Catches Win Matches they say, but there has nonetheless been some debate recently in The Other Game™ over whether fielding actually matters, in what we are soon going to have to start not calling the “shortest format”; and on the evidence of today… it maybe doesn’t!
After winning the toss and electing to put England in, India could have had them 4 or 5 down for not-very-many. But Harmanpreet let one through her hands at mid off; Jemimah made a total hash of what should have been a dolly on the boundary, which ended up going for six; before Veda dived short of one at mid on, which was not an “easy” chance, but still one a top professional really ought to be taking.
Even putting the catches aside, India’s fielding wasn’t at its best – they let a few shots slip the ring that should have been cut off; and they lost some chases that they ought to have won in the outfield too.
In contrast, England were generally sharper. It might have been 40 degrees, with smoke from the bush fires still hanging in the air, but they caught more of their catches, cut off more of those shots on the ring, and won more of those chases in the outfield.
And yet it was India that won the game.
It wasn’t down to any one outstanding effort either – though she was India’s top scorer, this was no “Derby 2017” from Harmanpreet, as the fact that the adjudicators ended up giving the Player of the Match to someone on the losing side (Heather Knight) attests.
Rajeshwari Gayakwad did bowl really well up-top – she had Amy Jones cramped for style from ball one, and before the first over was through the England keeper was walking back to the dugout, caught meekly at mid off, trying to go inside out, but only succeeding with the “out” bit.
Gayakwad finished with a Kapp-esque Economy Rate of 4.75 off her 4 overs, which none of the England bowlers got close to – Ecclestone being their meanest, at 6 runs per over. Gayakwad didn’t play a single T20 for India in 2019, though she played a few ODIs, but she is already looking like she could be an important part of India’s challenge for T20 World Cup glory next month in Aus.
As for England, they will take the positives of good knocks from Knight and Tammy Beaumont into tomorrow’s game against Australia; when we might see Freya Davies take the ball, after Anya Shrubsole left the field early today, presumably injured. (The TV commentators didn’t seem to mention it* so we aren’t 100% certain, but Mady Villiers spent most of the game on as sub, and Shrubsole seemed to disappear after the 5th over.)
But England will need a much better performance tomorrow if they are to square-up to the Aussies, who won’t give any quarter with bat or ball. This was always going to be a tough Tri-Series to win between the top 3 sides in the world… but it just got a bit tougher for England after today.
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* Apologies if they did and we missed it.
CRICKETher 
The post toss talk with HK through me a curve ball on BT suggesting fresh faces and then there was only 1 in Sarah Glenn.
Maybe it’s a new coach transition but I didn’t see a plan or common approach only HK, Tammy & Nunny seemed to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
I fear that a place in final maybe beyond this team in transition and that the 100 may take the development of women’s cricket backward in it’s first season before it goes forward.
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So Jones continues her habit of starting poorly on tours. Let’s hope she gets her eye in by at least the third match.
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Don’t think this match ‘told’ us much we didn’t already know. India and England are evenly matched T20 teams and therefore no surprise, it was a close match.
It was always likely going to be the matches involving Australia (either against England or India) that would be the most enlightening in telling us how far ahead they are of the rest.
India are probably both the most likely team to beat Australia in the World Cup and also the most likely of the top three to slip up against someone else.
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England’s batting line up is a bit uni-dimensional with no left hander in it. Teams can easily play 2 left arm spinners against them in all conditions without worrying about how to manage their overs, plus add a good leg spinner into the mix. In the Governor XI match India had to bowl Radha Yadav in the 19th over against Phoebe Litchfield and she could go over long on with the spin. Australia also going to have two left armers plus Wareham against England, may be reverse sweeps are the answer as of now with no leftie in sight.
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Could someone clear up what happened with the Amy Jones catch? She obviously dropped the catch off Mandhana and didn’t look like she appealed but Mandhana was walking off the pitch. Was she trying to claim a catch that she didn’t take?
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The camera didn’t show her calling back the batter put it that way.
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Jones getting too much criticism for this in my view. How long do you have to hold the ball for before it counts as a catch? It does raise the question. This one certainly took a while before it went down. There’s a third umpire and video replays, so the officials are the ultimate arbiters.
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