Moeen rockets Rapids to Finals Day

After the exciting climax to the Third Ashes Test match, it is perhaps a little ironic that the format designed to serve up thrilling games inside three hours should produce mostly one-sided quarter-finals in the Blast.

North group winners Lancashire were denied their home advantage by the primacy of the Ashes. Instead of Old Trafford or the floodlight-less Liverpool, they were forced to play Essex the other side of the Pennines at Chester-le-Street. Mind you, I think that T20 is such a lottery that it removes much advantage of batting on a familiar track, and two of the other three fixtures were won by the visiting county.

Lancashire’s innings was anchored by Alex Davies, who was still there at the end of their innings on 80. Essex’s target of 160 was far from straightforward and it required Ten Doeschate and Bopara to raise their strike rate considerably in the last five overs. The experienced duo succeeded, as Vilas  switched his seven bowlers in desperation. The ex-England man rounded off an excellent all-round performance with 2-28 and an 18-ball 39.

On Wednesday evening, another rapid fifty by Eoin Morgan proved in vain. The Trent Bridge faithful were treated to a fine display of hitting as Middlesex failed to capture a single wicket, dropping three catches along the way. Chris Nash made his first Blast outing of the season, showing Joe Clarke how ‘tis done, striking twos and fours with pleasing regularity. At the other end Alex Hales heaved seven balls into the crowd, the last of them bringing up the ten-wicket victory in the seventeenth over.

The third quarter-final was hosted by Hove but, facing Worcestershire, South table-toppers Sussex were undone first by the crucial bowling of Ed Barnard then the brilliant batting of Moeen Ali. He thumped an awe-inspiring career-best 121 not out to follow a mean 1-21 bowling spell.

In contrast, runs were in short supply at Bristol where Derbyshire restricted Gloucestershire to only 135-7. Four bowlers conceded fewer than seven an over with off-spinner Matt Critchley perhaps the pick of the pack. The county duly booked their first Finals Day trip thanks largely to Wayne Madsen keeping the scoreboard ticking merrily for 47 until he became Tye’s second victim. Too little, too late, and captain Godleman and coach Dominic Cork could celebrate the achievement. They may not have the dosh or the big names of their opponents but underestimate Derbyshire in T20 at your peril.

Last weekend, the women had their own Finals Day in Sussex. The last KSL action before it’s ditched for the horrible Hundred saw the Southern Vipers overpower Loughborough Lightning with an over to spare in the semi. Western Storm have bossed the group stages with nine wins out of ten, and they duly made it a double-figure tally in a six-wicket triumph. Competition top scorer Dani Wyatt had given the Vipers an excellent start but England skipper Heather Knight (78 not out) and Deepti Sharma (39 off 22 deliveries) saw the hot favourites home. After the England women suffered such a drubbing in their own Ashes, Knight could final lift a trophy. We’ll know shortly whether Joe Root could do the same.

Team of the Week: Davies (Lan), Moeen Ali (Wor), Hales (Not), Wyatt (Vip), Knight (WS), Bopara (Ess), Cox (Wor +), Barnard (Wor), Critchley (Der), Hudson-Prentice (Der), Carter (Not)

Ellyse Perry Keeps Aussies in Charge

The single women’s Test match at Sydney may have ended as a draw but there were positives for both sides. After the first day, when England laboured to 235-7, home skipper Rachael Haynes must have fancied Australia’s chances of repeating their 2015 Ashes triumph in the four-day format.

Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight put on a century stand for the second wicket but thereafter nobody else could amass more than 29 runs. Once the floodlights came on, Megan Schutt and Ellyse Perry made life more difficult, and when Perry induced a caught-and-bowled from Sarah Taylor, they must have scented blood. The following morning, Shrubsole and Marsh did their best to advance the score past the psychologically important mark of 300 but their side could muster only 280.

In reply, England’s attack began well. Laura Marsh and teenage debutante spinner Sophia Ecclestone claimed the top three batters, before Shrubsole had Villiani brilliantly caught by Taylor. 95-4, after 56 overs, and things were looking up. However, Ellyse Perry was watchful at the other end. When joined by Haynes, the runs began to flow more easily. Alyssa Healy upped the scoring rate even more and put on 102 for the sixth wicket with Perry who was playing beautifully.

The third day saw the all-rounder reach three figures. Amazingly it was her first international century in any format after more than 170 attempts. But she didn’t stop there. By stumps, she had progressed to a superb 213 not out, the third highest individual Test score in history. More importantly, the Aussies declared on an unbeatable 448-9. Facing 17 awkward overs in the lights, Winfield and Beaumont successfully held on intact. However they faced a mountain on the final day to avoid a defeat which would cost them the Ashes before the Twenty20 games had even started.

So full credit to England for digging in throughout the day. It can’t have been much of a spectacle for the North Sydney Oval crowd but the top four displayed diligence that the men’s team would do well to repeat when the situation demands it. Newbies McGrath and Wellington nabbed an opener apiece, but Heather Knight, passing 70 for the second time in the match, led from the front. On 206-2, she shook hands with her opposite number and it was honours even.

With a four-point margin, the Ashes are still up for grabs. However, England must win all three of the T20 fixtures to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Anything’s possible in the biff-bang stuff but I can’t help feeling that Australia will manage at least one win and hold the women’s trophy for another two years. With Ellyse Perry in this form, who would bet against?

Women’s 2017 Ashes Off and Running

Well, the Ashes are well under way at last. I don’t mean that over-hyped ‘war’ which seems to be more about whether or not a drunken thug is selected to play. That's still a few weeks away. No, I'm referring to the women’s Ashes, which comprises a multi-format tournament and is decided by a points system.

Two years ago, I saw first-hand the Aussies lift the trophy in Cardiff, despite losing the final Twenty20 fixture. Unlike the blokes, the women’s tour is concentrated along the East coast, working their way down from Brisbane to Sydney and Canberra. If nothing else, it has introduced the name Coffs Harbour to my vocabulary, as the venue for the second and third ODIs. The New South Wales city will have mixed memories for the tourists, but the second match there did see England registering their first win of the series, keeping the overall result alive for another week at least.

Australia will surely miss injured captain and ace batter Meg Lanning.  Stand-in skipper Rachael Haynes was expected to be a bit of a weak link but went into the competition in great form. Since 2015, England’s leadership has also seen a change. Charlotte Edwards may have gone but her successor Heather Knight will love the chance to add the Ashes to the World Cup her team won this summer. 

The home side nicked the Brisbane opener thanks to veteran all-rounder Alex Blackwell’s 67 not out. Four days later, Australia made it two on the trot, but the margin was far more decisive. Top three, Nicole Bolton, Alyssa Healey and Ellyse Perry each earned half-centuries but it was Haynes’ unbeaten 89 which boosted England’s target to 285 off 46 overs. It was never going to be enough. Megan Schutt trapped both openers inside five overs and, until Kathy Brunt lashed out near the end, the batting never really got going.

Positions were reversed three days later, when Sarah Taylor and Taylor produced excellent performances, each scoring at more than a run a ball. With Tammy Beaumont also contributing 74, the foundation for a formidable total was laid. Healy and Beaumont started in determined fashion, notching a century partnership in 21 overs. However, from 159-1, wickets fell regularly and by the time Jenny Gunn polished off Blackwell and Wellington, the game was already won.

Now for the single Test match. Sadly, these are very rare in the women’s game. In fact, next week’s game at Sydney will be the first five-dayer since….the two nations last met two years ago. Then, at Canterbury, Australia rolled England over by 161 runs with almost two days to spare. Debutant Jess Jonassen was cruelly denied a maiden century by an LBW on 99, then also top-scored in the second innings. Her resulting Test average of 76.50 is rather impressive but her subsequent career has panned out more as a bowler than batter, especially in T20. She may well have more of a say in these Ashes in the concluding fixtures. Perry took nine cheap wickets last time around and, with new-ball partner Schutt will undoubtedly be in the mix again on home soil.

Win, and they can’t be overhauled. Lose, and the series is wide open. For that reason alone, I’d love to see England upset the odds at the SCG and keep things interesting. Somehow, though, I can’t see it happening.

England Clinch Women’s World Cup

England and India served up a rollercoaster final at Lord’s to round off an excellent World Cup tournament, but it was Heather Knight’s side who held their nerve to win the trophy they last held aloft in 2009.

It was a cagey but solid start for England. Openers Lauren Winfield and Tammy Beaumont added 47 before Gayakwad bowled the former round her legs. Beaumont was the competition’s highest run scorer but she fell to Poonam Yadav for just 23 and when the same bowler trapped skipper Knight lbw for a single, the home team were looking shaky. Enter Nat Sciver to join forces with Sarah Taylor. Their stand of 83 in 16 overs steadied the ship but the veteran medium-pacer Jhulan Goswani produced excellent figures of 3-23 to turn things back in India’s favour. The late order couldn’t quite strike the boundaries they wanted but Brunt and Gunn managed to nudge the total to an acceptable 228-7.

Anya Shubsole struck an early blow in the second over, swinging in a beauty to send Mandhana’s middle stump flying. Raj and Raut played sensibly, but when Harmanpreet Kaur began to punish the bad ball with a couple of sixes, I reckon India fancied their chances. After all, they had dealt England a blow in their first group match and their confidence must have been high following the surprise thumping of Australia in the semis. Kaur had peppered the deep mid-wicket boundary in her incredible 171 not out but she fell just after reaching her third successive fifty.

Krishnamurthy joined Raut and found the gaps to maintain the required run rate. At 191-3 with more than 7 overs remaining, Hartley and Shrubsole were beginning to falter. However, in ten crazy minutes, the same pair turned the match on its head, capturing four wickets in 13 balls. And yet, on 201-7, there were still only 19 runs needed. There was the added issue of the weather. Rain clouds were hovering menacingly, with some light drizzle, and India were ahead on Duckworth-Lewis.

Pandey was athletically run out by the ever-brilliant ‘keeper Taylor, then Sharma, who had plundered 14 from twelve deliveries, mistimed a hoik and Nat Sciver completed a second skying catch. Eleven to win, eleven balls  and one wicket left, and Shrubsole already with five wickets. A few balls later, Gayakwad could only scoop Anya tamely to mid-off Gunn – who promptly dropped it! Had she dropped the World Cup? The Somerset legend ran in again and this time hit the stumps! England had won an enthralling final!

It had been an eye-opening tournament throughout. I’d never seen such high scores. Not only Kaur’s semi-final masterpiece but also Sarah Taylor’s 147 in 104 balls against Pakistan and Beaumont’s 148 in the same innings. Their stand of 275 was the second highest in women’s ODI history. Sri Lanka and Australia had produced another high-scoring group fixture at Bristol, where Chamara Atapattu’s 178 not out was eventually trumped by Meg Lanning’s superb 152 not out.

The whole tournament had been another great advert for women’s cricket. Compared with the men’s game, the boundaries may be shorter, the bowling slower and batting less muscular. However, there is just as much skill, commitment and excitement. And instead of the snarling, sniping aggression that has become a staple of men’s cricket, you have the winning smile and on-field exuberance of Sarah Taylor. What’s not to love?! Her twelve-month rest from the sport has been bad for England, and her return has been as important in their run to the World Cup triumph as any other factor. Let’s hope she maintains her enthusiasm for the game, and England will be looking to take title number five next time around.