The last time England played in a World Cup match at Lord’s was the 2017 final. It was the only game played at any of the big Test grounds in that tournament – the rest of the matches were all played at smaller county grounds, like Bristol and Derby, which hosted the semis. So it is an indication of how things have changed that this time around that Lord’s is hosting 4 games, including the final; with all of England’s matches being played at Test venues (though admittedly the Hampshire Bowl has not actually hosted a Test for several years).

Lord’s might not have the backdrop of Newlands in Cape Town; or the scale of the “The G” in Melbourne; but it remains THE iconic place to watch… and play… cricket – nowhere else makes you feel so much like royalty, just for being there!

Having said that, it is not always an easy place to play cricket – the slope presents an unusual challenge; and the pitch for the recent men’s Test was so bad it earned the venue a “unsatisfactory” rating and a demerit point. In The Hundred it has consistently been the lowest-scoring of the 8 venues in the women’s competition.

Thus, on literally the hottest June day in history in London –  a day when the weather was so oppressive that West Indies 12th Shawnisha Hector hid under an (official T20 World Cup branded) umbrella while running drinks – a score of 186 was huge for England, led by Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s 65 – her second big performance of the World Cup, putting her top of the leading run-scorers so far. Overall, it was measured but relentlessly positive from England; and on any other ground, this was a 200 performance.

The West Indies’ chances of chasing it were then severely dented when Hayley Matthews was given out caught behind in the 4th over. Crucially, it was given Not Out on the field, but Amy Jones convinced England to review, having clearly heard something as the ball passed the bat; and controversially, the 3rd umpire sided with England, despite admitting that there was a gap between bat and ball in both the applicable slow-motion frames. There was a spike on UltraEdge; but it looked odd and didn’t tie up with either of the frames in question. Nevertheless, it did persuade the 3rd umpire – I think, incorrectly, though importantly not because she didn’t hit it.

The DRS Regulations say:

If despite the available technology, the 3rd umpire is unable to decide with a high degree of confidence whether the original on-field decision should be changed, then he/she shall report that the replays are ‘inconclusive’, and that the on-field decision shall stand. The 3rd umpire shall not give answers conveying likelihoods or probabilities.

The important bit here is that the 3rd umpire needs to have a high degree of confidence that the on-field decision should be overturned, and I don’t see how they could have that, when the only available frames show a gap between bat and ball, albeit with a sound of indeterminate origin between the frames. But even if you consider it likely that the spike was caused by bat-on-ball impact between frames, that’s ruled-out by the final sentence of the above clause: The 3rd umpire shall not give answers conveying likelihoods or probabilities. [Emphasis mine.]

I’m loath to suggest that Matthews should get off scot-free here – especially having argued that Lauren Winfield-Hill should have been sanctioned for her dissent after being given out caught off her helmet in the One Day Cup earlier this year. But given the egregiousness of the way the review was handled, I think a ban would be very, very harsh – a demerit and the loss of quite a lot of her match fee would be more than sufficient.

It isn’t quite fair to say that Hayley Matthews is the West Indies only match-winner; but she is the main one – she’s been the top performer with the bat in nearly half (46%) of the matches (ODI + T20) that they’ve won in the past couple of years. And following her dismissal, the match went in quite a predictable way, with the West Indies looking more like a team that just scraped past lowly Scotland, than one which is likely to be challenging any of the top sides too often.

There was huffing and puffing from Shemaine Campbelle and Deandra Dottin; and Chinelle Henry got her wellies on for a bit of a wang when the game was already lost – by the time she entered the fray in the 11th over, the Windies were at 3% on the WinHer Win Predictor; and they never got above 7% after.

From an England perspective, as against Scotland, a very good day out with the bat somewhat disguised a very flawed performance with the ball and in the field. England dropped a lot of catches, and while some were difficult chances, quite a few looked more like poor positioning and misjudgements; and to have not come closer to bowling West Indies out, even when they were throwing the bat, feels… not great?

England are now officially into the semifinals; but it is difficult to escape the conclusion that they have not really been tested with the ball yet, and that when they are – in a semi against India or South Africa (a semi against Australia now looks very unlikely, given the NRR advantages both have) – things are not going to be so straightforward. If they can really pile on the runs, like they did here, it might not matter; but a few less runs to defend, and they will need a much better performance with the ball and in the field, if they are to once again Lord it at Lord’s in the final in a week-and-a-half’s time.