The sixth matchday of the inaugural edition of cricket in the coveted Commonwealth Games tournament was nothing short of a lopsided display of dominance, as England and South Africa, both flexed their muscles ahead of the business end of the tournament.
While the game between South Africa and Sri Lanka was an inconsequential dead rubber, England’s drubbing of New Zealand, while a major confidence booster for the former, will perhaps have severely dented the morale of the Kiwis ahead of their semi-final encounter against the mighty Aussies.
For Sri Lanka, the verdict of the tournament will be a sharp indication to head back to the drawing-room, while it will be a case of what could have been for the Proteas women, who headed into the tournament with much promise.
First up, the South African women took on their Sri Lankan counterparts at the Edgbaston stadium in Birmingham. Proteas skipper Sune Luus won the toss and decided to put their opponents into bat. Nothing much can be said about the performance displayed by the batters from the island nation except that it was a case of the bowling side being head and shoulders above the batting side.
Perhaps, to many, it seemed like a surprise that the Sri Lankan batters managed to stick around till the 18th over before getting bowled out. Nadine de Klerk absolutely ran through the Lankans, as only one batter was able to get a double-digit score when all was told. Masabata Klaas was also at her unplayable best, getting a brace of wickets as Sri Lanka were dismissed for a paltry 46.
This game was, by all means, a reflection of the kind of potential the Proteas have within their ranks, and that, on their day, they can blow away any opposition. Anyhow, it was curtains for both them and Sri Lanka until the next edition of the tournament.
New Zealand and England locked horns in the last encounter of the group stage, in what was a practice game for the semi-finals which will be played on August 6. New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine won the toss and decided to bat first on the Edgbaston pitch, a popular choice throughout the tournament.
However, on this occasion, it all went horribly wrong for the Kiwi ladies, as they witnessed a repeat of the game between Sri Lanka and South Africa. The English bowlers bulldozed the Kiwi batting line-up, reducing them to 21/4 in no time. The only way was down from this point forward for the Kiwis, as the English continued the demolition of their batting, eventually ending the innings on 71/9 at the end of their 20 overs.
In response, Danni Wyatt was dismissed in the very first over, giving some hope to the Kiwi ladies. However, any hope that had accrued as a result of that dismissal was quickly wiped off as England completed the chase with no trouble whatsoever. Although England did lose two wickets along the way, it never looked like the chase was out of hand, as they wrapped it up by seven wickets.
The victory will give England a lot of confidence heading into Saturday’s semi-finals clash against India, while New Zealand will have to try not to read too much into their defeat as they take on World Champions Australia.
