Aussies beat Sri Lanka to make World Cup

Here is the ICC's wrap up of the series.....

Australia has qualified for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 after a 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka in the ICC Women’s Championship. Australia captain Meg Lanning has lauded her side for the way it adjusted to the conditions to become the first side to book a place at next summer’s event to be held in England.

“We were hoping to win all games that we played. I thought Sri Lanka tested us at certain stages but we stuck to our guns pretty well, certainly in the last two games we set pretty high standards. The conditions have been difficult, I guess, from the batting perspective, very different from back home, but the last couple of games we have adjusted very well, we came with our plans and stuck to them,” Lanning said.

Australia had arrived in Sri Lanka needing just one win to qualify for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. And Lanning’s side achieved it in style when it wrapped up the first match in Dambulla last Tuesday by 78 runs. It then won the two Colombo ODIs by nine wickets and 137 runs.

Australia now sits pretty on 30 points from 18 games, 10 points more than its nearest rival the West Indies, which, like the remaining six sides in the competition, has played three less matches. England is third with 19 points, followed by New Zealand (16), South Africa (15), India (13), Pakistan (eight) and Sri Lanka (five). The top four sides from the ICC Women’s Championship will automatically qualify for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 while the bottom four sides will get a final chance of qualification through the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in February 2017.

Lanning said the team was preparing for the different challenges in England next year.
“We are going to every game trying to improve and be better and we want to win every game. We have got a World Cup in July that we need to be ready for and play really good cricket, so it’s important we play every game the way we want to and also try on work on things to get better.
The conditions will be different in England. The key is in being aggressive and to take the game on as much as we can. Wickets are very important in ODI cricket. I think we are in a really good spot but have areas to improve,” Lanning said.

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Atapattu said they had been hoping to do better but hoped to learn from the series.

“We are not satisfied with our performances in this series. We couldn’t complete our tasks individually and were unable to follow our plans. This is a big experience - playing a series against Australia - and we hope to learn from it.

“The Australia players applied themselves very well and came up with good individual performances. As for our team, we had some satisfaction in taking several wickets in the first match but we seemed to lose focus in the remaining matches,” Atapattu said.

Australia’s dominance in the series saw some gains for both its batsmen and bowlers.
Left-hander batter Nicole Bolton, who was the pick of the batters with 212 runs and finished as the only centurion of the IWC series with scores of 64, 35 and 113,  moved up three slots to 18^th position in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Women’s Player rankings.

Bolton’s opening partner Elyse Villani’s 115 runs in the three matches enabled her to re-enter the rankings at 52^nd position while top-ranked Lanning, fourth-ranked Ellyse Perry and sixth-ranked Alex Blackwell retained their positions with reasonably good showings.

Leg-spinner Kristen Beams, who was the most successful bowler in the series with 10 wickets and conceded just 61 runs in three matches, moved up 16 places to 28^th rank in the rankings for bowlers. Beams had hauls of 4-15 in the first match and 4-26 in the third.

Left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen’s four wickets took her up two places to seventh position while pace bowler Holly Ferling’s seven wickets helped her move up 10 places to 52^nd rank.

For Sri Lanka, opener Prasadani Weerakkody moved up four slots to 26^th position while captain Chamara Atapattu made up for her lack of big contributions with the bat by taking five wickets with her medium-pace bowling that helped her move up 17 ranks to 76^th position.

Upcoming ICC Women’s Championship matches:

8-13 October – South Africa v New Zealand in South Africa

14-19 October – West Indies v England in West Indies

  ICC Women’s Championship 2014-16

Teams	P	W	L	Tie	N/R	Points	NRR
Australia	18	15	3	0	0	30	+0.994
West Indies	15	10	5	0	0	20	+0.497
England	15	9	5	0	1	19	+0.754
New Zealand	15	8	7	0	0	16	+0.232
South Africa	15	7	7	0	1	15	-0.069
India	15	6	8	0	1	13	+0.008
Pakistan	15	4	11	0	0	8	-1.030
Sri Lanka	18	2	15	0	1	5	-1.339

Note – two points for a win, no point for a loss and one point for a no-result

MRF Tyres ICC Women’s Player Rankings (as of 26 September 2016, after the Sri Lanka-Australia ODI series)

Batters (top 10)

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Pts        Avge      Highest Rating

   1         ( - )        Meg Lanning       Aus        820       49.57     834 v NZ at Bay Oval 2016

   2         ( - )        Suzie Bates          NZ         775!      40.50     775 v Aus at Bay Oval 2016

   3         ( - )        Mithali Raj          Ind         722       49.54     839 v Aus at Baroda Vadodar 2004

   4         ( - )        Ellyse Perry         Aus        693       42.83     725 v NZ at Bay Oval 2016

   5         ( - )        Stafanie Taylor    WI         690       45.63     765 v Ind at St Kitts (WP) 2012

   6         ( - )        Alex Blackwell    Aus        650       35.00     683 v Ind at Canberra 2008

   7         ( - )        Sarah Taylor        Eng        640       39.76     803 v Aus at Chelmsford 2009

   8         ( - )        H. Kaur                Ind         630       35.57     679 v SA at Bangalore 2014

   9         ( - )        Deandra Dottin    WI         583       28.28     650 v NZ at Kingston 2013

  10        ( - )        A. Satterthwaite  NZ         577       29.07     653 v Aus at Sydney 2012

Other selected rankings

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Pts        Avge     Highest Rating

 18         (+3)       Nicole Bolton      Aus        495*!    44.09    495 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2016

26         (+4)       P.Weerakkody     SL          408*!    18.53    408 v Aus at Colombo (RPS) 2016

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Pts        Avge     Eco       Highest Rating

   1         ( - )        Jhulan Goswami  Ind         730       21.78    3.18      796 v Eng at Chennai 2007

   2         ( - )        Katherine Brunt   Eng        658       22.59    3.36      796 v Ind at Mumbai 2013

   3         ( - )        A. Mohammed    WI         638       17.99    3.26      704 v Aus at Sydney 2014

   4         (+1)       Stafanie Taylor    WI         606       18.72    3.10      768 v NZ at Kingston 2013

   5         (-1)        Ellyse Perry         Aus        588       24.24    4.28      698 v Ind at Mumbai 2012

   6         ( - )        Shibnam Ismail   SA         567       19.27    3.53      641 v Eng at Johannesburg 2016

   7         (+2)       Jess Jonassen       Aus        546*!    20.80    4.10      546 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2016

   8         (-1)        Jenny Gunn          Eng        543        27.80    3.78      693 v Ind at Scarborough 2014

   9         (-1)        Anya Shrubsole   Eng        539*!    25.64    4.14      539 v Pak at Taunton 2016

  10        ( - )        Morna Nielsen     NZ         532*     26.88    3.68      546 v Ind at Bangalore 2015

Other selected rankings

Rank     (+/-)       Player                 Team     Pts        Avge      Eco        Highest Rating

28          (+16)     Kristen Beams     Aus        413*!    19.60    3.45      413 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2016

40          (+10)     I. Ranaweera        SL          341*     27.62    4.35      349 v Aus at Colombo (RPS) 2016

46          (+3)       E. Kaushalya       SL          323*     28.20    4.19      377 v WI at Dambulla 2013

52          (+10)     Holly Ferling       Aus        311*!    20.87    4.36      311 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2016

All-rounders (top five)

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Pts        Highest Rating

   1         (+1)       Stafanie Taylor    WI         418       559 v NZ at Kingston 2013

   2         (-1)        Ellyse Perry         Aus        407       446 v NZ at Bay Oval 2016

   3         ( - )        Suzie Bates          NZ         336!      336 v Aus at Bay Oval 2016

   4         ( - )        Jhulan Goswami  Ind         288       308 v Aus at Canberra 2016

   5         ( - )        Sophie Devine     NZ         245!      245 v Aus at Bay Oval 2016

MD
26/IX/16

Intense period of ODIs starts soon

With the Women's World Cup looming on the horizon (June/July 2017 in England) all of the eight teams in the ICC Women's Championship are involved in their last two series of ODI games before the end of 2017, with the aim of making the top four and automatic qualification for the tournament.

The current table looks like this

And here are the series to be played :-

Sri Lanka v Australia starts 18th September
West Indies v England starts 8th October
South Africa v New Zealand starts 8th October
Pakistan v India - dates to be announced

Australia v South Africa starts 18th November
Sri Lanka v England starts 12th November
New Zealand v Pakistan starts 8th November
India v West Indies - dates to be announced

Most of the teams are playing as many ODIs as they can cram in to the series, although only the designated three games will count towards the ICCWC table.

And here are the current WCB ODI Team Rankings to the beginning of September. Australia are still top, but England have closed the gap to second. West Indies are closing in in third, and India have jumped over New Zealand into fourth, but in the next few months there could be many changes as teams battle it out.

ODI Team Rankings as at 1st September 2016



MD
12/9/16

Lamb in line for England call up?

Lancashire's 18 year old Emma Lamb could be in line for a call up to the England squad for the tour to the West Indies at the beginning of October, which is due to be announced next week.

With one eye firmly on the World Cup in England next June and July, England are playing five ODIs in the Windies and no T20s. With the retirement of Charlotte Edwards and Lydia Greenway, England Head Coach Mark Robinson needs to strengthen the squad's batting line-up and Lamb looks to be best placed to make the step up into the squad, if not into the starting 11.

After returning from a successful tour to Sri Lanka with the England Academy in April, Lamb has not had a stellar season with Lancashire in Division Two of the County Championship, scoring just 187 runs at an average of 37.2. But she had a decent KSL series with the Lancashire Thunder, opening the batting in each of their five games and making scores of 25, 26, 34, 27 and 10 and looking at home at the crease, ahead of more exalted company - Matthews, Dottin and Wyatt.

In addition it seems likely that 17 year old Sophie Ecclestone will also be part of the squad - assuming she can get time off school. The left-arm spinner looked comfortable making her debut for England in the summer against Pakistan, and England need her left-arm variation in their attack.

If these two non-contracted players are included in the squad, then current contracted players will have to make way. It could be that Becky Grundy, Jenny Gunn and Danni Wyatt miss the trip as England look to build towards the World Cup and beyond.

Possible squad - Knight (capt), Shrubsole (vice capt), Beaumont, Brunt, Cross, Ecclestone, Elwiss, Farrant, Hazell, Jones, Lamb, Marsh, Sciver, Wilson, Winfield

MD
06/IX/16

Final County Champs Round Up

So another, perhaps the last proper, county season has come to an end (well Sussex have still to play Surrey, but it makes no odds as far as the championship or relegation are concerned).

In Division One neither of the bottom two sides playing could pull off the win that might have saved their Div 1 bacon. Staffs lost by seven wickets to Middlesex; and Somerset lost by 87 runs to Warwickshire. That win took Warwickshire up to second in the table, as Sussex, for the second year in succession, made the 600 mile round trip to Harrogate in north Yorkshire, for the game to be called off without a ball being bowled. At the top Kent, already champions, completed a nervy victory over Berkshire, having been bowled out for 165, they then bowled Berkshire out for 139 to win by 26 runs.

Division One

In Division Two it will be Lancashire and Notts that come straight back into Div 1 for the 2017 season, having both been relegated last year. Notts made it with ease beating Worcestershire by 61 runs, having put 239/9 on the board. Lancs however had more of a struggle. First they had to wait for the rain to clear and the pitch to dry, and then, having bowled Wales out for just 79, in a match reduced to 35 overs, they plunged to 23/6 in reply. But Sophie Ecclestone rose to the occasion with 42* batting at 7, to take Lancs over the line seven down, and keep Hants in Div 2 for a second year. Hants had done what they could by beating relegated Essex by 50 runs, and Essex will be joined in Div 3 by Leicestershire, promoted last year from Div 3, but returning straight back as they lost their last game to Devon by 137 runs. 

Division Two 

Quite what 2017 holds for county cricket is unclear. The ECB have announced that the KSL will be extended to the 50 over format in games to be played before the World Cup in England in June. It is difficult to see many KSL players playing county cricket as well as 50 over KSL, and none of the potential England squad are likely to be available until after the World Cup finishes. The KSL T20 competition will then again be run in August. County cricket looks like it will be squeezed out of the equation. We shall see!

MD
05/IX/16

Do or die in the County Champs this weekend for many

It is the final weekend of County Championship games this Sunday (although Sussex are also due to play Surrey on 17th September). As it happens that game will have little effect on the County Championship table, as Kent have already won the title and Surrey have been relegated to Division Two for next season.

The up-to-date table is below

The games this weekend are :-

Yorkshire v Sussex at Harrogate CC

Kent v Berkshire at KCCC Beckenham 

Staffs v Middlesex at Milford Hall CC

Warks v Somerset at the Edgbaston Foundation Ground

With three teams being relegated into Division Two next year, it is a matter of who will join Surrey in dropping down.

If Middlesex beat Staffs, then Staffs will be the first to join Surrey. But should Staffs beat Middlesex with full bonus points they could move their average to a maximum of 9. Middlesex would then need to get at least 5 bonus points from the same game, to also finish on an average of 9. Basically Staffs must win and get at least 5 bonus points to give themselves a chance. The more bonus points they get, and the fewer they allow Middlesex to get, the better chance they have. First of all they have to win!

As for Somerset, they must beat Warwickshire to try and save themselves. A full bonus point win would also put them on a maximum average of 9 points too. Should two teams finish on the same average points then you go back to the number of points scored between the two sides when playing each other. Somerset lost to Middlesex, but their game v Staffs was abandoned, so you would then revert to net run rate, if they were tied.

As for Div 2 there are two places up for grabs in Div 1 next year, and there are four teams in with a shout of grabbing them. They are the current top four teams - Lancs, Notts, Wales and Hampshire.

Lancs and Wales take on each other at Newport and the winner should be one of the teams promoted. Notts are away at Worcester and Hampshire take on bottom of the league (and relegated) Essex. A win for Notts should see them grab one of the top two places, while Hampshire must look to clock up 18 points and hope other results go their way. 

WCB (@womenscricblog) on twitter will follow all the action, and try and keep everyone in the picture. We should have contacts at most of the important games. Let's hope the weather doesn't intervene!!

MD
02/IX/16