EWA v India 50 over game

EWA v India

50 Over game
(unofficial scorecard here)

As a warm-up for the England v India ODIs, the Indians took on an England Women’s Academy team at Harrogate on Tuesday, which included four contracted England players, one non-contracted England player, and four EWA players.

The EWA team was Fran Wilson (capt), Georgia Adams, Steph Butler, Alice Davidson-Richards, Freya Davies, Tash Farrant, Georgia Hennessy, Amy Jones, Laura Marsh, Tash Miles, Carla Rudd (wkt), Danni Wyatt.

India omitted Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami from their team which was Karuna Jain (capt), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Thirush Kamini, Harmanpreet Kaur, Shriti Mandhana, Nagarajan Niranjana, Shikha Pandey, Punam Raut, Swagatika Rath, Vellawamy Vanitha, Sushma Verma (wkt), Poonam Yadav

Invited to bat India made a cautious start through openers Mandhana and Kamini against the pace attack of Farrant and Davies. Occasionally Farrant overpitched and Mandhana drove her for four, but Davies gave little away and after 10 overs India had only made it to 28/0. At the start of the 20^th over they had only taken the score on 58/0 but Kamini (22) fell in that over driving Marsh off the outside edge to cover point. EWA continued to keep it tight and when Butler joined Marsh with the ball they strung together four maidens on the trot and each claimed a wicket – Marsh had Mandhana (34) caught by Jones at extra cover and then Butler had Kaur caught in the same manner by the same fielder for a laboured 3. India were 72/3 after 27 overs and in danger of a low score on what looked like a very decent batting track.

Harmanpreet Kaur (48) and Punam Raut (24) then put together a decent partnership of 54 in 13 overs with Kaur using her feet well to the spinners. In the final over of the powerplay Davies (3/36) returned and accounted for Raut, Jones taking the catch at midwicket. She then had Vanitha (6) well caught by Davidson-Richards at deep mid-on, and continued to clean up Rath’s stumps first ball to reduce India to 162/6. In the last six overs India swung the bat in the vain hope of reaching a decent total, but they could add only 26 to the total as batsmen came and went with Farrant (3/33) claiming three late wickets. India finished on a below par 188/9.

In reply EWA got off to a solid start through Adams (30) and Miles (9), Miles eventually falling caught behind in the 13^th over, as she had threatened to do throughout her innings. New bat Wyatt then ran out Adams as she called her through for a quick single that was always going to be tight. Wyatt and Jones then made batting look quite tough against the spin of Gayakwad and Rath, and Jones (9) ended her spell at the crease as she chipped one back to the diminutive leg-spinner Yadav, who had taken over from Gayakwad. The EWA were 75/3 at this point in the 24^th over. But Jones’s dismissal brough Fran Wilson (54*) to the crease and she and Wyatt (52) took the game away from the Indians with some good running between the wickets and some lusty blows from Wyatt’s bat. Wyatt had just reached her 50 when she advanced down the wicket to Niranjana and aimed an ungainly heave at the ball, which she missed and was bowled. It was an unfortunate end to an innings which had started nervously but had developed well. But Wilson had matters well under control as she and Hennessy (23) gradually brought the run rate down. With just three needed Hennessy was bowled by Rath, but Wilson managed to get to her 50 with a two, and then finished the game with a four with 3.2 overs still left to bowl.

On this showing India showed their batting frailties in the shorter format of the game. They have some beautiful stroke makers in their midst – Mandhana, Raj, Raut, Kaur etc – but they are content to wait for the bad ball. In the Test this was sufficient to win them the game, but it will probably not be in the ODIs, and it may explain their reluctance to play a T20 series against an England team which finished runners-up in the recent T20 World Cup.

England take on India in an ODI tomorrow at Scarborough, and again on Saturday and then at Lord's on Monday.

MD
20/VIII/14