Key events
Nat Sciver-Brunt is the player of the match!
The most expensive overseas player in the WPL proves her worth with a stunning innings and a wicket too:
“Their spinners bowled a little slower than ours. We thought the wicket was pretty good. The start from Wyatt was so important, Sophia and Alice have been batting so well so far, and it’s so crucial. We’d been building well into this tournament, we hadn’t been bowling that well. This was a really good performance.”
England beat Pakistan by 114 runs
20th over: Pakistan 99-9 (Fatima 16) Four byes slip past Amy Jones as both she and Fatima let the ball pass them by. Pakistan knock Ecclestone for three singles before the last wicket. Happy England, glum Pakistan, but handshakes all round.
WICKET! Nashra Sandhu st Jones b Ecclestone 1 (Pakistan 99-9)
A wicket from the final ball in what is the biggest win in a women’s T20 World Cup – by a whopping 114 runs. Sandhu misses Ecclestone’s final ball and Jones makes no mistake with the gloves.
19th over: Pakistan 97-8 (Fatima 14) Freya Davies bowls the penultimate over and send downs a slow full toss which Tuba slaps to the rope. Emboldened, she then shovels the ball high and into the hands of KSB who catches the ball over over the boundary. Alas, the scrambled egg run out follows.
WICKET! Tuba run out (Capsey-Davies) 28 (Pakistan 91-8)
A horlicks of a run-out spoils Tuba’s cameo after she jogs a run half-heartedly thinking the ball has crossed the rope, ambles back and even as she sees the ball being returned moves in slow motion and is out by a stride
Alice Capsey making a stop using exactly the same technique which saw her shatter her collar bone 3 months ago. Ah – the fearlessness of youth!!
— CRICKETher 🏏 (@crickether) February 21, 2023
18th over: Pakistan 80-7 (Fatima 13, Tuba 17) A one-handed slap by Fatima off collar-bone high full toss from Ecclestone, and a no-ball is called. The shadows sweep around the boundary edges. Two overs left, 134 needed.
17th over: Pakistan 77-7 (Fatima 12, Tuba 16) Davies, jaunty pony tail, bounces in. Nearly another run-out as Tuba goes for a quick single before changing her mind. Wyatt’s somewhat lugubrious throw doesn’t beat the diving batter – though the third umpire takes their time on the decision.
15th over: Pakistan 74-7 (Fatima 10, Tuba 15) Tuba tucks into a full toss from Dean and shimmies it through the covers for four. Fatima loses her feet to manoeuvre the ball round the field and Tuba’s dab over mi-off brings two more past Ecclestone running in slow-mo. A double figure over for Pakistan!
15th over: Pakistan 64-7 (Fatima 9, Tuba 6) A mixture of flight and flat-ones by Glenn, as Knight encourages her charges to stay on the job.
14th over: Pakistan 62-7 (Fatima 8, Tuba 5) Charlie Dean approaches with her rapid run out. Pakistan pick her off for six relatively easy runs. The camera pans to Nida Dar, sitting alone on the concrete step outside the dressing room, hand on chin.
13th over: Pakistan 56-7 (Fatima 7, Tuba 1 ) On the grassy banks of Newlands, the fans loll back and applaud Pakistan’s fifty. Twenty-one year old Fatima off-drives KSB beautifully for four before losing her partner in a fuzzy run-out.
WICKET! Sidra run out (Nat Sciver-Brunt) 12 (Pakistan 54-7)
Mishap follows mix-up as Sidra Amin tries to scurry a run from the non-striker’s end, rapdily rethinks – but too slowly – and NSB throws down the stumps.
12th over: Pakistan 49-6 (Fatima 2,Sidra 1 ) Ecclestone not the light relief Pakistan were hoping for – they manage a single.
11th over: Pakistan 48-6 (Fatima 2,Sidra 1 ) Heather Knight ringing the changes, beckons KSB back on. She drops a couple of wides into the mix before sending Aliya on her way. Not long for this tournament, a brow-beaten Pakistan.
WICKET! Aliya c Knight b KSB 5 (Pakistan 47-6)
Aliya launches into an off cutter, tips it into the heavens and Knight grabs on with both hands at cover. Happy captain, happy team.
10th over: Pakistan 44-4 (Aliya 5, Fatima 1) Nine from the wicket-taking over, after Aliya Riaz gets a lucky thick edge down which rattles along to the boundary.
WICKET! Sidra Ameen c KSB b Dean 12 (Pakistan 39-5)
Pakistan crumbling in the face of England’s huge total. Sidra Ameen plays an ugly spatular shot to Katherine Sciver-Brunt who collects at long on. And we take DRINKS!
9th over: Pakistan 35-4 ( Sidra Ameen 8, Aliya 1) And England will avoid Australia in the semi-final! A match against the hosts or New Zealand – depending on the result of the match later today – awaits. Huge applause from the knowledgeable England fans.
WICKET! Dar st Jones b Glenn 11 (Pakistan 33-4)
The stand-in captain’s miserable match gets worse when she skips down the wicket, tries to smack Glenn into the shady sheets and is neatly stumped.
8th over: Pakistan 31-3 (Nida Dar 10, Sidra Ameen 6) Ecclestone in her raspberry boots, takes the first over at the end of the power play. Pakistan aren’t fazed though, picking off runs – including a reverse sweep for two.
7th over: Pakistan 27-3 (Nida Dar 9 , Sidra Ameen 3) No rest for Pakistan as Sarah Glenn takes her first over. The flags are limp – and the smoke from the braais rises vertically. Three singles and three dots – with Pakistan needing over 14 an over for a miracle.
6th over: Pakistan 20-3 (Nida Dar 8, Sidra Ameen 1) A quiet over for Pakistan until Dar helps Davies over fine leg for four.
5th over: Pakistan 19-3 (Nida Dar 4, Sidra Ameen 0) A timely/consolation boundary for Pakistan as Nida Dar dabs to the fine leg rope.
WICKET! Omaima Sohail c Davies b N Sciver-Brunt 9 (Pakistan 15-3)
Ooof, there goes another as Omaima eyes up the rope but can only screech it to Davies at fine leg who runs and gathers. Not a bad afternoon’s work for NSB.
4th over: Pakistan 15-21 (Omaima 9) Charlie Dean gets the nod for the third over of the day – starts with a wide and finishes with a wicket.
WICKET! Muneeba c Jones b Dean 3 (Pakistan 15-2)
The century maker against Pakistan has to plod off, bat up by her ears, sweeping one that wasn’t for sweeping and top edging high and into the gloves of the strolling Amy Jones.
3rd over: Pakistan 11-1 (Omaima 7, Muneeba 2) On the money today, KSB, zoning in at the stumps, the sun high over Table Mountain. Just a single from the over.
And, in pleasing news for England fans, Pakistan would have to chase England’s total down in nine overs for England to have to face Australia in the semi-finals.
2nd over: Pakistan 10-1 (Omaima 6, Muneeba 2) Davies’ first two balls are a wide and a no-ball with her foot too wide on the return crease. A beautiful cover drive from Omaima races to the rope.
1st over: Pakistan 2-1 (Omaima 1, Muneeba 1) Katherine Sciver-Brunt puts the nightmare of the last game to rest with a wicket with her second ball.
WICKET! Sadaf Shamas c Jones b K Sciver-Brunt 0 (Pakistan 0-1)
Not the ideal start for Pakistan, as Sadaf Shamas goes neither soft nor hard, but leaden-footed, and top edges to the keeper.
Pakistan to chase 214 to win
I take that back, no time for tea, just toast and peanut butter. Anyway, here we are, Katherine Sciver-Brunt with the ball and Pakistan ready to start their record-breaking chase…
20th over: England 213-5 (N Sciver-Brunt 81) Wow! The highest score ever in a women’s T20 World Cup. Pakistan had no answer to the power hitting and precision of England, of Wyatt and NSB in particular. A couple of boundaries from Fatima’s final over – bringing up the hundred partnership between Jones and Nat Sciver-Brunt in just 46 balls. Mumbai Indians will be delighted with their costly purchase.
Time for a quick cup of tea before we restart with Pakistan chasing 214.
WICKET! Jones c Tuba b Fatima (England 213-5)
Slams the last ball of the innings – a slower one – into the stratosphere and down into the hands of deep midwicket – who drops it on the first take but saves her blushes with a timely grab with her right hand.
19th over: England 202-4 (N Sciver-Brunt 76, Jones 41) Amy Jones slams Nashra Sandu for six over square leg as England pass two hundred – the first time a team has passed 200 in a Women’s T20 World Cup. A possible stumping of Jones from the last ball – which the replay actually shows was out.
“What with ‘pancaking’ a shot or passing a ‘pudding basin’ fielder, we can guess what impact Shrove Tuesday is having on your screed,” writes John Starbuck. “As the designated cook for today’s dessert in our household I can sympathise, but really it should just look after itself if you keep it simple.”
I wish I had your confidence…
“Incidentally, I see the earlier reference to your email address still includes ‘guardian.co.uk‘, but in my address box it shows up as ‘theguardian.com‘. Perhaps there’s a glitch in your system?”
Ah – yes, the guardian.com, my mistake.
18th over: England 192-4 (N Sciver-Brunt 75, Jones 32) Sadia can’t stop the run leaks.. Three for Amy Jones, then NSB drops to the off side and sweeps four. And another sweep and another boundary. A single brings Jones to the strike and she pulls four again legside, before picking up three past backward point. And Pakistan’s fielders kindly contribute by diving over the ball and slipping on banana skins.
17th over: England 173-4 (N Sciver-Brunt 66, Jones 22) Nida Dar rolls up for her last over and in an attempt to contain NSB. It doesn’t work, as she sweep her first ball for four. Then Jones joins in, reverse-sweeping to the rope before powering another. Runs on runs – and NSB now has the largest collection in this World Cup with 161 and counting.
Fifty for Nat Sciver-Brunt!
16th over: England 159-4 (N Sciver-Brunt 61, Jones 13) Nat Sciver-Brunt effortless out there, reaching fifty down on one knee, and following that boundary with two more – a pull and a meaty drive over cover for six.
Discussion about this post