Storm bt. Lightning by 5 wickets, with 5 balls remaining

Stafanie Taylor – 1…

If yesterday belonged to the journeymen, today belonged to one of the superstars – Stafanie Taylor looked like she was playing on a different pitch to everyone else. Having already run out Ellyse Perry (of whom more later) she then took the wickets of Elwiss, Odedra and Brookes in one over, to break the back of the Lightning innings, finishing with figures of 4-5. She then went on to top-score with 34 off 32 balls, as the Storm made slightly hard work of the chase to win with 5 balls to spare.

… Ellyse Perry – 0

The Lighting got off to a good start, but that was mostly down to Amy Jones, with 21 off 13 balls. At the other end, Ellyse Perry made four more runs (25) but they took her fifteen more balls! She then took 0-17 with the ball, at an economy rate of 5.36. She wasn’t awful, but if anyone paid their money today to see Ellyse Perry the World-Beating Superstar… they would have left a bit disappointed!

Marie Kelly

Kelly entered the fray on her KSL debut in an awful situation. Lightning had just collapsed to 59-5 – there wasn’t much batting to come, and there were still 10 overs left. She had to do one thing, and one thing only: stay there! And that she did – it cost balls (at one point she was 1 off 10) but it had to be done. Then, things having finally settled down, she began to push the boat out, finishing with 18 off 30 – i.e. 17 off 20 in the second “half” of her innings. Job done, as they say!

Freya Davies

Before the tournament began, Heather Knight was talking up Davies new slower ball, which we saw rolled-out* today. She ended up with just the one wicket (though it was the big one of Amy Jones) but more importantly in the T20 game a very good economy rate of 4.25, including 13 dots – bearing in mind 3 of her overs were bowled to Jones and Perry in the PowerPlay, that’s a pretty good return.

—————-

* Rolled-out… as in rolled-out the back of her hand!!! No??? Oh… well I thought it was good, but never mind – I won’t roll that joke out again!!

Diamonds bt. Thunder by 28 runs

Some Internationals You Win… 

She might have been a last minute KSL selection, but Chamari Atapattu proved today that she should never be anyone’s second choice, hitting the ball just as hard as she did during the World Cup. With 41 runs, 4 overs and a catch to her name, it was a pretty solid start from the first Sri Lankan to play in an overseas women’s league.

… And Some You Luus

Presumably KSL captains have at least some say over the international players who are selected to play under them. It seems baffling, then, that Lauren Winfield not only chose to bowl home-grown talents Katie Thompson and Katie Levick ahead of her international leg-spinner Sune Luus, but that she chose not to use Luus at all. It seems we weren’t the only ones questioning her choice!

https://twitter.com/danevn81/status/896035151330856961

Alice Davidson-Richards

We’ve seen enough of ADR at Kent over the past couple of years to know that she’s a much improved player of late, and she certainly proved it today. 22 off 13 balls and 3-20 – at 23, maybe she won’t ever go on to play for England, but she still stacks up pretty well against the top internationals in this competition.

Helmet Help?

When Sophie Devine comes out to bat without a helmet, one is brought out for her pretty pronto because it’s against the regulations. But when Anna Nicholls decides she is going to keep wicket against Katherine Brunt – one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket – without any head protection, there’s nothing in the rules to stop her. Time for a rethink?!

New Zealand’s Suzie Bates put her World Cup disappointments behind her to hit 47 not out off 31 balls to lead the Southern Vipers to an opening-day bonus-point win against the Western Storm.

On a hot day at the Ageas Bowl in Hampshire, the Vipers won the toss and captain Charlotte Edwards elected to bowl, with her opposite number Heather Knight admitting the Storm would have done the same, with the pitch having sweated under the covers after several days of rain.

Opening the bowling, Tash Farrant, having played very little cricket during the World Cup hiatus, struggled a little bit with her line, but got slightly lucky when Rachel Priest flashed at a ball which would have been called for a second consecutive wide, but Priest got a thin edge and was well caught by Carla Rudd standing up to the stumps.

At the other end, Linsey Smith continued where she left off a year ago – bowling tidily and taking the wicket of Heather Knight with a classic Smith “Sucker Punch” – a ball which looked a good length to sweep but kept low, ducking under Knight’s bat to bowl her for 1.

Having faced dot after dot, Georgia Hennessy finally started to get going in the 9th over, hitting Aran Brindle for a 6 and two 4s. But Hennessy was out 2 balls later, and remarkably those were the only boundaries the Storm scored in their entire innings.

Fran Wilson (10) was the only other batsman to reach double-figures, as the Storm disintegrated – helped along their way by a some top-draw fielding – Charlotte Edwards taking the catch to dismiss Stafanie Taylor at mid off, before running out Sophie Luff for a 4-ball duck; and then Linsey Smith topping off her contribution with the ball with a fantastic direct hit to end Freya Davies’ late 7-run cameo, hitting the stumps from outside the ring at cover point, to bowl the Storm out for 70 – the 2nd-lowest total in the KSL’s (admittedly short!) history.

As Suzie Bates said afterwards:

“When you go out to bat after a start like that, you have a lot of confidence.”

It nearly didn’t happen for her, however, as Rachel Priest fluffed a straightforward stumping chance in the first over – fumbling the ball, giving Bates time to dive back into her crease and beat the 3rd umpire review by a whisker.

But the real gift however came from Holly Huddleston, who had one of those overs that will give her nightmares for years to come. After Hayley Matthews took a single off the second ball, Bates then proceeded to hit five 4s and a 6 as the Hudd Missile misfired for four no balls, going for 34 runs off the over – almost half the total the Vipers needed.

“It is never nice to see,” Bates admitted later. “The first two, to be honest, I was licking my lips at a free hit, but then you do start to feel for a player like that. Holly had a really good World Cup and she is an outstanding bowler so I feel for her – it is her first chance in one of these leagues and she’ll be really disappointed; but she is the type of character that will bounce back!”

Ironically, it was a Vipers player – Hayley Matthews – who then played probably the worst shot of the day. Trying to dink Stafanie Taylor over the top of midwicket, the ball ended up in the hands of Georgia Hennessy on the other side of the pitch at extra cover! But it was all academic by then anyway, as Bates and Georgia Adams played out the game, Bates finishing things off with a 6 for the win inside 10 overs!

Summing up, Bates concluded:

“That was a tough wicket – it was holding a little bit and fortunately we won the toss and it was a little bit drier when we batted.”

“I thought we were outstanding with the ball – that was our strength last year – we got off to a good start and we were able to contain them and take wickets.”

Meanwhile, the Storm’s Georgia Hennessy also admitted the toss played its part, but wasn’t making excuses:

“It was a good toss to win in T20 cricket; but we should have hit the ball the ball straighter and harder earlier on and backed ourselves.”

“It wasn’t our day with the bat or ball but we’ll have a break and go again.”

The big win gives the Vipers an extra bonus point for getting the runs at more than 1.25x the rate of their opponents, and has set down a marker that they mean business again this season.

Vipers bt. Storm by 9 wickets, with 66 balls remaining

Nobody Puts Lottie In The Corner

Down to bat at 7, before this game started it seemed likely Charlotte Edwards might well not get a look in. Not so. Not only did she take the catch to dismiss last year’s Player of the Tournament Stafanie Taylor, she followed that up the very next over by running out Sophie Luff with a direct hit from mid on. This might be her (probable) swan song but nobody puts England’s greatest in the corner.

Linsey Smith: Not Just A One KSL Wonder?

Was Linsey Smith’s performance in last year’s KSL just a one-off, based on the fact that she was a last-minute addition to the squad and nobody had quite yet got the measure of her? Not on the evidence of today. Just 9 runs conceded off her 4 overs – and the wicket of the England captain to boot. Knight was totally deceived: Smith, totally chuffed.

Famine vs Feast

Sometimes sides are bowled out for 70 because the other team bowl beautifully. It’s probably fair to say that Storm didn’t quite fall into that category today. If they’d left the wide ones alone and punished the mediocre balls, life would have been a lot rosier. As it was, Georgia Hennessy was the only player in the entire Storm line-up to hit a boundary.

Meanwhile Vipers knew they only needed to plod along at 4 an over but went for it hammer and tongs to finish things off with 11 overs still in the bank. “I wanted to be really aggressive,” Suzie Bates told us after close of play. “I’ve got the power and I’ve got to back myself to clear the boundary. When you see the men’s rope and then your rope, sometimes it is a little bit of a kick up the bum to prove that you can clear the men’s one.” The fact that she finished things off with a six really did epitomise the difference between the sides.

Storm Blown Over

Before the tournament Heather Knight explained Storm’s rationale for swapping Lizelle Lee with Holly Huddleston this time around: “We had too much batting – Sophie Luff and Fran Wilson both coming in too far down the order. With the overseas allocation we felt like we wanted an extra seam bowler.” After being bowled out for 70 in 18.5 overs today, with Huddleston’s second over of the day going for 34 runs, you sense they might yet come to rue that decision.

Jake Perry reports

Scotland’s thrilling victories over Wales and Worcestershire in Division 2 of the ECB Twenty20 Championship crowned a day of particular significance for the game north of the border as Samantha Haggo and Lorna Jack became the fourth and fifth Scottish women to reach the landmark of a hundred caps for their country.

In the process of joining fellow centurions Kari Carswell, Kathryn White and Abbi Aitken the duo have become integral members of the national side, and as they look forward to Scotland’s first home fixtures since 2011 they also look back on their respective international journeys with considerable pleasure.

“I’m honoured and very proud to have played for my country for the last ten years,” said Jack.

“It’s been a long road with lots of injuries on the way but to finally reach a hundred caps is a real thrill.”

“When I saw Kari, Kathryn and Abbi reach that number I just thought, wow, that’s legendary status,” added all-rounder Haggo.

“I never thought I’d win that many. I’m absolutely delighted to have done so and it’s really special that Lorna and I were able to reach the milestone together.”

Adding to the symmetry of the occasion the 24 year olds made their national debuts on the same day, too, as both were selected as teenagers to play against Durham in July 2007.

“It was a bit of a dreich day at Sacriston,” remembered Haggo.

“My family all came down waving their Scotland flags. I batted at eight, got a duck and didn’t bowl so you couldn’t say it was the most memorable performance!

“I remember being so excited though. I was given a training top, we didn’t get the full tracksuit like the girls do nowadays, and when I got home I just didn’t want to take it off!”

“I got a cheeky wee nine not out going in at number nine,” said Jack. “We won the game too which was great.

“But it’s nice that after we made our debuts together Sam and I won our hundredth cap on the same day as well. It’s quite fitting.”

Both players agree that experience has brought with it a change in their outlook on the game.

“I would say that my temperament is a lot better now,” said Haggo. “When I was younger I struggled to get my emotions under control because I wanted to do well so badly.

“Over time, though, you learn to enjoy it more. It is a game after all.

“You play it because you enjoy it and I really enjoy being on the field with ten other girls who are also my friends.”

“I think my patience has evolved if anything,” said wicketkeeper Jack.

“As a young player everyone will tell you that I was a very hot-headed wee person. I still am a little bit but I think I have matured over the years. I used to get hung up on moments that didn’t really matter in the long run whereas now I won’t let my head go down.

“My skills are improving too,” she continued. “We’ve lost a few players through retirement and this season availability has been a bit unpredictable as many of the girls are establishing themselves in new jobs.

“I’ve been punted up the batting order as a result. The first time it happened I felt I had a nosebleed coming on! But I like the challenge and I’m quite happy to play that kind of role.

“I just try to go in and do whatever I need to do.”

The past decade has featured a variety of highlights for Scotland’s women, with league wins and appearances on the international stage the reward for increasingly consistent performances.

“Winning the ECB Division 3 in 2014 was really special. We had a great season that year,” said Haggo. “Speaking personally my first fifty for Scotland stands out too, especially as I’ve not had too many since,” she laughed.

“But getting the opportunity to go to the World Cup Qualifiers in Bangkok and Sri Lanka was very special. Obviously the results weren’t quite what we wanted but for the team to get to play on the world stage was a real buzz.”

“Those competitions were amazing,” agreed Jack. “It was brilliant to play in that kind of atmosphere and finishing fourth in Thailand was a massive achievement for us.

“Whitewashing Holland last year to get to Sri Lanka was another high point as we’d never done that before. I had also played against most of that team as an Under 17 so it was good to see how we had advanced since those days.

“Catching Charlotte Edwards [against Hampshire] is a moment that has stood out this season,” she smiled. “Katie McGill bowled, Charlotte nicked it and I caught it. Not a bad wicket!”

For now, though, attention is focused on Scotland’s upcoming matches. After playing Ireland at MacKays Forthill for the Celtic Cup at the beginning of August Steve Knox’s side take on the Netherlands and USA in the ICC World Cup European/Americas Qualifier in Stirling.

“We’ve not really hosted Ireland for a series before so this is a fantastic opportunity,” said Haggo.

“Ireland are probably a step above us so it will be good to see if we’ve improved since we last played them in Dubai last January.

“It’s important that we don’t think about the opposition too much, though. Sometimes there is a danger of playing against a particular player rather than focusing on the ball you’re facing or the ball you are about to deliver.

“As long as we do the basics well and control what we can control then I know we’ve got the skills to perform and get the results we want.

“The experience of Thailand and Sri Lanka has helped the team massively,” she continued. “Playing against teams like Zimbabwe, South Africa and Pakistan lets us see where we are and gives us something to aspire to.

“We want as many opportunities to play at this level as we can get because they are so important for how we develop in the future.”

Scotland has the chance to reach the same stage again through the ICC Qualifier and as they prepare for the task ahead both players are excited that the team has the opportunity to showcase its skills on home soil once more.

“It’s so good to be playing in Scotland and at Stirling too because that’s where I play my club cricket,” said Jack. “We haven’t played at home for a long time so it will be amazing.

“The Qualifier is going to be an exciting series. We know the Dutch very well but we have never seen the USA side before which will make it very interesting.

“But we are confident that we are a good team with some very good players. We know our skills are there, it’s just a matter of us showing them on the day.”

“Whenever we go down south people squint at the Cricket Scotland badge and say that they didn’t know Scotland had a cricket team, never mind a women’s cricket team,” added Haggo.

“Hopefully this will raise a little more awareness of what we do and, who knows, maybe inspire some more girls to get involved in cricket too. That would be brilliant.”

———————

Reproduced by permission of Cricket Scotland

Jake Perry writes on Scottish cricket for Cricket Scotland and CricketEurope and is a regular contributor to HoldingWilley.

Twitter: @jperry_cricket / Facebook: Jake Perry Cricket

Lancashire battled their way to the T20 title on a windy day at Banstead Cricket Club in leafy Surrey, with victories over Surrey and Yorkshire.

Surrey v Lancashire

After heavy overnight rain, the first match between Surrey and Lancashire was delayed by a damp outfield and eventually reduced to 9 overs per side. After winning the toss, Lancashire reached 66-6 – Emma Lamb starring with 37 off 26 balls, as she found the boundary on 6 occasions, whilst for Surrey Beth Kerrins took 3-12 in the two (reduced) overs she was allotted.

Needing above 7-an-over, Surrey started off well enough with 7 off the first over, but quickly fell away, losing wickets at regular intervals, including 3 run-outs as they drifted towards a final tally of 45-7, 21 runs short.

Lancashire v Yorkshire

In the day’s second match, Yorkshire won the toss and elected to bat versus Lancashire; who already knew they were champions, after news of Warwickshire’s loss to Kent had come in via Twitter.

For Yorkshire, Jess Watson and Hannah Buck joint-top-scored with 20 each as the White Roses were bowled out for 87 in 17.2 overs. Natalie Brown and Rachel Dickinson took 2-apiece; but Sophie Ecclestone was really the pick of the bowling with 1 wicket for just 9 runs in her 4 overs.

It looked a massively under-par total compared with the previous game, with the ball flowing more feely over the outfield as it dried; but Lancashire actually made quite hard work of it – struggling to get the ball off the square as the Yorkshire bowlers pegged them back, led by leg-spinner Katie Levick who took 3-7 in her 4 overs. However, with Levick bowled out, Kate Cross (22*) and Sophie Ecclestone (14*) accelerated, taking Lancashire over the line eventually with 3 overs to spare, and time for the celebrations to begin.

Afterwards, victorious Lancashire captain Megan Fairclough told CRICKETher:

“We came here knowing we needed to win both games, depending on what happened elsewhere; but we took it a game at a time. The girls showed great character and worked well under pressure, especially towards the end of the last game. It feels fantastic.”\

Surrey v Yorkshire

The third match of the day was thus a dead rubber, but ended up a thriller, with Yorkshire needing 15 off the final over, and eventually falling just 4 runs short of their target.

Surrey originally looked to have set a formidable total, finishing on 138-8 having raced along at 7 an over for most of their innings to set up far and away the biggest run chase of the day. For Yorkshire, Katie Levick (3-21) once again starred with the ball, and at one point it looked like she had well and truly spoiled Surrey’s party, racking up 2 wickets in the space of 3 balls to leave her opponents 68-5 with 9 overs still left to face.

But a rallying effort from Surrey’s no. 8 and 10, Aylish Cranstone (29*) and Molly Sellars (20*), ensured a strong finish for the home side.

Yorkshire’s reply was held together by Maddie Walsh, as they pushed forward towards their target, keeping up with the rate but losing wickets steadily along the way. When Walsh was out for 25 in the 14th over, pushing the ball into the hands of Amy Gordon at midwicket, it looked as if her side might fall well short – 6 wickets down and still needing 50 runs – but some sloppy fielding from Surrey almost cost them dearly, with Yorkshire still in with a shout until the last ball of the match.

It was left down to captain Cecily Scutt to bowl the final over; and for a minute it looked as if Surrey might have thrown it all away, as her first two balls were dispatched to the boundary by Izzy Bunn. Bunn, though, was caught on the leg side trying to repeat the feat, and Scutt then kept her cool to ensure the last three balls each went for only a single – Surrey winning by 3 runs.

— Raf Nicholson

The news that plans for a “KSL-50” – a 50-over Super League to accompany the T20 KSL – have officially been abandoned (link) means that the Women’s County Championship is set to muddle-along for the next couple of years at least.

The problem with the KSL-50 was that it was the wrong thing to do in practice – there was no space for it in the calendar and the overseas stars who make the KSL what it is were not going to be available for a much longer competition with a very small budget.

But in principle, an elite 50-over competition is a “must” if England are going to look to successfully retain their World Cup in four years time – somewhere to blood the new players we will need by then, given that several members of the current team are unlikely to make it to 2021.

When the KSL-50 was first mooted, the suggestion was that the County Championship would become an “Age Group” feeder competition; but in a way that has already happened – with the England players mostly unavailable due to World Cup commitments, this was always going to be a year when the counties needed to raid their age-group squads for new talent.

But ironically, the KSL has actually made things worse in some cases, as older “county” players have found the pressure of County + KSL + Job + Life too much, and have decided to call it a day with cricket.

So whilst Australia press-on with the full-scale professionalisation of their domestic structures – both 50 and 20-over – we have Div 1 counties fielding teams of teenagers, with a dearth of senior players to support them as they inevitably struggle.

The importance of having senior players on the pitch can’t be underestimated. Earlier this year, I saw a young fast bowler struggling, as she sent down two wides at the start of an over. She was wobbling; but New Zealand wicket-keeper Rachel Priest came over… had a chat… and the bowler bounced back to take 2 brilliant wickets in the spell!

But without those senior players, the County Championship will count for less and less.

The good news is that there is a relatively easy fix – arrange the calendar so that all the England players can play all of the County Championship. After all – it is in the name – it is a County Championship… so make it count!

The ECB have today announced the full squads for this year’s edition of KSL, which starts on Thursday 10 August and runs until Finals Day on Friday 1 September.

The squads are as follows:

Lancashire Thunder

• Danielle Hazell (C)
• Sarah Taylor
• Kate Cross
• Amy Satterthwaite
• Jess Jonassen
• Lea Tahuhu
• Sophie Ecclestone
• Emma Lamb
• Eve Jones
• Ellie Threlkeld
• Natasha Miles
• Natalie Brown
• Alice Dyson
• Rachel Dickinson
• Ella Telford

Loughborough Lightning

• Georgia Elwiss (C)
• Amy Jones
• Beth Langston
• Ellyse Perry
• Kristen Beams
• Elyse Villani
• Paige Scholfield
• Thea Brookes
• Georgia Boyce
• Becky Grundy
• Sonia Odedra
• Marie Kelly
• Sarah Glenn
• Lucy Higham
• Abi Freeborn

Southern Vipers

• Charlotte Edwards (C)
• Tash Farrant
• Danni Wyatt
• Arran Brindle
• Suzie Bates
• TBC – 3rd overseas*
• Hayley Matthews
• Georgia Adams
• Katie George
• Linsey Smith
• Ellen Burt
• Tara Norris
• Izzy Collis
• Carla Rudd
• Charlie Dean

Surrey Stars

• Nat Sciver (C)
• Tammy Beaumont
• Laura Marsh
• Alex Hartley
• Marizanne Kapp
• Harmanpreet Kaur
• Rene Farrell
• Bryony Smith
• Sophia Dunkley
• Grace Gibbs
• Aylish Cranstone
• Cordelia Griffith
• Hannah Jones
• Naomi Dattani
• Kirstie White

Western Storm

• Heather Knight (C)
• Anya Shrubsole
• Fran Wilson
• Holly Huddleston
• Stafanie Taylor
• Rachel Priest
• Georgia Hennessy
• Sophie Luff
• Freya Davies
• Danielle Gibson
• Claire Thomas
• Lauren Parfitt
• Jodie Dibble
• Amara Carr
• Alice Macleod

Yorkshire Diamonds

• Lauren Winfield (C)
• Katherine Brunt
• Jenny Gunn
• Chamari Atapattu (Replaces Beth Mooney*)
• Sune Luus
• Sophie Devine
• Hollie Armitage
• Alice Davidson-Richards
• Anna Nicholls
• Katie Levick
• Katie Thompson
• Steph Butler
• Laura Crofts
• Teresa Graves
• Maddie Walsh

* Beth Mooney (Yorkshire Diamonds) and Dane van Niekerk (Southern Vipers) have withdrawn through injury and their replacements will be announced in due course.

On Sunday at Lord’s, women’s cricket statistician Marion Collin was honoured with a special presentation by ECB Director of Women’s Cricket, Clare Connor.

Clare Connor with Marion Collin at Lord’s

Marion has chosen this summer to end a 44-year career devoted to the collation of statistics in women’s cricket. The day that England won a World Cup was not a bad one to go out on, as it happens.

Her involvement in cricket began at school, and she went on to play for the Redoubtables Women’s Cricket Club in Surrey. Fellow club member Margaret Dickens, then official keeper of the England Women statistics, passed over the baton to Marion in 1973.

In 1995 she took early retirement from her job as local government finance officer to begin collating statistics for the International Women’s Cricket Council (then the international governing body of women’s cricket) full-time.

When the ICC took over in 2005, she retained her position as Honorary Women’s Cricket Statistician.

It has not been an easy job, involving many hours of communications with those in countries all around the world to ensure a complete record now exists of all international women’s cricket since the first Test match was played in December 1934.

Marion has also overseen the transition from pen and paper to computer scoring: it took four years of work to ensure that all the paper scorecards which she had collected were slowly and painstakingly made available online.

Since we at CRICKETher have been covering women’s cricket, Marion has been a constant presence in the press box, always ready with the latest stat to enhance our writing. We’d like to say congratulations, and thank her for her long service to our sport.

Pace bowling

Before today only Marizanne Kapp could really claim a rightful place as a pace bowler in any team of the tournament: it’s been not just a batsman’s tournament, but one dominated by spin as well. What a time for that all to change.

Two of the greats of the game today showed exactly why they are considered such: firstly Jhulan Goswami, whose spell of 3 wickets for 2 runs in 10 balls changed the course of England’s innings. Then Anya Shrubsole wreaked utter havoc, finishing with the best ever figures in a World Cup final and proving precisely why the inswinging yorker is her trademark delivery. It wasn’t even a particularly seam friendly pitch. It just proves that when you need them to, your best bowlers will come good, every time.

DRS

As the first women’s tournament where DRS has been in use, today was again a mixed bag for both sides – for England, Lauren Winfield overturned an incorrect LBW decision, but Nat Sciver later proved that it isn’t only male cricketers who will use DRS out of hope rather than good judgement. India, too, struggled: Punam Raut asking for a review but being turned down because the umpire said she had taken too long to reach her decision.

It’s been a big ask for female players to become accustomed to DRS in such a short space of time, especially when it’s only available at certain matches – it’s not like you can have a “DRS net session” – but that didn’t stop Heather Knight being pretty unequivocal about her views on its use post-match: “I think it’s a brilliant addition to the game… it’s important that it continues [being used].” I agree. Let’s hope the ICC do as well.

Bottom order contributions

“Batting is something everybody needs to do”, Mithali Raj said in the post-match press conference. She couldn’t have hit the nail on the head more if she tried. The key difference between the sides today was the fact that India’s last 7 wickets fell for 28 runs – whereas Jenny Gunn and Laura Marsh were able to put on 32 runs between Katherine Brunt being run out in the 46th over and the end of England’s innings. “The last 4 or 5 [Indian] batters couldn’t handle the pressure,” admitted Mithali.

In fact, since their loss to India in game one, England haven’t been bowled out in this tournament, and that’s been crucial to their success. In the Australia match it was Gunn and Katherine Brunt putting on 85 for the 7th wicket which dragged them up to a competitive total – in the semi-final against South Africa Gunn and Fran Wilson put on 40 for the same. Most teams say they bat deep. England actually do.

New England

New England still get things wrong: Sarah Taylor does, occasionally, miss stumpings; Heather Knight does drop catches (and so does Jenny Gunn). But they also never give up. They looked absolutely dead in the water today, and then the miracle happened. One minute I’m eating scones at the back of the press box, the next Anya Shrubsole is on fire and the game is turning on its head. Amazing to watch. Frankly, all the tributes in the world aren’t enough for Mark Robinson, who has somehow transformed this side into world-beaters.

And finally…

What a day! What a match! The atmosphere. The roar from the crowd that went up as Goswami bowled her first ball. The ticket touts lining the streets from the tube station to the ground. The queues at the gate to get in. The flags, the drummers, the kids wrapped in Indian and English flags. Whether you’re an England fan or not – what a magical, magical day for women’s cricket.