Defending champions England have suffered yet another setback in the Women’s World Cup, suffering a second straight loss, this time to the West Indies, in what was a thrilling encounter. It was a roller-coaster ride from start to finish as the Caribbean women picked up their second victory of the tournament, throwing the qualification race wide open.
The game was almost a repeat of both teams’ first games, both of which went down to the wire. The Windies held their nerve, as they defended a total of 226, and in the end, proved to be successful, winning by seven runs. Sophie Ecclestone’s brilliant all-round performance turned out to be in vain as the defending champions found themselves languishing in the bottom half of the points table, with zero points in their first two games. The West Indies, however, find themselves in the opposite situation, sitting pretty at the top of the table with four points in two games, only behind Australia in terms of net run rate.
Windies captain Stefanie Taylor won the toss and decided to bat first. The openers did a terrific job, as they added 81 runs for the first wicket. The West Indies looked set for a huge total at this stage before a disastrous spell of a few minutes put a spanner in the works for the Caribbeans. Ecclestone bowled a double-wicket maiden, getting rid of Hayley Matthews and captain Taylor, in addition to a mix-up that led to the downfall of Deandra Dottin.
Ecclestone was absolutely superb with the ball, bowling four maidens in her ten-over spell, while conceding just 20 runs, and also picked up three wickets. She picked up yet another wicket, getting rid of Kycia Knight after a brief struggle at the crease.
Wicket-keeper Shemaine Campbelle and Chedean Nation then saved the West Indies innings from further destruction, playing gritty knocks to get their side through to a respectable total of 225/6 at the end of 50 overs. Campbelle scored 66, getting dismissed on the last ball of the penultimate over, whereas Nation stuck around until the end, getting 49. From a rocky middle-phase, the West Indies had recovered, and posted a defendable total.
Chasing 226, England’s start was not all that great, as Tasmin Beaumont had wickets falling consistently at the other end, and made any partnership impossible. The top five, barring Beaumont, all disintegrated by the 20th over, leaving England at a precarious 72/4. Beaumont could not hold on for much longer, and her wicket only worsened matters, as England struggled to 156/8, as Sophie Dunkley got 33, before chasing a wide half-tracker from Stefanie Taylor, leading to her dismissal.
With only two wickets in hand and 70 runs to ger, many would have considered the game to be over, but it was far from over, as Ecclestone, and Kate Cross changed the game with a superb partnership at a crucial juncture no less, as they brought England firmly back into the game. The duo batted for close to 13 overs, bringing their side to the precipice of victory, at 217/8 at the end of 47 overs.
With nine runs to get from three overs, it should have been a relatively straightforward victory for the defending champions, but Anisa Mohammed’s fantastic 48th over turned the game around one final time, as she got rid of Cross and knocked over Anya Shrubsole to pull off a stunning victory by seven runs, climbing to second on the points table.
The Windies will next take on 2017 runners-up India on March 12 at Seddon Park.
