The Haves and the Have-Nots

Sport is all about the contest.

Professional sport is all about making the contest entertaining and absorbing to watch, so that people are willing to pay to be entertained.

Last night's game between England and the West Indies was neither entertaining nor absorbing, and indeed it was no contest whatsoever. As I got back on my train home from Hove I heard one man who had been at the game say to his friend "It was a good win, but it would have been nice if the West Indies had shown up".

Will I be making the trek to any more of the West Indies' games in this series? The answer is "No". That is not through lack of effort. I have already watched nine live games of county cricket this season having driven hundreds of miles to Taunton, Southport and Beckenham amongst other places. The vital factor is that each of those games has been more entertaining than last night's international.

The reason is that the West Indies only have one class cricketer in their midst - Hayley Matthews. She cannot do it all on her own, although she tried in the first game of the series. I am afraid to say that very few of the others in the Windies team, if any, would even make it into any of the Tier One county teams that I have watched this year. 

This is not the fault of the players, or indeed of Cricket West Indies. It is a fault of the structure of women's cricket (and indeed cricket in general it seems), whereby the strong are getting stronger and more powerful and richer, and the weak are becoming weaker, poorer and more irrelevant. The powerful are India, Australia and England. The weak are all the rest. 

It is no surprise that it is those three countries that have the only three stand-alone short form tournaments where players can make substantial amounts of money. And the majority of the players that make those substantial amounts, and play in the majority of the games, are from those same three countries. It is a never-ending and vicious circle. 

Somehow the powers that be have to redress the balance. More resources need to be channelled to the West Indies, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the rest. If not then we can look forward to more games like last night at Hove, and the chances of making women's cricket a self-sustaining sport, that the public are willing to pay a realistic amount of money to watch, are practically zero. 

Martin Davies
24/V/2025

Women's U19 T20 World Cup - Format and Warm Up Games

Welcome to our coverage of the inaugural Women's U19 T20 World Cup. First of all let's have a look at the format of the competition. Initially the sixteen qualifying teams are divided into four groups.

Group A - Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, USA Group B - England, Pakistan, Rwanda, Zimbabwe Group C - Indonesia, Ireland, New Zealand, West Indies Group D - India, Scotland, South Africa, UAE Each team will play two warm-up games (see below). In the Group Stage they will play each team in their group once. The top three teams in each group will then enter the Super 6s Leagues. Super 6 League 1 - A1, A2, A3, D1, D2, D3 Super 6 League 2 - B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3

In the Super 6 Leagues teams will only play two more games (not three). The top two sides from the Super 6s Leagues go on to the semi-finals, and then the winners to the final.

Warm-up games are on Monday and Wednesday this week and the competition proper starts on Saturday 14th January 2023. Here are the warm-up games.

Monday 9th January 2023

Scotland v USA Ireland v Pakistan Indonesia v Zimbabwe India v Australia UAE v Sri Lanka New Zealand v Rwanda West Indies v England South Africa v Bangladesh

Wednesday 11th January 2023

Bangladesh v India England v Indonesia Rwanda v Ireland South Africa v Australia Zimbabwe v West Indies Pakistan v New Zealand Sri Lanka v Scotland

We will try and keep you up-to-date with all the scores, results, performances and standings.

Martin Davies 08/I/23

The Windies Blog - Part Five

And then there were two! And perhaps not surprisingly it is the two with the most professional set-ups, who have made it through to the final - Australia and England.

Last night at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium Australia trounced the Windies, with Alyssa Healy recovering from her concussion to win her fourth Player of the Match award for her 46 at the top of the Aussie innings. It set up a score of 142/5, which looked a decent score on a slow outfield, but not insurmountable. But the Windies lost Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin with their score on 15, and from there they never looked like getting into the game. Players came and went at regular intervals and the Windies were soon all out for just 71.

It was a disappointing end to what had been a good tournament for the team. They had beaten England in their group game in St Lucia and topped Group A, but in front of 10,000 passionate Antiguans they couldn't deliver when it mattered against a team that could.

So it also proved with England against India. On a wicket that was getting slower and more difficult to score on as the evening went on, India had themselves well placed at 88/2 with Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur at the wicket. They had just taken 10 off the 13th over from Nat Sciver and had then launched Kirstie Gordon for a 4 and a 6 in the 14th over, before Rodrigues was needlessly run out going for a second run. In Gordon's next over Kaur then tried to go big again, but only succeeded in lobbing up a catch to Sciver at cover point. It was the beginning of the end of the Indian innings. From 88/2 they slumped to 112 all out in the last over of their 20.

But still this game was far from dead. India had gone into the game with six spinners and, in turn, they were each thrown the ball, but every one of them bowled too short, and with no-one in close on the leg-side after the initial powerplay, Amy Jones and Nat Sciver simply milked the ball to the legside for 1s, 2s and the occasional 4. 62 of the 82 runs off the bat after the powerplay came on the legside.

Skipper Kaur never looked to change the tactic and England just continued to make steady progress, after losing Tammy Beaumont and Danni Wyatt early, both to the slog sweep. The game was won by a 4 from Jones in the 18th over, which took her to 53* - her maiden T20I 50, including her first 6. Sciver finished 51*.

So Friday is a day off. Some of the middle order batsmen will probably go for a bit of a hit, just in case they are needed in the final, which will be at the same ground on Saturday at 8pm local time. We can only hope for a better, quicker wicket, but this ground at Antigua rarely, if ever, produces one. Let's also hope that the locals turn up again, even though their beloved Windies girls will not be in the final. It is likely to be a good match, but Australia will start as firm favourites. The carrot for England is that they have the chance of being double World Champions - both 50 over and 20 over.

Interestingly only five of the England players that will take the field tomorrow (we'd expect an unchanged team) played in that tense 50 over World Cup final against India. For the other six, including non-contracted Academy players Kirstie Gordon and Sophia Dunkley, it will be an almost dream-like scenario.

The team that wins will be the team that handles that pressure the best.

Martin Davies
23/XI/18

The Windies Blog - Part Four

So we have moved on from St Lucia, where it was raining again as we left, to Antigua, for Thursday's two semi-finals - West Indies v Australia and India v England, and then the final on Sunday.

Somewhat bleary-eyed we made it to the small George F L Charles Airport, just outside Castries, in the north of the island shortly after 6am to catch the Liat Airlines ATR 72 twin-propellered plane for the 55 minute north to Antigua. Joining us on the flight were Nasser Hussein, Charlotte Edwards, Natalie Germanos, Henry Moeran, and Ebony Rainford-Brent, amongst others, plus the tv production crew complete with cameras and other bulky equipment. If this plane went down then women's cricket coverage could have been set back several decades. Well we'd all like to think so anyway. The painful truth is few people would actually notice. As it was the plane obeyed the laws of physics and stayed in the air, until we touched down safely in Antigua, where it was sunny and hot.

We collected the people carrier at the airport and drove south across the island, following the detailed instructions we'd be given by Debbie to English Harbour and her luxury villa, our home for the next 7 days. Greeted by Charmaine we quickly made ourselves at home, before wandering out to the gorgeous Pigeon Beach and then into town to find somewhere to eat that evening.

On the way we had driven past the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, which looked a little forlorn whilst empty, but will be rocking on Thursday, with the Windies playing in the first game. Should they make it to the final there is likely to be bedlam in the stadium, and tickets for Saturday's game will become a prized commodity.

Tuesday at the villa was a quiet day with frequent heavy rain showers, but hot sunshine in between the showers. It was a pleasant day to wallow by the pool and watch a myriad of cream butterflies float up the hill and over the villa, and the yellow finch (turns out it is actually called a Bananaquit - much more fun)

Bananquits feeding (C) Don Miles

and hummingbird battle for sugared water from the feeder.

Meanwhile in the harbour the Magnificent Frigatebirds (and they are well-named) splashed violently into the blue water close to the moored boats, fishing, not outside the off-stump, but for real.

Tomorrow the build-up to the semi-finals starts for real with the pre-match Press Conferences at the ground. I am not sure what you can usefully say before a game, apart from we'd really like to win and we'll be trying our hardest to do so. There will be idle speculation about the pitch, balance of the teams, and opposition players who are deemed to be threats. It all means very little. What matters is what happens on the field on Thursday. I am very fortunate to be able to say that I will be there.

Martin Davies
20/11/18

The Windies Blog - Part Three

We have our semi-finalists - India, Australia, England and West Indies.

An unchanged England team beat an abject South Africa on Friday here in St Lucia to effectively secure their place in the semis, which was confirmed a few hours later when a rampaging West Indies pulverised the plucky Sri Lankans. The St Lucia crowd were in fine voice and there are rumours of a sell-out crowd of over 10,000 for the West Indies v England game on Sunday, which will decide who tops Group A and will play the Aussies in the semi-final.

Yes the Aussies, because they lost comfortably yesterday to India in their table-topping match. Smriti Mandhana finally found the form she had left in England after the KSL, smashing the Aussie attack for 83 off 55 balls. It allowed the Indians to put 167/8 on the board and the Aussies never looked like getting there, hampered as they were by Alyssa Healy not batting as she had "mild concussion" after colliding with Megan Schutt as they both attempted to take a catch. Denied her boundary-laden start the Aussies looked strangely inept. Beth Mooney has not really been timing the ball too well, and her new opening partner Elyse Villani also looked out of sorts. It meant a powerplay that elicited only 39 runs with both openers gone. Meg Lanning and Rachel Haynes tried to rebuild, but could not do so and then got out, to leave the lower middle order with far too much to do. The Aussies were bowled out for 119 in the last over.

The bookies still make the Aussies favourites to win the tournament, and by some margin, with England second favourites, followed by India and the West Indies. As for me, having nailed my colours to the Aussie mast before the tournament I will stick with them, but I have been pleasantly surprised by both the Indians and the West Indies. Both have played some great cricket and they will both believe they can win this tournament.

As for England they have not really been tested yet. This afternoon with 10,011 West Indians against them they will be. It is going to be a tough challenge, but a win for England will set them up mentally for a semi-final against the old enemy. A loss means a re-run of the 2017 World Cup final with the Indians, who might just have the self-belief to get over the line this time. It is going to be a tense afternoon.

Martin Davies
18/XI/18

The Windies Blog - Part Two

Watch This is blaring out (as it does at very regular intervals throughout all the games), and Bangladesh have just taken a wicket with the first ball of the crucial Sri Lanka v Bangladesh game. Crucial - well the teams that finish in the top four of each group will automatically qualify for the next WWT20 in 18 months time in Australia. There is plenty to play for, even if neither of these teams has any real ambition of getting to the semi-finals.

It's Wednesday and Australia are already into the semi-finals after a comprehensive win over arch rivals New Zealand yesterday evening in Guyana. Yet another 50 from Alyssa Healy - her third in a row - which also gave her her third Player of the Match award, as Australia moved to three from three. But it was no walk in the park and if New Zealand had fielded better things could have been very different. As it is their tournament is all but over. India play Ireland tomorrow and if they should win (they are 1/80 to win with the bookies), then New Zealand will know their fate before they bowl a ball in their last group game immediately afterwards. A period of soul searching in New Zealand is almost certain. Yet another failure on the World stage and a very poor 2018 overall could mean changes.

Going back, England finally got their campaign underway with a workmanlike win over Bangladesh, with Mark Robinson taking the opportunity to blood all three newbies - Linsey Smith, Sophia Dunkley and Kirstie Gordon. Smith and Gordon took wickets, with Gordon finishing with 3/16 and the Player of the Match award. Dunkley took a catch, but was not needed with the bat. England restricted Bangladesh to 76/9 with Ayasha Rahman hitting 39 of the first 42 runs, and then lost Danni Wyatt first ball and Tammy Beaumont for 2. If Amy Jones had been caught early on then life could have got really tough, but Jones 28* and Nat Sciver 23 broke the back of the chase and Heather Knight finished it off, when the teams returned after a heavy shower of rain and England's target had been reduced to 64. Team selection for Friday's game with South Africa could be interesting. This is not a pitch which merits three spinners, let alone three spinners with the same left-arm action.

After this Sri Lanka v Bangladesh game happening in front of me, South Africa will take on the Windies. Both have a win and two points under their belts,  and another win will put them in a strong position, but even the team that loses can still qualify. Both still have England to play, who sit on three points from a win and an abandoned game. If England beat them both they will be through, but lose to one or the other and they could come unstuck.

For now the atmosphere is quite subdued at the Daren Sammy Stadium. I have a feeling it may get a little more raucous later on...

.....it did!

After Sri Lanka had duly beaten Bangladesh, who once again failed to get to 80 in 20 overs, it was time for the Windies v South Africa clash. The crowd had grown to about 3,000 and as Deandra Dottin carved Shabnim Ismail for 6 over third man they went bonkers. It was fabulous to be there. "That's the way man!" shouted the St Lucian gent in front of me. "Naah you mean woooman" his mate corrected. "Naah she de man!" They loved it.

They weren't quite so pleased as Windies batters came and went, but at least they took the total passed 100. It was something for their big quicks to get their teeth into. And they did, backed up by some great fielding and four wickets from off-spinning skipper Stafanie Taylor, as South Africa crumbled, losing their last five wickets for just one run, to lose by 31 runs chasing just 107.

With each falling wicket the crowd noise got louder, as the self-belief grew in the Windies players and their raucous supporters. It was a great atmosphere and wonderful to watch as a neutral. England's  encounter with the Windies on Sunday may be a more painful watch.

Before then they take on a cowed South Africa on Friday. On this lively wicket Ismail and Kapp look a handful, but with the ball coming onto the bat it might be a wicket to suit Danni Wyatt, Amy Jones and Heather Knight's  batting styles. It will be a contest. Whether England will have the right bowling attack for this pitch is perhaps more in question.

Mark Robinson only has one more seamer to call on in Tash Farrant. She will get swing, but tends to kiss the surface rather than bang it in. It means her margins for error are pretty small. Despite her debut 3fer this is not a pitch to suit Kirstie Gordon's slow left arm loop. She may miss out.

Off-spin may be the way forward with the ball skidding through, which could mean Dani Hazell gets a recall. It's a tough decision for Robinson. He will know that a win on Friday will mean England are almost on the plane to Antigua, rather than back to Gatwick. Sri Lanka could also get to 5 points if they were to beat the Windies in their final game on Friday too, but England's net run rate looks likely to pull them through, even if they were to finish level on points with the Lions.

If the weather plays ball Friday at the Daren Sammy Stadium should be another blast.

Martin Davies
15/XI/18

The Windies Blog - Part One

It's Sunday 11th November 2018 and I'm sitting at my desk looking out to the north west from the top of the Caribbean island of St Lucia. Several hundred metres below the sea is lapping gently onto a white sand beach sporting the usual paraphernalia of an upmarket resort hotel - sun beds, volley ball net, kayaks, two-man catamarans (I'm sure they have a proper boaty name, but I don't know it). It is a beach we have tried to get down to, but have so far failed. A trek on foot had to be aborted when we were confronted by a neighbour's rottweiler and impossibly dense undergrowth. An excursion by car was met with a barriered entrance to the swanky hotel and two hefty guards. A night raid is being planned...

It is just coming up to 9am and there is some hazy sunshine. It makes a pleasant change. Our group has been in our villa just north of Gros Islet, in the very north of the island, for three days and sunshine has been something which has been in short supply. Rain, on the other hand, has not! Sweeping showers over the first two days gave way to biblical rain yesterday, which left the precipitous roads gushing with water. It was not ideal timing as England were due to open their account in Group A of the Women's World T20 (and I use the term "women's" deliberately. When the men play it is the Men's World T20 - I use the terms not to be sexist, but just to distinguish between the two).

By the time photographer Don and I had  made it into the ground having picked up our Press Passes and negotiated the muddy rivers that flowed around the car park, not to mention the somewhat treacherous stairs to the Media Centre, it was already apparent that the day's game against Sri Lanka would not be taking place. In fact the games scheduled to take place tomorrow here in St Lucia (England v Bangladesh and Sri Lanka v South Africa) are in serious doubt. That would be more bad news for England, as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are both teams that England would expect to beat comfortably - not so South Africa and West Indies - the other two teams in Group A.

Shortly before 4pm the game was officially called off and CRICKETher's Raf and Syd dutifully went off to the "Post Match Press Conference". Mainstream media want quotes, no matter how bland and inane they may be. I'd rather Heather played cricket than had to answer questions to which everyone knows the answer she is going to give. Buzz words - disappointed, looking forward, ready, move on.

In an effort to spice up proceedings journalist Adam Collins lobbed in the grenade question "With the forecast as it is, do you think consideration should be given to moving the games to another country?" Pull pin, count to seven and then lob.....It was not a question that Heather could possibly answer. It was posed to create a hook for a story on a quiet news day and perhaps as a barb at the ICC for scheduling these games here in St Lucia at the back end of the rainy season. It was always a risk, as is our being here to watch the games. The ICC are apparently "considering the idea", although no-one from the ICC has said this is the case. Given that it is now "an issue" it IS probably now being discussed, but at what level and with how much vigour, who knows?

As it is the tournament goes on. Group B based in Guyana - Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and Ireland - has no such weather issues and got off to cracking start with a fine victory for India over New Zealand, which puts them in the box seat to take one of the two semi-final places allocated to the teams that finish first and second in the group. A majestic 103 off 51 balls for Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was possibly one of the best T20I innings that I have ever seen. Superb timing and magnificent shot selection. Not power hitting, but powerful cricket.

Australia then thumped Pakistan, but probably not as hard as they would have liked. They will have tougher games. And then West Indies took on Bangladesh in a Group A clash, presumably scheduled so that the hosts could appear on the first day of their home tournament, despite all their other games being in St Lucia. On a slow, worn pitch Windies would have been worried when they stumbled to 18/3 and then 50/5 with 3/5ths of their overs gone. But they managed to get beyond a 100, and then bowled Bangladesh out for 46, with Deandra Dottin helping herself to a World T20 record of 5/5 by bowling quick and straight. The Bangladeshis lack of a straight bat accounting for most of the carnage.

Which brings us back to today. Two more games are due in Guyana - India v Pakistan and Australia v Ireland. We will all be sitting in front of the tv with the aircon blasting away watching intently.

MD
11/XI/18

Busy week to settle WWC17 places

It is a busy last few days in the ICC Women's Championship this week as the final round of fixtures are played and the four teams that automatically qualify for the 2017 World Cup emerge (subject to the ICC's ruling on the unplayed Pakistan v India fixtures)

On Tuesday England, who have already secured their qualification with victory in the second ODI against Sri Lanka, again take on their hosts at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. It will be interesting to see if Katherine Brunt has recovered from her "niggle" which took her off the field in the last game, and if newbie Emma Lamb is given her first cap?

On Wednesday West Indies have their final chance to secure their WWC17 place for themselves as they take on India in the third and final ODI in Vijayawada. They have failed to score enough runs in the first two games and been well beaten by their Indian hosts. If West Indies are again beaten, then the door remains just slightly ajar for South Africa to sneek past them into the top four, although they will have to beat Australia...three times!
As for India, without the six points from the unplayed games against Pakistan, they will finish in fifth or sixth spot and will be in Sri Lanka for the qualifying tournament.

Also on Wednesday New Zealand can seal their place in WWC17 if they win the fourth ODI against Pakistan. In the three games to date they have been untroubled, although Pakistan did manage to put 263/6 on the board in the last game (the first ICCWC match). New Zealand still chased it down with nearly six overs to spare and eight wickets in hand. Amy Satterthwaite helped herself to a second consecutive unbeaten hundred, and she will be looking for more runs as the teams move to Nelson for the final two ODIs of the series.

On Thursday England conclude their series against Sri Lanka with the fourth ODI in the series. It will be England's last ODI before the World Cup warm-ups, unless they can fit in another "unofficial" series before next June.

On Friday Australia start their five match ODI series against South Africa (with the first three to count towards the ICCWC). It is the final series in the ICCWC competition, with Australia already through to the WWC17, but, by this time, it may already be too late for South Africa to get there without going to Sri Lanka first. The second and third games will be played the following Sunday and Wednesday.

And finally Saturday will see the conclusion of the New Zealand v Pakistan series. How many ODI runs can Amy Satterthwaite finish up with in 2016? She has 730 so far!!

MD
14/XI/16

England claim series win in West Indies

Well it wasn't very pretty, but sometimes you have to win ugly, and that is exactly what England managed to do in Jamaica.

After a horrible batting collapse allowed the West Indies to take the fourth ODI, and the two ICCWC points with it, England came back with a solid performance to win the final ODI comfortably, winning the series 3-2 and taking four of the six ICCWC points.

It means they only need one more point in Sri Lanka (in November), or for South Africa to lose one of their three ICCWC games against Australia (also November), to be sure of qualifying for the World Cup next year (assuming the Pakistan v India series does not happen in the next 10 days, which looks unlikely). Put it this way I don't think anyone will offer you odds against them getting there.

Make no mistake this was an important series for England. They were tested. Slow pitches, hot conditions, spinning wickets, some top quality players in the opposing side, and lumpy outfields. They lost two games that they probably should have won, but they showed they have some character by winning that final ODI. That will stand them in good stead as they move forward.

It was an excellent series for Alex Hartley, who seems to have stepped into the number 1 spinner slot, ahead of young Sophie Ecclestone, and probably Laura Marsh. Marsh is much more of a containing bowler, whereas Hartley is a wicket-taker. She took 13 in the five games and bowled with great control and accuracy AND she spins the ball. Without Anya Shrubsole a lot fell on the shoulders of Katherine Brunt. At times it looked like the pressure told, but she is a gutsy cricketer and usually came good when she needed to, which is tough for fast bowlers in the heat and on slow pitches. Generally England will have been pleased with all their bowlers, who gave very little away. Both games that England lost were down to their batsmen.

Overall Coach Robinson will have been pleased with his openers - Tammy Beaumont and Lauren Winfield. Winfield had scores of 79 and 51, and Beaumont finished with scores of 57 and 34 after a poor start to the tour. She looked in good touch in games 4 and 5, having adjusted well to the conditions. Both now need to look beyond nice 50s, to big hundreds.

Number three is obviously still an issue. Georgia Elwiss had this slot for the first three games, as she did in the summer against Pakistan (where she had scores of 12, 17, and 77). Here she made 3, 16 and 3 batting at three, and then 9 and 5 coming in at number six. Having failed to grasp her opportunity at the top of the order she may find that she loses out to Fran Wilson in the middle order for the trip to Sri Lanka.

The number three slot was taken by skipper Heather Knight for the last two ODIs. A position she had not occupied in her previous 57 innings. After a golden duck in the first ODI she scored a frustrating 26, 22, 36 and 29. No-one will be more frustrated with those scores than her. She will know that she needs to turn these starts into big scores and get her side over the line in run chases.

Nat Sciver got two scores of 58, the second one not out in the final ODI, which was the sort of mature knock that her coach will have been willing her to make. It is sometimes difficult to remember that she is relatively new to the England team. She has only batted 22 times in ODIs and she has a healthy average of over 40 - the best in the England team. She is yet to record three figures for England, but this will come. She is maturing nicely in the England middle order.

Which brings us to Danni Wyatt and Amy Jones. Wyatt is the cheeky, chirpy, bubbly character from Stoke. She is a good athlete, smart in the field and has a rocket arm, but she has now played in 44 ODIs, and in 35 innings her highest score is just 44, which she scored on this tour in the first game at Trelawny Stadium. She followed this with 7, 17, 0 and 12. She bats for the team, but she seems to find ways to get out. She is an enigma.

As for Jones she kept well in four of the five games, but contributed little with the bat. She has been around quite some time, but has had relatively few opportunities in the middle (just 12 innings in nearly four years). She has the shots in her locker and needs to target spending more time at the crease, as she did in the first ODI with Wyatt. She has had big shoes to fill following on from Sarah Taylor, but given an extended run she could prove herself just as capable.

And finally a word about Heather Knight's captaincy. She looked comfortable making the decisions and used her bowling resources well. There were a few opportunities where she could perhaps have had more attacking fields, but the more she skippers the better she will get. Winning this series in the West Indies without her vice-skipper on the pitch, will be a feather in her cap.

Will this England team win the 2017 World Cup? They have the capability to do so, but it is a question of whether they have the self-belief. It is likely to come too early for this developing team, but I wouldn't write them off. If they can get on a roll early in the competition then they will be in with a shout.

MD
20/X/16

SA v NZ & WI v Eng ODI series coming up this week

Two very important ICC Women's Championship series start next Saturday (8th October) - South Africa v New Zealand and West Indies v England.

It is the first time that New Zealand have ever been on tour to South Africa. Indeed the two sides have only met six times in ODIs, with New Zealand winning all six, but four of those were over 15 years ago. South Africa are just one point behind New Zealand in the ICCWC table, but they know that after New Zealand they have to travel to Australia for their last three ICCWC games. New Zealand on the other hand entertain Pakistan and will be banking on taking 6 points from those three games.

It means that South Africa really need all six points against New Zealand, which is going to be a very tall order... but not impossible. In the last eight months South Africa have recorded ODI victories over both England and the West Indies on home soil, so they know they can compete at the top level. Runs tend to be South Africa's problem, but in young Wolvaart they have a steady opener, and then the big guns - du Preez, Kapp, Lee and van Niekerk can accumulate and in Tryon and Luus they have two lusty hitters late on. New Zealand are a team in fine form - Suzie Bates is in fine touch with the bat after a summer in England and Devine, Satterthwaite and Priest will all have benefited from playing here in the summer. New Zealand's weakness is their lack of penetrative bowling and no spinners that really rip the ball. The sides are playing seven ODIs (the first three count towards the ICCWC). It should be a very even contest.

England have arrived in Jamaica in the West Indies just ahead of hurricane Matthew. Hopefully that will pass through the island early in the week and England can get some practice in ahead of their five match ODI series with the T20 World Champions. Here it is the last three games that will count towards the ICCWC standings, so England have a couple of opportunities to get their line-up right before points are won or lost.

It seems unlikely that Head Coach Mark Robinson will stray far from the line-up that beat Pakistan so convincingly over the summer, but with five spinners to choose from (Hazell, Marsh, Hartley, Ecclestone and Knight) he may well ring the changes, or perhaps even play four spinners rather than three. The brunt of the seam bowling will be down to Misses Brunt and Shrubsole, with back-up from Sciver, Elwiss and Gunn, as needed, and with Langston on hand at some time during the tour. Despite having a thumb injury the non-contracted Langston was preferred to the contracted Farrant and Cross. Quite where Danni Wyatt fits into the picture is not really clear. Had Fran Wilson been fit then she may not even have been on the plane? She is the type of player that might benefit from Robinson's nurturing - she has talent with the bat, but not always the application. If she gets a chance then she will need to grab it. She will not been thrown the ball to bowl.

But what then of the Windies? Sure they are T20 World Champions and they will not be slow to remind anyone who asks of that. But this is 50 over cricket. If Wyatt has an application problem, then the West Indians are a team of Wyatts. I generally use the word mercurial about their performances - quite simply you don't really know what you are going to get. Stafanie Taylor proved she is a world-class player in the KSL in England this year, with some outstanding innings, but she cannot carry the West Indian batting on her own in the 50 over format. Great expectations have been placed on the shoulders of young Hayley Matthews, after she burst onto the scene in Australia a couple of years ago, but since that series in which she scored 55, 89, 60 and 37, she has had poor ODI series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South Africa - teams she should be filling her boots against. She also had a very poor KSL with the bat here for Lancashire Thunder. Deandra Dottin too has not quite fulfilled her potential with the bat. The West Indies need her to step up now too. In addition Kycia Knight, Shaquana Quintyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Britney Cooper and the returning Shanel Daley will need some runs, if West Indies are to be competitive.

As for bowling the Windies have plenty of choice, but not a great deal of penetration. Shamilia Connell is quite sharp, but is yet to make an impact in any series. It is the spin-bowling of Mohammed, Quintyne, Matthews and Taylor, plus the slinging pace of Dottin, on which the Windies will rely. The West Indies have not beaten England in an ODI since 2009, although they have not actually played England in this format in the last three years. If England can start the series well, then they should be tough to beat and could win all three of the important ICCWC games, which would mean that they will be the second team through to the World Cup next June. With the games being livestreamed by WICB it will be a great series to watch.

MD
02/X/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

A week is a long time...in cricket

We are a week and 10 games into the WWT20 and it has been an interesting few days.

In Group A New Zealand have lived up to the expectations of many (me included) and look like the side to beat in this competition. They comfortably beat Australia today and their top order looks extremely powerful. The complete lack of pace from Leigh Kasperek's slllllllll...o...w right arm spin (although to be fair she does not actually spin it much at all - watch the ball in the slowmos!) seems to fox all who bat against her. Her appearance and style are very reminiscent of England's former left-arm spinner Holly Colvin. Short of stature she too threw the ball in the air, allowing it to dip as it got to the batsmen. She did alright too!

I keep expecting someone to work out how to play Kasperek - use your feet and play straight. In the group games they only have South Africa left to play. It will be interesting to see if Dane van Niekerk can get to her.

The Aussies look a bit of a muddled outfit. Which is not like them. I pointed out before the tournament that they did not know who to open the batting with. They still don't. If it were me it would be Mooney and Villani with Lanning at three, but I think Lanning may insist on taking the role against Sri Lanka. Despite their confusion the Aussies are still likely to make the semis - they have Sri Lanka and Ireland still to play. Their narrow victory over South Africa has saved their blushes. But will they make it beyond the semis? In all probability they will meet England there. England will never have a better chance of knocking them out of a major final.

In Group B the first three games went with form with comfortable wins for India, West Indies and England over lower opposition, but India's catatonic batting against Pakistan as they froze under the pressure of their own and their country's expectations, ultimately led to their demise - although you have to say that the rain probably saved Pakistan from throwing away a game that they should have won at a canter. Tomorrow India play England. Should India lose then their tournament may well be over. England's big game experience might just be enough to win it for them, despite a lacklustre start to the tournament against Bangladesh.

Defeat might not be the end for India. West Indies have been unconvincing in their opening two wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh. In fact Pakistan should have beaten them, but ran out of self-belief half way through chasing 103 and ended up four runs short. The Windies still have England and India to play and they could lose both those games, opening the door for India to qualify on net run rate.

I'll be watching the rest of the tournament from Colombo in Sri Lanka where I am headed to follow the England Academy take on the Shooting Stars and the Sri Lankan young guns. The way things are panning out at the moment I would suggest that it looks like a New Zealand v England final, but all that could change as soon as tomorrow. I'll be sitting on my suitcase in the front-room waiting for the taxi to the airport watching England take on India. Will it be new India or old India, and will it be new England or old England? Who knows?

MD
21/III/16

New Zealand the in-form team heading into WWT20

So here is the up-to-date WCB IT20 Standings as the teams go into the WWT20 starting on 18^th March, including all games played up to 9^th March.

No I didn’t believe it either, but New Zealand really are top of the table AND they really are that many points ahead of England and Australia. I have checked lots of times. There are actually numerous reasons why they are top of the tree – Australia and England have not been too flash at T20 cricket of late (Australia have lost their last three T20 series and lost six of their last nine games); New Zealand have won eight of their last eleven games, including wins over England and Australia; and for some reason New Zealand played only 11 T20s between 1 March 2012 and 1 March 2014, which means they have only played 32 T20 games in the last four years compared with England’s 46 and Australia’s 44, so their recent form has a much greater impact on their current standing.

So does that make them favourites for the WWT20? Well the realistic answer is that they have as good a chance as Australia and England, the perennial favourites for these competitions, but also probably just as much chance as India, West Indies or South Africa. This really is the hardest WWT20 to call that there has ever been. Below I have previewed the teams’ chances, based on form, but there is one imponderable which I think might affect the tournament and who goes on to win it, and that is injury. 

For many of the top players the last few months have been jam-packed with cricket, as teams squeeze in ICCWC ODI fixtures, plus the almost obligatory three T20s. The Aussies have played an Ashes series against England, followed by a home series against India and no sooner were they back from New Zealand than they were on the plane to India. In between the entire squad has been involved in the WBBL, as have several of the England, New Zealand, West Indian and South African players. South Africa themselves have finished their latest series (against West Indies) today, which followed swiftly behind England's tour there too. Don't get me wrong I have no problem with plenty of cricket, but it does take it's toll. There will be many players carrying injuries into the tournament or having just recovered from injuries. I expect there may well be more during the tournament and if you lose a key player, then your fortunes can change rapidly. But aside from that caveat it looks like being a great tournament.

Group A
Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland

Australia expect to win. In fact most of the cricketing world expect Australia to win, but I just have this nagging doubt about this side and about the balance of their team. They did not perform that well against England last summer, then lost 2-1 to India at home and then by the same score to New Zealand away just a few days ago. They are struggling to nail down a decent opening partnership, they are relying far too much on Lanning and Perry to get runs and their bowling looks light. It has been a long haul for the Aussie girls since the English summer, including a full-on WBBL and I think this may be a tournament too far.

Antipodean rivals New Zealand will be looking to steal the Aussies’ crown.  After a couple of lacklustre years, including the failure to make the semi-finals of the last WWT20, New Zealand, under charismatic coach Haidee Tiffen, are once again punching above their weight on the international scene.  They seem to have a bit more self-belief now and if skipper Suzie Bates can keep her recent form going they will be tough to beat. But they do have bad days. And when they are bad they are very very bad. Can they string together the five or six wins on the trot that they need? They just might.

South Africa surprised everyone, including themselves, by making the semi-final of the 2014 WWT20. It was a great achievement and the fact that they froze in the semi-final against England was no surprise. Their recent series against England and the West Indies in South Africa shows that that cup run was no flash in the pan. Within their squad they have match-winners in van Niekerk, Lee, du Preez, Kapp and Luus, but their squad is thin. I expect them to win some big games, but possibly lose some they should win. If you want an outside bet though...

Sri Lanka and Ireland will not make it to the semi-finals, but Ireland could well win their first WWT20 match when the two sides meet. Sri Lanka are in a horrible slump of form at the moment. They have lost their last eight T20 games and in truth have never looked like winning any of them. Ireland won the WWT20 Qualifying Tournament in December, just pipping Bangladesh (their fellow qualifiers) in the final. They have great spirit in their team and it may be enough to get them a very precious two points.

Group B
England, West Indies, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

Playing at home and coming off the back of a T20 series win against the Aussies in Australia, plus a drubbing of a rather forlorn Sri Lanka, India are on a high. Things could go one of two ways it seems for them – they could either live up to their own, and the whole of India’s expectations and win the thing, or they could crash and burn. They should get off to a good start as they play Bangladesh on the opening day of the tournament, but their clashes with England (22^nd March) and the West Indies (27^th March), will decide if they make it through to the semi-finals. If they can make it there then their young stars – Smriti Mandhana, Shika Pandey, Anuja Patil and Veda Krishnamurthy,amongst others, may prove fearless enough to get them into the final, although it may have to be at the expense of tournament favourites Australia, which may be a big ask.

England lack consistency over the last couple of years. This tournament has come too early for new Head Coach Mark Robinson to have had any great influence over the outcome for his new team, but a new positive attitude with the bat looks certain. The South Africa tour proved that sometimes it comes off and sometimes it does not. There is no doubt that England have players capable of winning T20 games – Taylor, Knight, Jones, Shrubsole, Brunt – but the question is can they? England look a bit light in the spin-bowling department, with Knight now Charlotte Edwards go-to spin bowler it seems. If England make it out of the group then they are in with a shout.

The West Indies have a remarkably poor record in T20s over the last couple of years. They have only won seven out of the 25 they have played in that time. They have also managed to tie three of those games, which is quite a feat. They have class in Stafanie Taylor, and Deandra Dottin seems to be coming back into some sort of form after a couple of years in the wilderness following her ban, but these two need some back-up. They are a team capable of winning, but they lack a cutting edge.

Pakistan have had a torrid run into the tournament due to security issues in India. At the time of writing they have still yet to get to India, and it has been confirmed they will miss their first warm-up game with New Zealand scheduled for Thursday, and maybe even the warm-up against South Africa on Saturday. Their current T20 form is not that bad and they are a potential banana skin for the big three, but with little or no practice before the tournament they are clearly at a huge disadvantage.

Bangladesh have only beaten Ireland and Sri Lanka in their last 13 games, and lost narrowly to Ireland in the WWT20 Qualifier final. They should not trouble the big boys, but will be keen to get one over on Pakistan if they can.

So the warm-up games start tomorrow and the tournament itself kicks off on next Tuesday (15th March). Some of the group games are being televised as will be the semi-finals and the final. If the tournament can step out of the huge shadow of the men's tournament into the media spotlight, then it should be a great event.

MD
9/III/16

Aussies top ICC Women's Championship Table

Australia's comprehensive 3-0 defeat of the previous high-flying West Indies (remember they beat New Zealand 3-0 back in September?) has sent them back to the top of the ICC Women's Championship table, where they will continue to reside throughout Round 2 of the tournament. In Round 3 they meet with England, in England, and only then can they be knocked off their perch. The points table currently looks like this..

Teams	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Australia Women	6	6	0	0	0	12	+0.952	1196/236.2	1130/275.0
West Indies Women	6	3	3	0	0	6	+0.584	1128/257.3	1111/292.4
England Women	3	2	0	0	1	5	+0.686	367/80.1	312/80.1
South Africa Women	3	1	1	0	1	3	+0.583	364/77.0	315/76.0
Sri Lanka Women	3	1	1	0	1	3	-0.583	315/76.0	364/77.0
India Women	3	0	2	0	1	1	-0.686	312/80.1	367/80.1
Pakistan Women	3	0	3	0	0	0	-1.357	467/125.0	477/93.4
New Zealand Women	3	0	3	0	0	0	-1.712	392/150.0	465/107.3

The remaining second round matches are :-
India v South Africa starting on 24th November 2014
New Zealand v England starting on 11th February 2015

Pakistan v Sri Lanka - on a date to be fixed before the end of February 2015

None of these teams can match Australia's 100% record with six wins out of six, so Australia will hold on to their top of the table spot at least until March next year. Who would back against them staying there for much longer?

India lost the two completed ODIs to England this summer and will be hoping to get their first win under their belts against South Africa, who have won one of the two completed games they played against Sri Lanka. But South Africa will be tough opponents and I think they may even end up winning the series in India (probably 2-1).

New Zealand have home advantage against England, and will be desperate to get something out of that series after their disastrous start in the Caribbean, which leaves them firmly rooted to the foot of the table. New Zealand would normally have been considered to be one for the "Top Four", but their place in the top order is under threat from the likes of Sri Lanka and South Africa, who they play in rounds 4 and 6 of the competition. England's overall record against the Kiwis is not that hot - won 28; lost 31, but they have won the last six, last losing to the White Ferns at Lord's in 2010. They must start as favourites to take the series, and they will be looking for a clean sweep, before taking on the Aussies in the English summer.

Sri Lanka will expect to boost their points tally when they take on Pakistan, which they must do before the end of February next year in the last of the Round 2 matches. In Round 3 they host the West Indies, which should be another great series; New Zealand travel to India for what could be another tricky series; and South Africa are hosted by Pakistan. 

No team can afford to slip up if they want to be in the top four and qualify automatically for the 2017 World Cup. Australia have so far been clinical in all six victories. Can England peg them back in 2015? The Aussies are looking very strong!

MD
17/XI/14

Aus v Windies - mouth-watering series

Sunday sees the start of a truly mouth-watering series between Australia and the West Indies. The tour matches start with four T20s, followed by the three ICC Women's Championship ODIs, and then an extra ODI just for good measure.

There is little doubt that Australia are currently the team to beat in world cricket. They hold the T20 and 50 over World Cups and have probably the strongest batting line-up in women's cricket. The Windies are a team on the up, with some of the most explosive players in women's cricket - Deandra Dottin and Stafanie Taylor to name just two. They also come to Australia on the back of a comprehensive 3-0 thrashing of New Zealand in the first round of the ICCWC in the Caribbean in September, which sees them currently sitting pretty in top spot in the ICCWC points table.

Will the Aussies fear them? Probably not. It is not really in their nature to do so. Should the Aussies fear them? Probably yes. The Windies have a swagger about them and they now have some batting to back up the mercurial Dottin and the world class (if fit) Taylor. Shanel Daley and opener Kycia Knight are growing into their roles with the bat in the team and 16 year old Hayley Matthews looks like an exciting young batting talent too. Their bowling too looks in better shape than it has done in the past. They have no great pace in their attack, but medium-pacers Smartt, Selman, Dottin and Daley have become more accurate and they have depth in their spin options with Mohammed, Quintyne and Taylor.

The Windies bowlers will have their hands full though with the Aussie batting line-up. Unlike most teams Australia have a host of batsmen that can take the game away from their opponents, rather than just one or two - Meg Lanning, Jess Cameron, Elyse Villani and Ellyse Perry are all potential match-winners with the bat, and they have the steadying influence of Alex Blackwell, Nicole Bolton, Delissa Kimmince and Jess Jonassen when they need it.

With two strong batting line-ups and some decent wickets this could be a very high-scoring series. The question for me is how strong is the Aussie bowling? Holly Ferling is still out injured and Ellyse Perry is coming back from yet another injury (this time a knee). She deserves her place in the team as a batsman and this may well be her future in cricket. Support seamers Rene Farrell, Julie Hunter and Sarah Coyte do not look that threatening and will have their work cut out. Their repetitive length and line may just be up Dottin and Taylor's street. Spinners Erin Osborne and Jess Jonassen can get rattled if the attack is taken to them, which you would guess the Windies girls will do. Leg-spinner Kristen Beams will also need to be at her most accurate, if selected in the T20 games, as she may well be.

This will be a good test for both teams and I can see the Windies giving the Aussies a real run for their money. If they hit their straps then they might even sneak the ODI series and could easily win the T20 series. Fasten your seatbelts this could be a bumpy ride!

MD
30/X/14

Closest ever WT20 on the cards

For the first time there will be ten teams rather than eight in the Women's World T20 Cup which starts in Bangladesh on 23rd March, and it could be the closest fought WT20 ever.

The teams are split into two groups of five - groups A & B - who will all play each other once. The winner of Group A will play the second in Group B in the first semi-final and the winner of Group B will play the runner-up in Group A in the other semi-final. It is going to be a dog eat dog affair and I can see every team losing at least one game and the dreaded Net Run Rate coming into play to see who makes those vital semi-finals.

Group A has Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.
Australia will be the favourites to win the group. They are after all the holders and beat England 2-1 in their latest T20 series. But they did lose all three of the T20 games in England last season and they have lost three of their last five T20 games to New Zealand. They have lost the services of their inspirational captain Lisa Sthalekar since the last World Cup, and Meg Lanning has only just taken on the role from Jodie Fields. They do have a habit of winning the games that matter, but they will be pushed all the way by New Zealand and will get no easy ride from South Africa.
New Zealand too are a team in transition. Coach Katrina Keenan resigned in January and Warren Lees has taken over as "interim coach". He has brought a few new faces into the White Ferns' squad who are currently performing well against the West Indies. They also have the buffer of having Suzie Bates and Sara McGlashan in their midst, both of whom have been in fine form with the bat of late. The two of them are quite capable of taking a game away from any team they are playing, but can they do it game after game. It is a big ask.
And talking of big asks, it will be tough for South Africa to string together four good results on the bounce, particularly when two of those games will be against Australia and New Zealand. They have never beaten either team in a T20. On their day they can be very good with the ball, but they can struggle to post a competitive score with the bat. But if they can get away to a good start in their first match against Pakistan, which they will be expecting to win, then their second game against the Aussies could be tighter than people think.
Pakistan are an improving team, but I think they will have to settle for just one or two victories here. Ireland, who play in Division 3 of the English County Championship, are making their first appearance at a T20 World Cup. They fought their way there through the qualifying tournament (finishing third behind Sri Lanka and Pakistan), but recently beat Pakistan in a low-scoring game in Doha, which will boost their confidence when they meet again. As the underdogs they have nothing to fear and can hopefully play with freedom and get some decent results.

Group B has Bangladesh, England, India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.
With all due respect to Bangladesh I think this looks like a four-way contest for the two spots available in the semis.
England made it to the final two years ago and were favourites to win, having been dominant in the earlier rounds, but they lost by four runs to Australia. But in those intervening two years they have lost five players from the team that played in the that final - Holly Colvin and Arran Brindle have retired, Laura Marsh and Katherine Brunt are injured and Danielle Wyatt has been left out of the squad. It will be a very different looking team that takes on West Indies in a crucial first match in Group B on 24th March. England have in fact lost more T20 matches against the West Indies than they have won (6/5), including three out in the Caribbean last October. England approach T20 in a much more controlled way than do the West Indies, which is perhaps dictated by the very nature of the players on the field. England do not have the pinch-hitting openers or the lower order batsmen capable of clearing the boundary rope. The West Indies have a much more cavalier approach, but will they have the explosive Deandra Dottin in their team? And if so will she have any sort of form?

Dottin was suspended by the WICB in January for "behaviour unbecoming that could bring the game of cricket into disrepute or be harmful to the interests of cricket", after an incident during the Tri-Nation Twenty20 Women's Series last October in Barbados. No-one is saying what the incident was, but it seems to have been something off the field. She was not selected for the current West Indies tour of New Zealand, but the door seems to have been left ajar to "reintegrate" her back into the Windies team as she is said to have been undergoing "evaluation" through to the middle of March. Reading between the lines it sounds as though if she is contrite and keeps her nose clean she will be back in, but without too much match practice under her belt. The Windies are currently having a tough time of it in New Zealand (two heavy ODI losses), but they may still come good in the five match T20 series.

India have some great players in their team, but they are not a great T20 team, and Indian Women's cricket seems to be in the doldrums at the moment, not helped by the mysogynistic attitude of the BCCI. They have the talent to win games, but they may well not. In fact if they lose their first game to Sri Lanka then they may be left fighting it out for the wooden spoon with Bangladesh. Fortunately the 2016 T20 World Cup will be held in India, so they will automatically be there come what may at this tournament.

Sri Lanka are the dark horses in Group B and I am going to stick my neck out and suggest they may well sneak a semi-final spot (probably on NRR!). This is a competition which they are targeting. They have some explosive top order batsmen and some good spin bowlers. They will be tough to beat and if they can get off to a good start against India, who they have beaten before, they will trouble both England and the West Indies.

I will wait for the result of the NZ v WI T20 series and for all the squads to be announced before I give my final verdict on the four to make the semis, but it is shaping up to be a great looking tournament. Shame only the semis and the final will be on tv and then only on satellite. Hopefully there will be more online streaming of the earlier games - more news on this as I get it.

MD
24/II/14

Young England defeat Windies

England duly wrapped up the ODI series with a second comprehensive victory over their West Indian hosts and will leave the Caribbean on a high. They should not, however, forget that they lost all three of their T20 games to the Windies, and that the T20 World Cup is just 5 months away.

But before that there is the small matter of the Ashes. Charlotte Edwards was desperate to win them in England and she will be even more fired up to retain them on Aussie soil. Once again the format will be one Test; three ODIs and and three T20s with 6 points again for the Test (being played at the WACA) and 2 points for each of the other games. Given the England men's recent game at the WACA you would have to say that a drawn Test looks extremely likely. Both teams have girls that can bat long and once in at the WACA you have to find ways to get yourself out. The series would then of course come down to the short format stuff.

The one really key point that has come out of the Windies tour is the fragility of the England batting. Only Sarah Taylor made over 50 in any of the seven completed games (55* and 100 in the two ODIs). But even she had a lean spell in the T20s and skipper Charlotte Edwards never quite found her touch in either format. Newcomers Nat Sciver and Lauren Winfield will have learnt more from the tour and have scope to improve, but the experienced Danni Wyatt, Tammy Beaumont, Lydia Greenway and Jenny Gunn failed to make an impact with the bat. That will be a concern. England will hope to add Heather Knight and Laura Marsh to their batting line-up for the Ashes trip, but they will both have been without outdoor cricket for four months, if fit. England will also hope that Sarah's sublime form which saw her score a magnificent century in the last ODI continues, but it only takes one good ball or one bad shot.

On the bowling front fast bowlers Kate Cross and Tash Farrant have shown they have the temperament for cricket at the top level. Farrant got some good shape on the ball and Cross good bounce and carry. Neither have the firepower of Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole, who England again will hope to be fit to face the Aussies. Holly Colvin's return to form will be much welcomed. Her slow loopy left-arm spin is a key weapon in the 50 over game, perhaps less so in the 20 over format. Fellow spinner Dani Hazell only claimed four wickets in 28 overs of bowling, and Danni Wyatt only bowled three overs in the six games she played. Jenny Gunn surprisingly was the leading wicket-taker with 13 wickets, including five in one game. It is difficult to see her as much more than a stock bowler though. Nat Sciver picked up 10 wickets including a hat-trick, but she has a tendency to be a tad expensive. When it comes to Ashes selection you need to throw all-rounders Arran Brindle and Georgia Elwiss into the bowling mix too.

If all the girls are fit and available then it is going to be a bit of a scramble to get onto the plane to Perth in early January. Paul Shaw and his team will have some difficult decisions to make.

No sooner will they be back from Australia than they will be thinking about the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. They play their first game on 24 March against the Windies. Also in England's group are India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Beaten in the final by Australia in 2012 England will be out for revenge, but they will have to improve on their T20 showing in the Caribbean.

MD
04/XI/13

What can England get out of ODI Series v Windies?

Following on from the recent T20 Tri-Series which concluded with a convincing win for West Indies in the final, England take on their hosts again almost immediately, but this time in a three match ODI series. All the games are being played at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and it will be England’s last outing before the Ashes series in Australia in January.

England will not be that upset at having lost the T20 competition, but they will be concerned at the manner of the loss. True they had a young squad – with debuts for bowlers Beth Langston and Tash Farrant and some opportunities for Lauren Winfield – but their batting looked weak in all the T20 matches they played and their bowling rather toothless. The Windies in contrast have already beaten New Zealand in a similar series 2-1 prior to the T20 Tri-Series, and their tails will be up. They have nothing to fear against this England side, and are a side on the up, ever since making the final of the 50 Over World Cup earlier this year. They do however still rely very heavily on Stafanie Taylor, both with bat and ball, and the potentially explosive Deandra Dottin. England cannot afford to let these two settle with the bat. They will have to make plans to attack them hard and get them out early.

In the England camp their will be concerns about their batting. Charlotte Edwards missed a couple of the T20 games through injury and without her England’s batting looks weak. The pressure is on Sarah Taylor to fulfil the potential that she obviously has as a great bat. She needs to not only look stylish, but bat long. This series is a great opportunity for her to do so. It is also surely time for England to move away from considering Danielle Wyatt as an opener. They have Lauren Winfield and Amy Jones in the squad, both of whom can fulfil this role. Wyatt started life as an off-spinner who batted a bit, but she has bowled just two overs on this tour at the cost of 19 runs. 

Looking beyond the skills of Taylor and Dottin the West Indies have the added advantage of a wrist spinner in 17 year old Shaquana Quintyne. She may be young, but she has been involved with the West Indies team for sometime and is continuing to improve her art. There are not many good leg-spinners in women’s cricket and the girls find it tough to deal with – forcing the right-handers to try and play through the off-side rather than their natural preference for the leg-side. Her 10 over spell and that of Taylor could mean a tough 20 over section in the middle of the game for England.

West Indies have to be favourites to win the series as they ride their current wave of success, but if England can actually put some runs on the board then they will be in with a shout. Holly Colvin’s slow left-arm spin could be a potential match-winner for England if the Windies are under pressure to score runs.

Fixtures

29^th October – 1^st ODI Queen’s Park Oval Trinidad (13.00 GMT)
1^st November – 2^nd ODI Queen’s Park Oval Trinidad (18.00 GMT)
3^rd November – 3^rd ODI Queen’s Park Oval Trinidad (18.00 GMT)

Squads

West Indies - Merissa Aguilleira (Captain), Shemaine Campbelle, Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin, Chinelle Henry, Stacy-Ann King, Kyshona Knight, Anisa Mohammed, Juliana Nero, Shaquana Quintyne, Shakera Selman, Tremayne Smartt, Stafanie Taylor.

England - Charlotte Edwards (Captain), Tammy Beaumont , Holly Colvin, Katie Cross, Natasha Farrant, Lydia Greenway, Jenny Gunn, Danielle Hazell, Amy Jones, Beth Langston, Natalie Sciver , Sarah Taylor, Lauren Winfield, Danielle Wyatt.

MD

28/X/13

England Winter 21 named - with 14 going to Windies

England have named a Winter Performance Squad of 21 players, from whom they have selected 14 to tour West Indies this month, taking on Windies and New Zealand in a T20 series, and then playing three ODIs against the Windies.

A 15 player squad will then be selected in December for the return Ashes series in Australia starting in January 2014. There is also the small matter of the ICC World Twenty20 in March/April 2014. It is a busy schedule.

England's selection for the Windies trip was always going to be a young team, given the current injuries to Heather Knight, Laura Marsh, Anya Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt - all will be aiming to be fit for the Ashes Tour. There are no real surprises with the 14 being :-
Charlotte Edwards - Kent
Tammy Beaumont - Kent
Holly Colvin - Sussex
Kate Cross - Lancashire
Tash Farrant - Kent
Lydia Greenway - Kent
Jenny Gunn - Notts
Dani Hazell - Yorkshire
Amy Jones - Warwickshire
Beth Langston - Essex
Nat Sciver - Surrey
Sarah Taylor - Sussex
Lauren Winfield - Yorkshire
Danni Wyatt - Notts

As well as the four injured players, Arran Brindle, Georgia Elwiss and Fran Wilson from the 21 are omitted for the Windies trip (with Brindle not available for selection for personal reasons).

England will miss the fire and brimstone up front of Brunt and Shrubsole, with their opening bowling looking potentially rather tame - Cross, Farrant, Gunn and Langstone will have their work cut out, with back-up from Sciver. Spinners Colvin, Hazell and Wyatt may have a lot of work to do, probably including even opening the bowling.

Knight's injury is also a big blow. She was England's find of the summer (along with the ice cool Sciver) and now Beaumont, Winfield or Jones may have to fill her shoes at the top of the batting order, keeping Edwards company. Taylor, Greenway, Sciver and Gunn are not a bad middle-order and all the spinners can bat. They may need to in the longer format of the game. 

Winter Performance Squad

Charlotte Edwards - Kent
Tammy Beaumont - Kent
Arran Brindle - Sussex
Katherine Brunt - Yorkshire
Holly Colvin - Sussex
Kate Cross - Lancashire
Georgia Elwiss - Sussex
Tash Farrant - Kent
Lydia Greenway - Kent
Jenny Gunn - Notts
Dani Hazell - Yorkshire
Amy Jones - Warwickshire
Heather Knight - Berkshire
Beth Langston - Essex
Laura Marsh - Kent
Nat Sciver - Surrey
Anya Shrubsole - Somerset
Sarah Taylor - Sussex
Fran Wilson - Somerset
Lauren Winfield - Yorkshire
Danni Wyatt - Notts

MD
01/X/13

England in West Indies and England U19s in South Africa

England in West Indies

The 2013 winter schedule for England women will include a T20I tri-series against West Indies women and New Zealand women in Barbados in October, followed by a three-match, one-day international series against West Indies women in Trinidad.

T20 tri-series - Kensington Oval, Barbados
West Indies, New Zealand & England
Monday October 14 - West Indies v New Zealand
Wednesday October 16 - New Zealand v England
Friday October 18 - West Indies v England
Sunday October 20 - West Indies v New Zealand
Tuesday October 22 - New Zealand v England
Thursday October 24 - West Indies v England
Saturday October 26 - Final - Top two teams from preliminary rounds

ODI series - Queen's Park Oval, Trinidad
West Indies v England
Tuesday October 29 - 1st ODI
Friday November 1 - 2nd ODI
Sunday November 3 - 3rd ODI

England U19s in South Africa

Cricket South Africa have also announced the following fixtures to be played by England U19s in October in their forthcoming tour of South Africa. All the games will be played in Potchefstroom.

SA Emerging tour vs England U19

October 2013
Fri 11    1st Twenty20   SA Emerging v England U19
Sun 13   2nd Twenty20 SA Emerging v England U19
Mon 14  3rd Twenty20 SA Emerging v England U19
Thu 17   1st One Day   SA Emerging v England U19
Sat 19    2nd One Day  SA Emerging v England U19
Mon 21  Warm Up 02  Sri Lanka v England U19
Tue 22    Warm Up 03     South Africa v England U19

Details of the U19 squad are due to be released next week by the ECB.

MD
09/IX/13