could get, it was difficult to pick out who was who. And the obstructions directly impacted our experience of the game. Rebecca Stokell had made a promising start, and I was ready to cheer as she launched one out to the deep midwicket boundary. Tazmin Brits caught it. I couldn’t tell you how she caught it – maybe she juggled it three times, did ten keepy-uppies and did a somersault – because I didn’t even know she was there until she emerged from the shadow of the ECB Performance Centre.

Later on, Nadine de Klerk ended the game as a contest with a fantastic catch, diving forward at long-off, to see off Arlene Kelly for 15. I was on my tiptoes to see that, and had to describe what was happening to the family next to me. I would guess maybe seven or eight external supporters saw that – not only a piece of world-class cricket from a world-class player, but a pivotal moment in the match. Seven or eight. Women’s cricket deserves better than that, warm-up or not.

Dotted around the pitch were a few deckchairs. We had three on the mound in front of us; at no point were all three full. A bit annoying when your only option is to stand. The chairs seemed to be for the few who could mill around inside the ground – most of whom were wearing Loughborough Sport uniform, or ECB kit. I’m sure they all had a valid reason to be there, but these are not the people you need to get to watch the games. They already know about this. And as a fan, it felt a little frustrating to see that a uniform could get you inside, but a replica shirt wasn’t enough.

What strikes me about this situation is what a perfect opportunity these fixtures were to ramp up interest in this tournament. Four of the world’s best teams, right in the heart of Loughborough University campus. That’s a ready-made audience of thousands of young people – thousands of sporty young people, no less – who walk past this pitch every single day. They’ve seen the branding going up. Who else is that for? Of course there are students who saw the massive signs saying “World Cup” and found that intriguing. So why are you not enticing them to watch? Why are you hardly letting them watch?

Whether it likes it or not, the ECB’s mission statement with this tournament should be to transform the UK’s perspective on women’s cricket. Nat Sciver-Brunt has outwardly spoken about the hope that the England team can have its “Euros moment” – referencing the explosion of women’s football since the Lionesses won Euro 2022 on home soil – and parallels have also been drawn to the England women’s rugby team which won the World Cup here last year. But I don’t get the impression that the ECB are doing everything they can to engage people with this tournament. A Hello Kitty promotion campaign is all well and good, but why not try actually exposing people to cricket?

I have friends who are Irish, who are Bangladeshi, who are Kiwis – and who doesn’t love South Africa? There are three high-level women’s cricket squads in Loughborough, and five men’s. So many people who, if given the chance, would surely bring their friends along for a nice day watching world-class cricket up close.

I don’t think any of them were there this morning – no surprise, as no effort has been made to make people aware that these games are happening. Even if they had been, their friends were more likely to leave with severe neckache than a new love for the sport.

Here’s hoping the actual tournament does better.

The performance that JonBall promised, LottieBall finally delivered. Alice Capsey put in a truly world-class shift, whilst Heather Knight poked all ten fingers and thumbs in the eyes of her critics, as England completed their highest successful chase since 2018.

The magnitude of England’s achievement becomes clear when you realise it was only the 6th time that any team has scored more than 180 in a successful run chase; although ominously two of those were by by South Africa this year, against Pakistan and India.

India began their innings in typically frenetic fashion, losing both openers cheaply before Yastika and Jemimah shifted down the gears slightly. After stalling in both her previous innings in this series, and consequently finding herself retired out in the last match, Yastika had more difficulties today – appearing to be struggling between the wickets, she looked like she was running through treacle when she was run out by a direct hit from Sophie Ecclestone.

When Lauren Bell ghosted a slower ball through Jemimah’s defences in the 11th over, India found themselves at a crossroads, with the option to send in big-hitting Richa ahead of the more accumulative Deepti. That they went with Deepti was probably the right decision – it was too early to send in the “finisher” and Harmanpreet needed the indefatigability of Deepti at the other end to work her way into her innings, which proved crucial. Harmanpreet didn’t quite produce the big finish that she threatened; and India never found that “One Big Over” they could have done with; but 180 looked like a decent total, and at the halfway mark there were more sheep in the press box than journalists who were giving England a prayer. (And rest assured… there were no sheep!)

With England 3 into the red by the end of the powerplay, a home win was looking even less on the cards, but that reckoned without Capsey and Knight. Capsey came into this England team 4 years ago having earned a reputation in The Hundred as an exciting hitter; but time has shown that she actually has a lot more in common with Heather Knight at her best – a player who will marry the occasional, carefully measured “Big Shot” with a lot of hard work between the wickets. That was the hand she largely played today, not going wild and trying to smash everything out of the ground, but waiting for the bad balls, whilst still finding ways to score off the good ones. Perhaps most importantly, she didn’t panic the couple of times things drifted ever so slightly; and the 82 runs she scored today will hopefully be a model for so many more to come.

At the 15th over England were well on track, with India having played the “Shafali Card” not once but twice – a card Harmanpreet generally only plays if she’s feeling out of options. But to take the pressure off, what England needed was a little bit of a boost, and Capsey found it – hitting Shree Charani for 19, including consecutive 6s down the ground. It was the “One Big Over” India had failed to find, and it gave them the breathing space they needed going into the death phase – reducing the ask to under a run a ball, and ensuring that if Capsey got out (which she eventually did) the incoming batter wasn’t left having to hit boundaries from ball one.

Meanwhile Knight, at the opposite end of her career from Capsey, seemed delighted to play the supporting role, finding the gaps and the spaces to get her strike rate to the dizzy heights of 150+ where it has rarely been of late. If there were any doubts about whether Knight could still cut it at this level, Charlotte Edwards clearly didn’t share them, and she was right on the night. If she’s right on a few more nights in the coming weeks, England will be a lot more competitive for it; especially with Nat Sciver-Brunt looking less and less likely to play a full part in the World Cup. (Charlotte Edwards admitted post-match that at best she will play as a pure batter.)

England haven’t suddenly made themselves favourites for the World Cup; but beating India in this series was one milestone; and doing it by completing a genuinely “Big” chase was another. There are now just 10 days to go until England open the tournament at Edgbaston – it might just be that they have peaked at the perfect time.

This week:

• England: Should Knight be dropped?
• India: Right to retire out Yastika?
• T20 Blast: Blaze Top Batting
• A 3-year contract extension for Shelley Nitschke

On a lovely summer’s afternoon in Bristol, England picked an XI closer to the one they will be hoping to field in the World Cup… and finally put in a performance closer to the one they’ll be hoping for too.

England brought back Linsey Smith and Danni Wyatt-Hodge, and whilst neither had their best day England looked a stronger team for their presence. Wyatt-Hodge made 29 off 25 balls, and the sight of one of her vintage lofted drives over extra cover was one that England fans have sorely missed in her absence on parental leave. Smith took some punishment from Shafali Verma in the powerplay, conceding 12 off her first over as the Indian opener went on the rampage; and when the first ball of her comeback over (the 5th) also went to the boundary off the bat of Smriti Mandhana, the pressure was on; but she rode it out and managed to keep things tight for the rest of her overs, albeit finishing wicketless.

England once again drifted through the middle overs, despite having plenty of wickets in hand. I know little of fashion, but I’m told that England’s current T20 kit has a “retro” feel, so perhaps that’s what they were channeling with a Run Rate of 8 through those middle phases, which would have looked pretty good 10 years ago!

Again, Heather Knight struggled to really get going – you could almost feel her mashing the “boost” button but the powerups just weren’t coming her way; and when she pinged a return catch back to Shree Charani, a colleague in the press box commented that the smart move might actually have been to drop it!

So it proved as Freya Kemp played herself in and then led a charge in the final two overs which saw her finish on 39 off 13 balls, at a Strike Rate of exactly 300! Admittedly, she was handed it on a plate as India served up full tosses and then went to pieces in the field; but you’ve still got to convert those opportunities, and Kemp did so with style. India can be one of the best teams in the world… and one of the worst; and today they really hit rock-bottom in those final two overs, which cost them the game – if they had gone at even close to the 7 per over that the rest of the innings had, India would have won the match easily.

In reply, India got off to a steady start, with Shafali playing some big shots, and Smriti some exquisite ones; meaning India were well-placed at the halfway mark, at least according to our Win Predictor, though CricViz and CricInfo demurred – they both gave the edge to England at that stage.

But as the innings rolled on Yastika began to lose her way, pretty much as she’d done at Chelmsford. Having at one point been 28 off 24 balls, she appeared seized by an attack of stagefright and played out 7 dots which India could ill-afford, before becoming the answer to a quiz question which will echo down the years: Who was the first batter to be retired out in a top-level women’s T20 international?

Somewhat predictably, it didn’t help much – as we saw the couple of times it happened in WPL, it puts huge pressure on the batter coming in, and Jemimah lasted just two balls before going too hard at a pretty innocuous delivery from Freya Kemp and getting caught on the ring. With that, any remaining self-belief drained from the Indians, as they essentially retired out the rest of their innings, leaving England to close out the game and level the series at 1-1.

The year 2026 hasn’t been a great one for India so far – the reigning 50-over world champions won a T20 series 2-1 against Australia back in February, but then they lost the ODIs 3-0 and were blown away in the Test. This was followed by a 4-1 T20 reversal to South Africa in South Africa.

But none of those results will matter if they go on to lift the T20 World Cup in 5½ weeks time, and they began their English Summer Odyssey with a statement victory over England at Chelmsford, in a T20 series that is effectively an extended warm-up for the main event this June and July.

It wasn’t a perfect performance by India – they drifted a tad at times, and should probably have piled on a few more runs in the middle overs, when every shot seemed to find an England fielder. But a blistering powerplay by Yastika Bhatia, followed by a compelling 69 off 40 balls from Jemimah Rodrigues, did enough damage to put a proper “Big Number” on the board, with which England could not compete.

The game was won (and lost) essentially in two overs at either end of India’s innings. The 2nd over (bowled by Issy Wong) went for 27; and the 19th (bowled by Dani Gibson) for 17 – that’s 44 in all, which equates to 23% of India’s total, and more or less their margin of victory, which was 38.

Issy Wong is Issy Wong – you know exactly what you are going to get, to the extent that it is almost discounted, like Donald Trump tweeting something insane about Iran! On Gibson, I took a bit of stick in some quarters for criticism of her after she took 3 wickets in the final T20 versus new Zealand, but if I was harsh then today showed why – you can’t afford to concede those runs at the death.

The good news for England when it comes to the World Cup, is that we’d expect both of those overs to be bowled by Linsey Smith, who was rested today. But with it looking increasingly unlikely that Nat Sciver-Brunt will be able to bowl much (if at all) at the World Cup, they are going to need one of the batters to bowl regular overs, and with Kemp looking totally toothless with the ball, that leaves Gibson or… er… the backup wicket-keeper, Alice Capsey?

Gibson also managed to bag a golden quacker with the bat today, which isn’t going to help her cause; though on this occasion I don’t really blame her, because Heather Knight had left the late middle order with far too much to do, having toiled her way to 21 off 24 balls. The problem with Knight now is that she is good enough to stick around, but not good enough to go at the run rate required to win these Big Games™ for England. So whilst she was at the crease, the run rate started to creep up from a tough-but-manageable 10, to close to 13 – the point at which India could start to see singles as de-facto dots. By the time Gibson arrived England needed 17s, and the only option left was hit and hope – she hit… but there was no hope!

It is abundantly clear, with Knight having already effectively retired from domestic cricket after assuming a management role at London Spirit for The Hundred, that this is her final summer, and she is hoping to bow out with a second World Cup win and a Test at Lords; but really today should be her final game for England. It won’t be, because the squad for the World Cup is set; the strategy is set; NSB looks as wobbly as a one-legged tin soldier; and Charlotte Edwards won’t want to drop Knight because she doesn’t want to do to Knight what Mark Robinson did to her. But it should be: it is time to say good Knight.

England trundled to victory in the 3rd T20 v New Zealand at Hove; but did little to dispel the notion that they can stroll to the easy wins but look likely to struggle when faced with the big totals in the big games.

Having bowled New Zealand out for 80, there was never any danger of England losing this match, but where other teams might have looked to make a statement by winning at 70mph, England were quite happy to to stick to the 20mph speed limit in force in Brighton these days. It certainly wasn’t inspiring or entertaining in the Jon Lewis sense; but as Charlotte Edwards said when she took on the England coaching role: “You know what’s entertaining? Winning!” England took that to its logical conclusion today, and so you’d imagine they’ll be pretty happy with the outcome.

Today was the hottest May day on record in the south of England, and Hove was no exception. The odd waft of a breeze coming in from the sea provided little relief from an oppressive sun that beat down on players and spectators alike. This match was a sellout in terms of tickets, but there were hundreds of empty seats in the stands, as families opted to stay home; and honestly, I don’t blame them – the press were seated outside; but I wasn’t the only one relieved to have the option to retreat indoors, which I took after just a few overs.

New Zealand opted to bat, thinking it would be a decent deck, and coach Ben Sawyer said afterwards that he stood by that assessment, recognising that it was poor shots rather than a poor pitch which led to their capitulation. Dani Gibson was named Player of the Match after taking 3-14; but all she did was pop the ball up there on a length and wait for New Zealand’s batters to make a mistake, as Melie Kerr, Sophie Devine and Maddy Green gave up straightforward catches.

Given that those three – Kerr, Devine and Green – basically are New Zealand’s batting order at the moment, getting all 3 cheaply was crucial; but it doesn’t suddenly make Gibson anything more than a fill-in with the ball, and I still think the big sides will be licking their lips at the thought of getting to face 4 overs of her during the World Cup.

Linsey Smith was exceptional again opening the bowling, taking the first over in the absence of the rested Lauren Bell; and Sophie Ecclestone put in a decent shift too, which she honestly needed to with Tilly Corteen-Coleman hot on her heels. That means TCC hasn’t had a look-in in this T20 series, though of course she did make her ODI debut in the previous rubber. Given that she is in the World Cup squad, England will surely want to get her T20 debut out of the way before then, so I’ll be surprised if we don’t see her next week against India, which could be a baptism of fire, depending on the age-old question of which India turn up for what is essentially an extended warm-up for the main event!

About England’s batting there is really very little to say. I could snark at Dunks for the third time this week, for trying to smash it out of the ground and falling about 50 yards short; at Bouch for almost running Heather out… again; or at Heather herself for a lapse in concentration that meant she was unable to finish a job she would once have been able to do in her sleep. But I suspect very much like Charlotte Edwards, we’ve learned little from this series about England’s batters that we didn’t know before. What we have learned might just have to be unlearned anyway, with Danni Wyatt-Hodge presumably coming back to open in the World Cup and NSB fitting in somewhere-or-other – I’d guess nicking Kemp’s spot, assuming that Dean remains fit enough to bowl 4 overs.

Yet again, I find myself wondering if we’ve missed an opportunity to get a young gun onto the pitch – Charis Pavely having sat on the bench for all 3 of these T20s. She’ll no doubt get her opportunity, perhaps against Ireland in September, though those are ODIs and I can’t help but feel this would have been a better opportunity for her… and England… to have learned something.

Concluding this piece, I feel intensely aware that I have very-much not “nailed the ending” – there is no grand conclusion, or sweeping rhetorical flush.

But then there wasn’t from England either.

This week:

• Sophie Devine outclasses everyone in Eng v NZ T20s
• Will NSB return for the World Cup?
• What Kent’s hammering by Middlesex in the Blast reveals about the new domestic structure
• A plea from French women’s cricket

New Zealand levelled the T20 series in Canterbury after recovering from a disastrous start to set England 171; and then bowling well enough to strangle England’s reply, leaving the hosts 14 short at the end.

England left Sophie Ecclestone on the bench, after poor outings in Cardiff and Derby. England said she had a “tight quad”, but it wasn’t tight enough to stop her doing keepie-uppies with a rainbow football on the outfield before the game, so… make of that what you will! Surprisingly though it wasn’t like-for-like Tilly Corteen-Coleman who came into the side but Issy Wong, England opting for a second quick bowler on a blisteringly-hot day in Canterbury.

In a clear indication of England’s opening strategy for the World Cup, Linsey Smith took the new ball alongside Lauren Bell, and with Bell having already removed Izzy Gaze (somehow beaten for pace, even though it didn’t look that quick) Smith added Georgia Plimmer and Melie Kerr, both for golden ducks, to her little black book. Although the dismissals looked very different – Plimmer caught and bowled; Kerr LBW – both gave themselves away by playing across the line to balls that zipped-on, with Plimmer getting in a tangle trying to adjust, and Kerr just missing it completely.

With Brooke Halliday holing-out to a kamikaze slog, New Zealand were 11-4 and certain members of the press (not us, I hasten to add!) were checking the National Rail website for early train times. This, presumably, is what crashed the internet in the press box, leaving everyone (including the ECB’s own Social Media staff) faffing around having to hotspot to their phones, whilst the staff here advised us to try using an ethernet cable!! Combined with a somewhat obscured view of the field of play from the press seats, it wasn’t the best experience we’ve had trying to cover a match.

Meanwhile on the field, Maddy Green and Sophie Devine set about climbing the mountain in front of them with a 159-run partnership at a Strike Rate of 162, that rather exposed the gulf in class between England’s opening bowlers and the rest. Lauren Bell and Linsey Smith are up there with the best in the world; Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson are not in the same league and were put firmly in their place by Devine and Green.

Sophie Devine was ultimately run out off the final ball, but not before she had reached 71 off 48 balls to lift New Zealand to 170 – a total very-much towards the upper end of a typical total in T20s between the top sides in recent years.

The key to New Zealand’s win was that final “Death” phase, where they added an additional 56 runs, which ultimately England failed to match. Devine’s six 6s gave New Zealand the oomph they needed at the moment they needed it.

England started pretty much as they had in Derby, with Sophia Dunkley setting off at a million miles-an-hour, and Capsey continuing the more measured approach that she has adopted lately. Dunkley fared better than she had in the first match of the series, actually connecting with a couple of balls, and the results were better – 26 off 18 balls isn’t Off With Her Head territory. But 8 dots feels like quite a lot, and a Strike Rate of 144 is what England needed at a minimum – it did little to take the pressure off anyone else.

Capsey and Maia Bouchier combined for England’s biggest partnership, and they did the hard yards of getting England into a position from where they could have pushed on, but Capsey’s dismissal on the stroke of the halfway mark left things hanging in the balance, with the two sides exactly neck-and-neck on the WinHer Win Predictor.

Heather Knight showed glimpses of her old self and worked hard running between the wickets. At one point, a member of the crowd growled out: “Come on Heather!” in a voice I felt like I remembered from days gone by. I’m not 100% certain it was her dad, but it sounded awfully like him, willing her to roll back the years. But she couldn’t quite do it; and while England could afford to let things drift a little in the Early Middle phase, in the Late Middle they could not. With Knight and Bouchier dismissed in consecutive balls going into the Death phase, it left Freya Kemp and Danni “$6 Million Dollar Woman” Gibson too much to do.

As the afternoon’s heat began to finally wane, so too did England; and New Zealand’s bowlers held their nerve sufficiently to close out the win.

What we’ve seen so far in this series is that England are professional enough to get those regulation wins which will get you through 75% of the time – in the past 4 years, England have won 47 of 65 T20s; but the big, high-pressure, high-scoring games like today are where they fall short. They are the games they need to be winning if they want to win a World Cup. With Danni Wyatt-Hodge and (hopefully) Nat Sciver-Brunt back for the World Cup, England will have a bit of extra oomph at the World Cup compared to today. They are going to need it; because the World Cup will be oomph or bust.