2 thoughts on “The CRICKETher Weekly – Episode 143”
Quick comments on the Eng-WI T20i series so far:
In the first match, England bowled very well again, only a couple of tough-ish dropped chances going against them in the field. Lauren Bell is now starting to see the rewards of her efforts in wickets, and it seems is bowling with much more confidence. West Indies were unable to post a competitive total and only made 105, incidentally the exact same total they made in the last ODI. This tour has already had some strange numerical coincidences, what with England winning the 1st and 2nd ODIs by exactly the same margin – 142 runs – remarkable. But West Indies will need to post 130+ and bowl and field very well to challenge England at all – can they do it once or twice in the remaining iT20s? These meagre totals around 100 are not enough and will be knocked off 9 times out of 10 by England with quite a few overs left.
The second and third matches looked to be quite similar on the scorecard, with England winning by, again, very similar margins of 16 and 17 runs. But the feel of the games was very different in each. West Indies were never really in the 2nd T20 game, only a late flurry from their tailenders and a few extras given away by England made it remotely close. Earlier, contributions from Dunkley and good finishing from Bouchier had set a target of 142, and West Indies crumbled to 82-7 in the chase, with only 5 and a half over left. They did well to make over 120 from that point, but never looked like winning.
The 3rd T20 was a different story – England batted better if anything this time, Winfield and Dunkley with a good opening partnership and Knight adding a cool 43. But England were incredibly sloppy in the field, giving away 17 wides and plenty of misfields, gifting the West Indies at least 25 extra runs. That, in combination with good and more aggressive knocks from Matthews, Williams and on debut from Holder, and some wayward pace bowling, meant the game was more interesting this time. In the end Charlie Dean came to England’s rescue again with 4-19 (she has been brilliant on this tour) but it was only in the last few overs that the game was truly decided. England’s pace bowlers in particular were expensive, and England will need to sharpen up their bowling lines and fielding, because this performance in the field would not be good enough against India or Australia.
Well about the second-best side in the world thing, I’ve always been a bit doubtful of Syd’s claim that it’s definitely England. India have been a sleeping giant in the women’s game for quite a few years and may be finally starting to stir from their slumber.
The truth is the Ind-Aus T20i series has been close-ish, and England are about as good as India in T20i. Their WI series has seen England experiment quite a bit which is a good thing, and the team can only beat what’s put in front of them. I still think the Australian dominance in all formats will start to be challenged more and more in the next few years – and it won’t always be England doing that.
CRICKETher 
Quick comments on the Eng-WI T20i series so far:
In the first match, England bowled very well again, only a couple of tough-ish dropped chances going against them in the field. Lauren Bell is now starting to see the rewards of her efforts in wickets, and it seems is bowling with much more confidence. West Indies were unable to post a competitive total and only made 105, incidentally the exact same total they made in the last ODI. This tour has already had some strange numerical coincidences, what with England winning the 1st and 2nd ODIs by exactly the same margin – 142 runs – remarkable. But West Indies will need to post 130+ and bowl and field very well to challenge England at all – can they do it once or twice in the remaining iT20s? These meagre totals around 100 are not enough and will be knocked off 9 times out of 10 by England with quite a few overs left.
The second and third matches looked to be quite similar on the scorecard, with England winning by, again, very similar margins of 16 and 17 runs. But the feel of the games was very different in each. West Indies were never really in the 2nd T20 game, only a late flurry from their tailenders and a few extras given away by England made it remotely close. Earlier, contributions from Dunkley and good finishing from Bouchier had set a target of 142, and West Indies crumbled to 82-7 in the chase, with only 5 and a half over left. They did well to make over 120 from that point, but never looked like winning.
The 3rd T20 was a different story – England batted better if anything this time, Winfield and Dunkley with a good opening partnership and Knight adding a cool 43. But England were incredibly sloppy in the field, giving away 17 wides and plenty of misfields, gifting the West Indies at least 25 extra runs. That, in combination with good and more aggressive knocks from Matthews, Williams and on debut from Holder, and some wayward pace bowling, meant the game was more interesting this time. In the end Charlie Dean came to England’s rescue again with 4-19 (she has been brilliant on this tour) but it was only in the last few overs that the game was truly decided. England’s pace bowlers in particular were expensive, and England will need to sharpen up their bowling lines and fielding, because this performance in the field would not be good enough against India or Australia.
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Well about the second-best side in the world thing, I’ve always been a bit doubtful of Syd’s claim that it’s definitely England. India have been a sleeping giant in the women’s game for quite a few years and may be finally starting to stir from their slumber.
The truth is the Ind-Aus T20i series has been close-ish, and England are about as good as India in T20i. Their WI series has seen England experiment quite a bit which is a good thing, and the team can only beat what’s put in front of them. I still think the Australian dominance in all formats will start to be challenged more and more in the next few years – and it won’t always be England doing that.
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