Metro Bank One Day Cup - Round Three

The Blaze v Warwickshire
The Blaze 252/9 v Warwickshire 211 ao (42.3 ovs)
Having been put into bat The Blaze could not have got off to a worse start, losing Amy Jones for a duck lbw to Wong and next ball Kathryn Bryce needlessly run out, but Tammy Beaumont (38) and Sarah Bryce (52) not only steadied the ship, but put it on course for a decent total, as they rattled along at over 6 an over, and it took a good diving catch from Abbey Freeborn behind the stumps to remove Beaumont. But that stand of 74 turned out to be the best The Blaze could manage as their batters got in, only to get out. Emily Arlott was the main wicket-taker with 3/39 as The Blaze ended with an under par 252/9.
Warwickshire adopted a cautious approach to their reply....very cautious. After 10 overs Sterre Kalis (27 off 57) and Freeborn (40 off 60) had taken the score to 28/0, with just 15 scoring shots in the opening 60 balls. Kalis' demise in the 8th over introduced Davina Perrin, who scored a run-a-ball 53, and she and Freeborn took Warwickshire to 123/1 in the 27th over. But within 7 overs Warwickshire found themselves on the back foot at 157/5. A swashbuckling stand of 36 between Nat Wraith (34) and Charis Pavely (25) took them to 203/6 with 11 overs to get the 50 runs they needed. The win was on, but Blaze skipper Kathryn Bryce (5/38) having missed out with the bat, was not going to miss out with the ball. She blew away the Warwickshire tail as they fell to 211 all out (with Chloe Brewer not batting). 
Highlights - The Blaze v Warks

Lancashire v Hampshire
Lancashire 292/6 v Hampshire 295/2 (47 ovs)
After looking at the wicket and, quite rightly, assessing it as a complete road, Hampshire decided to insert Lancashire so they could set a target and Hampshire could attempt to chase it.
Lancashire openers, Eve Jones (107) and Emma Lamb (86) have been in fine form and presented with the opportunity to bat on this Southport wicket they grabbed it with both hands. With a short boundary on one side and straight, and a lightning fast outfield there was no room for error for the bowlers. With Bell resting, 19 year old opening bowler debutant Daisy Gibb was thrown in at the deep end, and she proved her worth with a tight opening spell. After 10 overs Lancashire had made their way to a steady 49/0. They continued to make serene progress as the deckchaired crowd lapped up the boundaries and the glorious West Lancs' sunshine.
At the midway point Lancs were 132/0 and the first chance did not come until the 31st over when Bouchier put down Jones off Smith on the deep midwicket boundary. Jones was on 78 at the time. But in the next over it was her partner who departed to a smart stumping (one of three) by Rhianna Southby off a floated legbreak from Nancy Harman. The opening pair had added 185. With a brisk 35 off 28 balls from Katie Mack, the stage was set for a score well in excess of 300. But the last 11 overs produced only 62 runs for Lancs as Charli Knott (2/42) and Georgia Adams (2/52) kept tight lines and Jones struggled through the nervous 90s. She eventually departed in the 48th over, but without the explosive finish Lancashire needed. 
In response Hampshire needed a good first 25 overs, and they got it through Ella McCaughan (133*) and Maia Bouchier (77). The pair put on 137 for the first wicket in just under 25 overs, with Bouchier the main aggressor. Both struck the ball sweetly as the Hampshire innings mirrored the Lancashire one. After 40 overs Hampshire were 247/1 (just 9 ahead of where Lancs had been at the same stage) and just beginning to press the accelerator. McCaughan had got to her maiden hundred off 113 balls four overs earlier and she and Knott (47) effectively put the game to bed as they helped themselves to 74 runs in a 50 ball spell before Knott was expertly stumped down the legside by Ellie Threlkeld. But it was too little too late as Hampshire rushed to victory with 12 runs in the 47th over, and 22 year old McCaughan carrying her bat for a very mature 133*.
Little did they know at the time, but Hampshire would find themselves as the only unbeaten team in the league and top of the table as they took the long bus journey back to Southampton. 
Highlights - Lancs v Hants 

Surrey v Durham
Surrey 348/6 v Durham 244 (45.1 ovs)
Surrey's star-studded batting line-up finally found their feet this season as they used the flat and fast Beckenham pitch to their best advantage racking up 348/6 against newcomers Durham. A third wicket stand of 155 between Alice Capsey (79) and Sophia Dunkley (92) set up Surrey, who added a swift 107 runs in the last 10 overs of their innings with cameos from Alice Monaghan (32 off 25), Alice Davidson-Richards (40 off 23) and Paige Scholfield (21 off 10). 
In reality Durham's chances of winning had gone in the first 16 overs of their reply, with Marlow, Armitage, Bates, Heath and Villiers all back in the dug out with just 87 runs on the board. A fine partnership of 93 between Leah Dobson (53) and Katherine Fraser (43) added some respectability to the Durham scoreline, but they were always fighting a losing battle with no wickets to play with. Inevitably as they tried to up the run rate more wickets tumbled and they finished 104 runs behind on 244 when Abi Glen cut Ryana Macdonald-Gay to cover point for her third wicket (3/38). Spinners Smith, Moore and Gregory had all picked up two apiece. 
The win was Surrey's first in Tier 1, which they will look to repeat back on the same ground on Sunday against Warwickshire. 
Highlights - Surrey v Durham

Somerset v Essex
Essex 184 ao (42.5 ovs) v Somerset 185/5 (35.5 ovs)
Essex once again failed to reach 200 with the bat and crashed to their third defeat in three games as Somerset bounded past their 184 all out in under 36 overs.
Within 12 balls Essex were three down - Jo Gardner, Cordelia Griffith and Jodie Grewcock all out for ducks. Skipper Grace Scrivens (27) and Flo Miller (19) set about shoring up the innings, but having taken the score to 50 they both fell leaving Essex with their backs against the wall, having lost half their side. 
Rather than going for the jugular Somerset took their foot off the gas a little, and allowed the Essex middle and lower order, ably lead by Amara Carr (67), to gradually accumulate runs and their final total of 184 at least gave them something to bowl at. Destroyer-in-chief for Somerset was Heather Knight who took 3/7 to wrap up the Essex innings.
Essex needed a similar start with the ball to their West Country rivals, but despite taking wickets every 30/40 runs they could not put any real pressure on the Somerset chase. Charlie Dean and Heather Knight both made 45, with the former not out, as all the Somerset batters got into double figures with the exception of Alex Griffiths who was 8* when she hit the winning runs taking Somerset to a 5 point win and fourth in the league equal on points with the two teams above them.
Highlights - Somerset v Essex 

Metro Bank One Day Cup Table after Three Rounds

Martin Davies
1/V/25

Metro Bank One Day Cup - Round Two

Durham v The Blaze
Durham 200 ao (47.2 ovs) v The Blaze 201/5 (37.2 ovs)
Having been inserted Durham looked to have put themselves into a good position after the early loss of Suzie Bates with Emma Marlow (27), Hollie Armitage (81) and Mady Villiers (45) taking the home team to a healthy 164/2 in the 37th over, but over the next ten overs they conspired to lose eight wickets for the addition of just 36 runs as Sarah Glenn (3/45) and Josie Groves (2/12) ripped apart Durham's middle-order. 
With just 200 to defend Durham needed early wickets, but they could not find them. Tammy Beaumont (22) and Amy Jones (35) fell as the powerplay ended, but the Bryce sisters (Kathryn 54 and Sarah 34) continued the Blaze's inexorable progress to victory with a third wicket stand of 81, and although they both fell with The Blaze short of their mark there was no stopping their progress to a bonus point victory as they reached 201/5 in the 38th over.
Highlights - Durham v The Blaze

Essex v Warwickshire
Warks 289 ao (50 ovs) v Essex 181 ao (39 ovs)
Put into bat Warwickshire were in all sorts of bother at 22/5 midway through the powerplay with their top order blown away by some accurate bowling from Eva Gray (5/62). But consecutive stands of 101 and 132, built around a maiden first-class century from Warwickshire number 7, Emily Arlott (130), with great support from Chloe Brewer (44) and Charis Pavely (31), put Warwickshire firmly back in control of the game as they finished on an imposing 289, losing their last wicket off the last ball of the innings.
Essex made a measured start to their reply, but when Grace Scrivens (53) was out just before Essex got to three figures, the Essex innings began to subside around Cordelia Griffith (72), who battled on bravely. Katie George (3/38) led the way with the ball for Warwickshire. Having staggered to 176/5 in the 36th over Essex's chances of victory were admittedly slim, but they contrived to lose their last five wickets for just five runs as Chloe Brewer (3/18) helped mop up the tail in just 19 balls, to hand Warwickshire a bonus point win which looked so far out of sight six overs into the game. 
Highlights - Essex v Warwickshire

Hampshire v Surrey
Hants 259/8 v 209 ao (43.2 ovs)
Having decided to bat Hampshire took full advantage of a pacey Utilita Bowl wicket as Ella McCaughan (64) and Maia Bouchier (61) compiled an untroubled opening stand of 116 in under 22 overs. In fact it was a surprise when Bouchier gloved a Davidson-Richards' bouncer to keeper Chatli to break the stand. 
Surrey's four-pronged spin attack of Smith, Moore, Capsey and Gregory then clamped down in the middle overs as Hampshire struggled to up the run rate, not aided by losing regular wickets, but a late flurry of runs from Abi Norgrove (26) and a 9 ball cameo from Nancy Harman (14) took Hampshire to a respectable, but not unbeatable, 259/8.
After a slightly wayward first couple of overs Hampshire openers Lauren Bell (2/43) and Freya Davies (2/39) found their line and length and by the end of the powerplay Surrey were 38/3 with England-capped Bryony Smith, Dani Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley all back in the dugout. Only Alice Capsey (57 off 96) and Alice Monaghan  (40) threatened to take the game away from Hampshire, but when their stand of 64 was broken by the metronomic Linsey Smith (3/28) the outcome looked inevitable, and when Davies came back and removed Capsey, it was just a matter of time. Surrey were eventually bowled out in the 44th over for 209 and remain pointless at the bottom of the league table, which few would have predicted at the start of the season.
Highlights - Hants v Surrey

Somerset v Lancashire
Somerset 205/9 v Lancs 207/3 (36.5 ovs)
Lancashire made it 2/2 and jumped to the top of the MBODC league table, with a commanding win over last week's smash-and-grab heroes, Somerset. 
Having removed Heather Knight early, caught behind off Kate Cross (2/27) Somerset found progress painfully slow, not aided by losing wickets on a regular basis. By the 32nd over Somerset had clawed their way to 89/6 as Emma Corney (35 off 79) departed run out by a Grace Potts direct hit from mid-off. But striding to the crease to join mainstay Alex Griffiths (46) was Amanda Jade Wellington (26). After a measured start - just 2 off her first 10 balls - she and Griffiths took to Tara Norris, hitting 22 runs off the 37th over, including two sweetly-struck Wellington 6s. Ten runs came off the next over, and in the subsequent over Wellington clubbed Emma Lamb for her third 6, but trying to repeat the dose she was caught on the square leg boundary. The pair had added 56 runs in 7 overs. Griffiths fell shortly after and the tail added a useful 46 runs, but 205 still looked well below par. Spinners Hannah Jones (2/23) and Lamb (2/30) joined Cross on two wickets apiece. 
And an opening stand of 151 in under 30 overs between new recruit Eve Jones (97) and Lamb (52) put the result beyond doubt, with Lancashire's only disappointment being that Jones could not find the three runs she needed for her century, as she edged a wide half-volley from Ellie Anderson to backward point. 
Highlights - Somerset v Lancs

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Metro Bank One Day Cup Table after Two Rounds

Martin Davies
28/IV/25

Metro Bank One Day Cup - Round One

What a start to the new eight county Metro Bank One Day Cup! All four matches produced some quality cricket and some great individual and team performances. Here is our round-up of Round One.

Durham v Essex
Essex 177 all out (47.3 ovs) v Durham 178/1 (32.4 ovs)
Durham could not have hoped for a better start to their Tier One professional life. Having inserted Essex on an overcast day at Chester-le-Street, Essex got off to a blistering start with 10 off the first over, but were reined in by some accurate bowling from the tall 17 year old Grace Thompson (2/34) and Scottish off-spinner Katherine Fraser.
Thompson was rewarded in her fourth over with the wicket of Jo Gardner, and when she was replaced by Phoebe Turner (4/33) Grace Scrivens nicked off. Griffith, Miller and MacLeod followed in quick succession and Essex were in a hole at 65/5.
But Jodie Grewcock (31) and Sophia Smale (40) added a precious 53 for the sixth wicket before Grewcock was deceived by the evergreen leg spin of Katie Levick (3/28). Smale and Amara Carr then made some slow progress, but once they too fell to Levick the Essex innings petered out to an inadequate 177 all out.
And after the early loss of Emma Marlow 37 year old Kiwi Suzie Bates (93*) and 27 year old Durham skipper Hollie Armitage (64*) brought all their experience to the fore as they knocked off the runs in just under 33 overs for a bonus point win for Durham to put them top of the table.
Highlights - Durham v Essex

Surrey v Somerset
Surrey 243/7 (33 ovs) v Somerset 241/3 (33 ovs) (revised target 238 under DLS)
A delayed start and then a two and a half hour rain delay reduced the match to a 33 over affair, but both teams' batters found the flat Beckenham wicket to their liking. 
The star-studded Surrey line-up lost Bryony Smith early on, but England's Wyatt-Hodge (33), Capsey (26) and Dunkley (22) failed to capitalise on good starts, before Paige Scholfield (48), Alice Davidson-Richards (57*) and keeper Keira Chatli (25) doubled the score from 122/5 in the 19th over to leave Somerset chasing the imposing total of 243/7. Amanda Jade Wellington (3/42) and Charlie Dean (2/40) were the principal wicket-takers.
Somerset openers Heather Knight (64) and Emma Corney (61) kept the visitors in touch with the run rate in an opening stand of 122 and with Fran Wilson (36*) and Charlie Dean (41) going well Somerset seemed to have set themselves up for victory, but a tight 30th and 31st over including the wicket of Dean who holed out off Alice Capsey, left the visitors needing an unlikely 32 off the last two overs with new bat Wellington heading to the crease.
Just a single off the first two balls of the 32nd over from Rhianna Macdonald-Gay brought Wellington on strike with 31 needed off 10 balls. She preceded to hit the next four balls for 4, to take 17 off the over and leave the equation 15 off the last six balls to be bowled by Davidson-Richards. Wilson cut the first ball for 4 and then got a single off the next ball. The epitome of calm Wellington then smoked the next ball for 4 through the covers and helped the next to fine leg for another boundary. Just two were needed of the last two balls. A leg-bye off the 5th, left Wilson on strike for the last and she calmly pulled the last ball to the boundary for a staggering win. Wellington's match-winning cameo was 24 in 7 balls, all in boundaries
Highlights - Surrey v Somerset

The Blaze v Lancashire
The Blaze 234 all out v Lancashire 235/2 (45 ovs)
England opener Tammy Beaumont made a scratchy start to the season before falling early for just 4, but then her fellow international Amy Jones (30), surprisingly opening, and in-form Scot Kathryn Bryce (70) saw off the opening spells from Kate Cross and Mahika Gaur. But the introduction of slow left-armer Sophie Morris proved Jones downfall, holing out at long-off. Bryce then found another willing partner in Georgia Elwiss as the pair took The Blaze to a commanding 146/2 with 17 overs still to come, but once Elwiss and Bryce were out The Blaze lost their last five wickets for 43 runs to finish on a disappointing 234. 
After Lancashire's Eve Jones fell towards the end of powerplay Emma Lamb (130*) and Katie Mack (44) took the game away from The Blaze. Lamb brought up her hundred from just 114 balls, including twelve 4s and The Blaze bowlers had no answers. Sarah Glenn did get Mack, but Seren Smale (38*) comfortably eased Lancashire over the line with five overs to spare.
Highlights - The Blaze v Lancashire

Warwickshire v Hampshire
Hampshire 208 all out v Warwickshire 208 all out
Under leaden skies and the e-shaped Edgbaston floodlights Hampshire surprisingly chose to bat first against Warwickshire. Early progress was slow as both Emily Arlott (2/30) and Katie George beat the bat on numerous occasions, with Arlott finally rewarded with the wicket of England's Maia Bouchier in the 5th over. A generous sprinkling of no-balls and wides took Hampshire to 25/1 after 9 overs with part-time seamer Chloe Brewer (3/40) adding 6 more wides in her first over. But in her second she produced an off-cutter which removed Ella McCaughan. Spinners Hannah Baker and skipper Georgia Davis, (2/38) then put a further squeeze on Hampshire who were only 91/4 at the midway point in their innings, Baker having accounted for Aussie overseas Charli Knott and Davis for Georgia Adams. But keeper Rhianna Southby (72) and youngster Abi Norgrove took the score past 150, albeit with only 12 overs left. The Hampshire lower order could only muster 14 runs after Southby fell in the 45th over and 208 (including 43 extras) looked an under-par score as the weather brightened and the pitch eased.
Lauren Bell (2/44) and Freya Davies kept things tight in the powerplay with Sterre Kalis the only casualty for Warwickshire. Having made it to 134/3 Abbey Freeborn's stubborn innings of 70 off 96 balls came to an end and Warwickshire started to look a little frail. Nat Wraith, Brewer, Arlott and Bethan Ellis all fell cheaply with Linsey Smith (4/39) the principal beneficiary. At 165/8 the game seemed to be Hampshire's for the taking, but Charis Pavely (17) and Georgia Davis (13) had other ideas. They saw off Knott, Adams and the returning Bell, before Davies returned to bowl the 43rd over with Warwickshire needing just 20 to win. She removed Pavely with the last ball of that over to leave the equation 19 runs or 1 wicket for the victory. 
Davis and Baker managed to bring the equation down to just 8 off the last four overs, but Davies bowled a maiden, followed by just two off the 48th from Adams. Another accurate over from Davies conceded just two runs and Warwickshire needed four to win off the last over from Adams. Three singles in the first three balls meant they had two balls to get the one run they needed. A dot meant they had just one ball to get it. Davis drove the last ball to Norgrove at short extra cover and ran. Norgrove fumbled but recovered to roll the ball underarm at the stumps at the bowler's end and run Davis out. The match was tied.
Highlights - Warwickshire v Hampshire 

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Metro Bank One Day Cup Table after Round One

Martin Davies
24/IV/25

Eight years of pain

Back in 2020 I wrote a draft piece suggesting that winning the World Cup in 2017 was the worst thing that could have happened to women's cricket in England. I didn't publish it, because I was at that game at Lord's and it was a truly momentous occasion, and for the girls that played in that final, many of whom I knew quite well, it was magnificent. I did not want to sully that day.

But now, nearly eight years on, the chickens have come home to roost. England have just been demolished by Australia in the Ashes. They did not win a game, and despite what many within the team environment suggested, they never looked like winning a game. 

Since that 2017 final, which India should really have won - the returning Anya Shrubsole had just been hit for 9 off the first four balls of the 43rd over, and India only needed 28 more runs to win from the remaining 45 balls with seven wickets in hand - since then, England have won absolutely nothing on the world stage.

There have been five more world tournaments and four more Ashes' series, not to mention a calamitous Commonwealth Games on home soil in 2022, when England failed to pick up a medal of any colour.

In 2017 Mark Robinson was in charge. He was sacked in 2019 after losing the Ashes series 4-12. He was replaced by Lisa Keightley, who left in 2022, after the Commonwealth Games debacle. Jon Lewis took charge in late 2022. His team exited the World Cup at the Group Stage in October and have just been demolished 0-16 in the Ashes. He too has now bitten the dust, and captain Heather Knight has been also been removed from office after 9 years in charge. The Titanic and rearranging the deckchairs springs to mind. 

In 2019 the blame was placed firmly on the county-based domestic cricket system, which was apparently "not fit for purpose". The answer Clare Connor, the Head of Women's Cricket, and her team came up with was to create a completely new domestic structure based around eight regional teams. County cricket was cast into the wilderness and left to fend for itself. 

Three years previously a six team T20 Kia Super League had been introduced as a way of playing "the best against the best", with each team entitled to play three overseas players. Somewhat controversially, one of those franchises was awarded to Loughborough University, where the ECB had their Performance Centre and the England girls trained, but which had a ground with no real facilities for spectators or the media. The initial concept had been the expansion of this franchise system from just a 20 over competition to include a 50 over version too, but the plans were quickly shelved when it became apparent that the teams would struggle to entice overseas players to play in the extended competition.

The 2020 eight team regional structure swallowed up the KSL teams (Loughborough Lightning, Northern Diamonds, Northwest Thunder, Southern Vipers, Surrey Stars, and Western Storm) and added two more - Birmingham-based Central Sparks, and Middlesex-based Sunrisers. £20M was going to be spent by the ECB over two years, with 40 full-time county pros, in addition to the 21 centrally-contracted England players.

In addition the ECB also announced another new competition that would start in 2020 for both the men and the women. It was the Hundred. A new 100 ball, eight team, fully professional, franchise competition. The eight teams did not quite match the new regional teams - Western Storm moved from Somerset to Cardiff - but all the girls would be getting paid between £3,600 - £15,000, although three of the higher pay brackets would be used to entice overseas players into the competition, so "domestic" players would not see the benefit. Fortuitously, due to covid, Hundred games became men's and women's double-headers. 

But after just four years of the regional structure, in January 2024 the ECB announced "the next stage in the evolution of women’s cricket with the creation of a three-tiered domestic competition structure and a shift in the ownership model underpinning the women’s professional game". From 2025 the eight regional teams would apparently "evolve to become eight women's professional "Tier 1 Clubs" - each owned, governed and operated by an individual First Class County". In other words the regional structure was being canned and women's domestic cricket would return to the county-based structure it had had back in 2019.

Not that evolutionary, but then why let facts stand in the way of the narrative? Back in 2019 the Div 1 50 over County Championship teams were - Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Notts, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire, Yorkshire

In 2025 the Tier 1 teams will again be  - Hampshire, Lancashire, Notts (The Blaze), Surrey, and  Warwickshire, plus Durham, Essex and Somerset. In addition Yorkshire will be added in 2026 and Glamorgan in 2027, with a stated aim to expand Tier 1 to 12 teams by 2029.

Each team in Tier 1 (plus Yorkshire and Glamorgan) will have 15 professional players, making a total of 150 professionally contracted women in England from this season. There are currently also 17 fully contracted England players and three players on Development contracts. Each team will also receive £1.5M worth of funding every year. 

Five years of regional cricket has produced almost no new players to the England set-up. Of the squad that went to Australia only really Lauren Filer, Bess Heath and Ryanna McDonald-Gay are relatively new to the set-up, and have had little or no influence. More worrying is that there are no youngsters knocking at the door demanding a place even in the squad, let alone in the starting XI. Five years and many millions of pounds have effectively been wasted. For that "England management" must surely take some responsibility? Are they therefore the right people to once again be reviewing yet another England failure? Who reviews the reviewers?

So where does England Women's cricket go from here? The first thing to say is that expanding the Tier 1 structure to 10 teams in two years time is massively flawed. It will further dilute the strength of the competition. If the eight regional teams have produced very little by way of quality, then surely a reduction, rather than an expansion, in the number of top tier teams would have made the standard better. In addition the England contracted players have to be encouraged to play substantially more domestic cricket to improve the quality of the games and to test young players against England's so-called "best".

Sitting on an England contract should not be an excuse for players and their management choosing not to play domestic cricket. As England players they should be under pressure to perform in county games. That is a pressure that they need. If they fail to perform at that level then they are likely to fail to perform in top international games. 

Given that the ECB are currently funding all the women's professional contracts I would further suggest that the central contracts structure is dismantled. It is not required and has produced a self-serving cabal. All players should be on county contracts. England players would be additionally rewarded handsomely through substantial match fees and win bonuses, plus lucrative franchise deals for the elite few. England has taken a top-down approach to the funding of women's cricketers. It is time to take a bottom-up approach. Substantially more needs to be invested in club cricket, age-group representative cricket and county/regional academies.

There is little doubt that England are in a mess and it is going to take at least 3-5 years to get things back on an even keel, no matter who takes over as England Head Coach or captain. 

Martin Davies
24/III/25

England's Irish Problem

England are due in Ireland for a six match series in early September – three T20s and three Women’s Championship ODIs. It should be a series that they, and their supporters, are looking forward to, but instead it is just causing major headaches.

The problem is that England are due to play the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in early October and the prospect of spending a fortnight in Ireland prior to the tournament does not appeal to the England management. It seems therefore that none of the 15 players selected for the T20 World Cup squad will make the trip to Ireland. Instead they are due in Abu Dhabi for a pre-tournament acclimatisation training camp in mid-September. It means that none of them will play a game of T20 cricket after the Hundred Final on 18^th August (I know that is technically not a T20 either), before heading into the T20 World Cup fixtures. England play their first World Cup game, against South Africa, on 3^rd October.

So not ideal scheduling from England’s perspective, but there is the additional headache of just who will represent England in Ireland for that series, and the potential repercussions on the domestic game.

Presumably the England contracted players who are not selected for the T20 World Cup will be on the plane to Belfast – eg Beaumont, Cross, Filer, Lamb, Wong (Farrant & Gaur are injured). If not why are they contracted? But who will make up the bulk of the squad, and will all those invited to join the squad want to play? The problem is that the concluding league stage fixtures of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, and the semi-finals themselves, clash with the tour. As a player if you choose to go to Ireland, you will probably miss the last two rounds of the RHF on 4^th and 7^th September and the semi-finals on 14^th September. Whilst an opportunistic England cap for some might be very appealing, loyalty to their regional set-up at the end of a 14 match 50 over season might seem more important.

If England were to select the ten “next best players" in England for the tour, then some of the major contenders for RHF Trophy honours could suffer very badly, whoever those players actually are (feel free to make your own selections and see the impact on the teams). The top four teams in the RHF league standings at the moment, with four rounds of fixtures to go, are Vipers, Diamonds, Stars and Sunrisers, but the other four teams are not out of contention for a semi-final spot, if they can turn their season’s round. Little is likely to change before the Ireland squad is actually selected, with only two more sets of RHF fixtures due to be played in late August/early September. Removing the “top” 30 players (including the England World Cup players) out of a pool of approximately 120 players from the RHF Trophy as it reaches its conclusion seems disingenuous at best.

Ultimately it will be for the non-contracted players invited to join the squad to decide if they want to make the trip. It will be a tough decision, but one which, either way, the ECB and the Regions, and their supporters, will have to respect. Quite what the Irish will make of all this is anybody’s guess?

Martin Davies

20/VI/24

Super 6 Groups and Fixtures

So the Group Stage has now finished and the Super 6 groups have been decided

League 1 
Bangladesh, Australia, Sri Lanka, India, South Africa, and UAE
India v Australia
Bangladesh v South Africa
India v Sri Lanka
UAE v Australia
South Africa v Sri Lanka
UAE v Bangldesh

League 2
England, Pakistan, Rwanda, New Zealand, West Indies, and Ireland
Rwanda v New Zealand
Ireland v England
West Indies v Rwanda
Pakistan v Ireland
New Zealand v Pakistan
England v West Indies

Games by date

Sat 21st January 
Rwanda v New Zealand
Ireland v England 
India v Australia
Bangladesh v South Africa

Sun 22nd January 
West Indies v Rwanda
India v Sri Lanka

Mon 23rd  January 
Pakistan v Ireland 
UAE v Australia
South Africa v Sri Lanka
New Zealand v Pakistan 

Wed 25th  January 
UAE v Bangladesh
England v West Indies

Martin Davies 
19/I/23

Fabulous first day at the U19 World Cup

Group A Games

Australia v Bangladesh
A stunning win for Bangladesh as they chased down Australia's 130/5 with some ease. The Aussies looked short of runs coming in to the last two overs, but managed to hit 28 from the last 12 balls to reach a par score.
After losing a wicket to the first ball of their reply, Bangladesh batted with confidence as seven Aussie bowlers struggled to contain them. They look like a side in good form and full of confidence. 

Australia - 130/5 (Moore 52(51), Hayward 35 (39) - Biswas 2/25, Marufa Akter 2/29)

Bangladesh - 132/3 (18 overs) (Dilara Akter 40(42), Sumaiya Akter 31(25) - Ainsworth 2/9)

Sri Lanka v USA 
A tight finish in a low-scoring game, but Sri Lanka held their nerve to get over the line in the 19th over, finishing the game with a 6. Good effort from USA to contain the Sri Lankans after failing to put enough runs on the board.

USA - 96/9 (Singh 22 - Wijerathne 3/11, Perera 2/15)
Sri Lanka 100/3 (19 overs) (Gunarathne 34*, Nanayakkara 32* - Bhadriraju 2/17)

Group D Games

UAE v Scotland 

Scotland never really got any momentum into their batting innings and ended on 99/9. Two wickets in the 9th over of the UAE reply could have knocked them off track, but Gaur held firm to bring her side home in the 17th over.

Scotland 99/9 (Walsingham 37 (33) - Mahesh 2/19, Nandakumar 2/20, Dharnidhaka 2/22)

UAE 100/4 (16.2 overs) (Gaur 33* - Maceira 2/7)

South Africa v India
South Africa got away to an unbelievable start with 20 off the first over of their innings and were 64/2 at the end of the powerplay. They finally posted 166/5, which looked a very decent total. But India ended their own powerplay on 70/0 with Shafali Verma hitting 24 off the 6th over and they never really looked back. They got over the line with just three wickets down and 21 balls to spare, and Shweta Sehrawat a magnificent 92*. 

South Africa 166/5 (Lourens 61 - Verma 2/31)
India 170/3 (17.3 overs) (Sehrawat 92*, Verma 45)