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.

Aussie Women and SA Men rule the world

Congratulations to the Australian Women for re-gaining the World title they ceded to England four years ago. While their West Indian opponents had played some exciting cricket during the tournament, it was a very one-sided final in Mumbai. Jess Cameron top-scored with 75 then Ellyse Perry blew away the top three as the Windies reply stuttered and stumbled to 145 all out and a defeat by 114 runs. Fast bowler Perry returned only half-fit and was limping in between overs so it was testament to the Aussies' all-round strength that they could secure their sixth title withiut her for three games. As for England, they did wrap up third place with a second century of the competition from Charlotte Edwards.

Over in Hamilton, her male counterparts were second best to New Zealand in the first ODI but in Cape Town, the undisputed kings of Test Cricket, South Africa, completed an entertaining victory over Pakistan. A few years ago, they may have failed to convert strength on paper into dominance on the pitch but these days they can't stop winning. In the last two years, they have claimed series victories against all the major Test nations apart from the West Indies. Three at home, three overseas.

The Second Test at Newlands had been finely balanced at the close of play on day 3, but three wickets in three balls (one from Peterson, two from the prolific Philander) hastened the collapse of Pakistan's resistance. However, the Proteas' star batting line-up still had to face Saeed Ajmal, whose six wickets had helped his side to a slight first innnigs lead. Whilst Umar Gul had despatched Alviro Petersen for just on run, Smith, Amla, Kallis, De Villiers and Du Plessis all provided enjoyable cameos in the chase to 182. Ajmal did manage to complete a well-deserved 'ten-for' with defeat just a few runs away, but another Edgar slog-sweep brought up the inevitable win several balls later.

Pakistan did at least compete all the way to the end, and the enormous cricketing experience of their line-up showed a reassuring determination to attack even in the face of near-certain defeat. On the down side, that experience comes with age, and of their bowling attack, Umar Gul was the 'youngster' at a fairly mature 28. Mohammad Irfan made his debut at the grand old age of 30 and looked lively with his left armers across right-handed batsmen. At an incredible 7 feet 1 tall, Irfan certainly cuts an imposing figure but his running to retrieve balls in the outfield resembled a basketball player in wellington boots. Monty Panesar would have outsprinted him comfortably!

Until this week, Pakistan had enjoyed a solid couple of years, winning four out of five Test series, although two came against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh and two were achieved in the UAE. A consolation win at Centurion would do wonders for their confidence ahead of a summer tour of the Caribbean and the return series against South Africa. Meanwhile, Graeme Smith's men have a busy year ahead, including host series against India and Australia. I can't see them being displaced from the top of the tree for quite a while.