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 U19s Success in South Africa

England U19s will return from South Africa today quietly content with their showing in Potchefstroom. Admittedly they lost the T20 series 2-1, but then went on to win the 50 over series 3-0. Unfortunately their game against the full South African side was washed out amid heavy thunderstorms.

For full details on all the games click on the "U19s in South Africa" tag above.

It took the team a little while to find their feet and the pace of the wickets, losing the first two T20 games, although they should really have chased down 113 in the second game. But by the third T20 the batsmen were beginning to like South African conditions and rattled up 181 in their 20 overs, which the Saffers were never going to get. From then on England looked in charge in the series, winning the toss and batting first in all three 50 over games and scoring 275, 275 and 238. It was only in the last game that South Africa looked even likely to chase down the target, failing by just one run to meet the England score.

After the first two T20s England batted well against a fairly moderate bowling attack. Sophie Luff (233 runs at 58.25) and Aylish Cranstone (184 runs at 46.00) headed the batting, with consistently good scores. They were closely followed by skipper Jess Watson (187 runs at 37.80), who started the series really well before running out of steam a little. Georgia Hennessy (154 runs at 25.66) tempered her middle-order batting according to the state of the game and played some firey innings to help the scoring along when it began to lag.

On the bowling front it was the seamers that dominated with 9 wickets for Hennessy and 8 apiece for Freya Davies and Grace Gibbs. Off-spinner Fi Morris with 8 wickets was the only spinner to have any real impact on any games, generally bowling tight spells, but left-arm Lydia Harris also bowled well in the two games she played.

Generally the ground fielding was good, including five run-outs in the first 50 over game, but the catching was below par. Perhaps another argument for more white-ball cricket in England in the future?

Five of this fifteeen woman squad are in the England Academy for the winter - Butler, Carr, Davies, Hennessy and Watson and five more are in the current U19 squad - Collis, Gibbs, Harris, Kelly and O'Keefe, and all will have taken a lot from this tour and are likely to be seen again in England shirts. In addition 19 year olds Luff and Cranstone have certainly not done their future England prospects any harm with their performances on this tour.

[As a postscript Sophie Luff and wicket-keeper Carla Rudd have been added to the Academy squad]

MD
25/X/13

England's Winter Training Squads in full

England have now named all their Winter Training Squads for 2013/2014 - u15, u19, Academy and Performance, and the full lists appear below.

Lancashire can claim the most England players with 11 (including five at u15 and five at u19), Sussex have nine, Yorkshire eight, Kent and Devon six each and Warwickshire five. It is good to see some of the counties outside of Division One of the Women's County Championship have representatives, particularly at the u15 level, including Cheshire (2), Gloucester (2), Staffs, Shropshire, Hampshire, Herts, Derbyshire and Cornwall.

Performance (21)
Charlotte Edwards - Kent
Tammy Beaumont - Kent
Arran Brindle - Sussex
Katherine Brunt - Yorkshire
Holly Colvin - Sussex - has decided to take a break from cricket
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

Academy (12)
Amara Carr - Devon
Stephanie Butler - Staffordshire
Jodie Dibble - Devon
Freya Davies - Sussex
Cordelia Griffith - Essex
Rebecca Grundy - Warwickshire - promoted to Performance Squad after Holly Colvin's withdrawal
Georgia Hennessy - Warwickshire
Alex McDonald - Gloucestershire
Sonia Odedra - Notts
Susie Rowe - Surrey - has given up her place
Helen Shipman - Warwickshire
Jess Watson - Yorkshire
Sophie Luff - Somerset (added after U19 tour to South Africa)
Carla Rudd - Berkshire (added after U19 tour to South Africa)


U19 (21)
Hollie Armitage - Yorkshire
Izzy Collis - Sussex
Rachel Dickinson - Lancashire
Bhumika Doshi - Lancashire
Beatrice Firth - Yorkshire
Abigail Freeborn - Sussex
Grace Gibbs - Kent
Lydia Harris - Devon
Georgia Holmes - Lancashire
Hannah Jones - Surrey
Alli Kelly - Devon
Marie Kelly - Warwickshire
Emma Lamb - Lancashire
Anne Nicholls - Middlesex
Tara Norris - Sussex
Kennedy Nuttall - Yorkshire
Cait O'Keefe - Devon
Charlotte Pape - Kent
Nalisha Patel - Lancashire
Lily Reynolds - Essex
Paige Scholfield - Sussex


U15 (22)
Emma Albery - Hertfordshire
Eve Alder -Gloucestershire
Maia Bouchier - Middlesex
Georgia Boyce - Notts
Cassie Coombes - Somerset
Sophie Ecclestone - Cheshire
Katie George -Hampshire
Kate Green - Shropshire
Anna Harris - Sussex
Bess Heath - Derbyshire
Hannah Jones - Lancashire
Jessie Jones - Devon
Sophie Mackenzie - Cornwall
Ellie Mason - Cheshire
Rebecca Newark - Yorkshire
Shatchi Pai - Lancashire
Hannah Poulter - Yorkshire
Karla Rose - Somerset
Jessica Kate Thornton - Wales
Eleanor Threlkeld - Lancashire
Erin Staunton-Turner - Lancashire
Lucy Staunton-Turner - Lancashire

Congratulations to all concerned.

MD
04/X/13

Women's Cricket Blog Awards 2013

In keeping with the age-old tradition of giving out rather tacky metal-looking gongs to various individuals and thereby upsetting all those who do not get them, Women's Cricket Blog has decided to award the inaugural WCB Gongs of the Year. Please imagine Stephen Fry is presenting these awards, as this will add gravitas and to the general sense of occasion (we'd like to thank Stephen for giving up his time for this worthy cause!).

Unluckiest Team of the Year
 This goes to Somerset 1st XI. Not only were they denied the chance of being promoted to Division One when their second play-off game (having already beaten Div 2 league winners Lancashire) against Div 1 losers Essex was called off due to a waterlogged pitch, but they also lost out on a place in the T20 Finals as best runner-up by one run. In the south west comp they lost to Berkshire by just 3 runs and must have felt confident that they would have the best net run-rate of the losing finalists, only to be told that Kent had contrived to lose to Sussex by just 2 runs, when they needed only 5 from the last over with 8 wickets in hand. Kent, of course, had the last laugh, beating Sussex in the final.

Best Crowd of the Year
This goes to the Chelmsford Massive, who turned up in their thousands to watch an England v Australia T20 game without the need to be bored by the men afterwards.

Best Knock of the Year
Four joint winners
Heather Knight for her majestic 157 against the Aussies at Wormsley - it saved the game and set England up for their series win
Lydia Greenway's reverse sweeping 80 from 64 balls in the second T20 which sealed the Ashes series for England
Sarah Taylor's 128no for Sussex v Yorkshire in the County Championship Play-Off Final - it brightened up a dreary, dank afternoon for anyone who wasn't supporting Yorkshire
Laura Marsh - it may only have been 55, but her knock against the Aussies at Wormsley occupied 304 balls and, together with the aforementioned Heather Knight, she added a record-breaking 156 for the 7th wicket.

Best Catch of the Year 
No competition really......Sarah Taylor's remarkable piece of anticipation and outstanding reflexes to catch Aussie skipper Jodie Fields as she tried to reverse sweep Dani Hazell at Hove in the 3rd ODI at Hove.

Best Spirit of Cricket Moment of the Year
Two winners this time
Yorkshire 1st XI for agreeing to play their cancelled league game against Middlesex when they knew a loss would lose them their place in the County Championship Final - they won and got there on merit! 
Yorkshire U17s for their grace and good humour having lost the T20 Final to Sussex when the scores were tied off the last ball, by reason of Sussex losing one less wicket. The maturity of youth!

Best Idea of the Year 
Turning the Women's Ashes into a Women's Ashes Series with points for the Test, ODIs and T20s - inspired (still too many points for the Test, but heh). It has created an Ashes series worth playing for and worth watching.

Worst Idea of the Year 
Using Net Run Rate (NRR) to calculate any winner or loser of a tournament. There are only three people on the planet who understand it and they are never around when you need them. In addition cumulative Net Run Rate, as used at the ODI World Cup and by the ECB, favours a side batting first - I could explain how, but life is too short!

Surprise of the Year
Sri Lanka beating England at the ODI World Cup to record their first-ever ODI win over England. It was a great day for Sri Lanka and a miserable one for England, which ultimately cost them a place in the World Cup Final. Cricket can be a cruel game. Credit to England for coming back to win the Ashes after a disappointing tournament.

Congratulations to all the winners and indeed to all the losers. It has been a great season, and one in which women's cricket has perhaps come of age, helped in no small regard by a compelling and victorious Ashes series for England. Crowds and television viewers have enjoyed the women's game. The task now is to build on that for the future. The County Championship and the County T20 competitions need to be extended and better funded; England need to retain the Ashes in Australia; and winning back the T20 World Champions' crown in April would be a good start to the 2014 season.   

MD
03/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

Women's Cricket in 2014....

In a previous blog (http://womens-cricket.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/womens-county-championship-2013-as-you.html) I explained that the outcome of the myriad of expensive league play-offs was that nothing changes for next season. Not a single county was promoted or relegated from any of the four divisions of the Women's County Championship.

I feel particularly aggrieved for Lancashire and Somerset in Division Two. Lancashire went through the season unbeaten, but then lost in the top of the table play-off game to Somerset. Somerset were then deprived of the opportunity of gaining promotion to Division One when their game with Division One play-off losers Essex at Slough CC was called off for bad weather the day before it was due to be played. Meanwhile just 50 miles north Sussex managed to get a full game in against Yorkshire (albeit with a few breaks for rain). To leave both Lancashire and Somerset languishing in Division Two is simply wrong. Both deserve to play against the better teams next season.

Back in February I wrote a piece suggesting that eight county games in a season was not enough. I still think that is the case and I would therefore suggest that both Lancashire and Somerset are promoted to Division One, making it a league of 11 teams for 2014, who each play each other once. I would scrap the play-offs, which would save the ECB money and a great deal of effort. The winner of Division One IS the County Championship winner. The bottom team is relegated to Division Two.

I would also make Division Two 11 teams - adding Netherlands, Northants, Scotland and Leicestershire to the seven remaining teams. Top team gets automatic promotion to Division One and bottom two teams are relegated into Division Three, which would be split regionally into two leagues - North & East and South & West and would contain Herts, Derbyshire, Gloucs, Hampshire and Oxfordshire, plus the current Division Four teams. Winners of both Division Three leagues would be promoted to Division Two.

I would also like to see the same set-up for a white ball T20 league (ie two leagues of 11). All international cricket (with the exception of the bi-annual Ashes Test) is white ball cricket. At some stage the 50 over format will also have to switch to white ball too, as it is in Australia and New Zealand. It would be great if some of the Division One T20 games could be played on a Friday afternoon at some of the major grounds as T20 double-headers with the men's county T20 competition. What better way for the men's county teams to support the women's game and give their paying customers more cricket to watch? Women's T20 is not the smash-fest that the men's game has become, and some would say it is all the better for that. The top four in the league could play out a finals' day - how about at a ground with lights - two semis and then the final under lights?

In both Australia and New Zealand they play T20 games the day before and/or after a 50 over fixture, thereby reducing travelling time and costs for the teams. In Aus they play a T20 on Friday afternoon, 50 overs on Saturday and then another T20 on Sunday morning. In New Zealand they play a T20 on the Friday afternoon and then a 50 over game on the Saturday. They have not tagged on another T20 the following day. I am not sure this would work in England unless grounds could be secured for Saturdays and Sundays, but it is worth considering.

Finally I would scrap the Super 4s weekends, allowing more time for county games and county T20s to be played. The good county players will get to match themselves against the elite players in these county games and county T20s - proper fixtures that have a real meaning.

I also like Syd Egan's idea for an IPL for women (http://samebat.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/somerset-denied-but-we-can-fix-this.html). Yes its ambitious, but someone has to be? Let's do it in England where the women's game is on a high. Get the best players in the world here for a short T20 tournament played at one or more of the major grounds. Zac at Hove - What do you think?

MD
24/IX/13

Sussex U17s complete double

Sussex U17s have completed the T20 and County Championship double with a resounding victory over Devon in the County Championship final played at Leamington Cricket Club last weekend. The team finished the season unbeaten in all eight of their County Championship games, and lost only one of their eight T20 games (to Yorkshire, who they then went on to beat in a thrilling final - http://womens-cricket.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/sussex-win-thrilling-u17-t20-title.html).

Fittingly the sun came out to crown off a magnificent season for the Sussex U17 Women's team. They were one of four teams in the finals, three of whom were unbeaten in the domestic season - themselves, Lancashire and Devon. Warwickshire finished second in the Northern League (only losing to Lancs) and therefore qualified in the best runner-up slot.

The first day saw Devon take on Warwickshire and Lancashire pitted against Sussex. The nerves showed in the batting on both pitches with Warwickshire skittled out for 71 on the main pitch and Sussex bowled out with a few balls to spare for 134 on the second square, having been 85/7 at one stage. Sussex had in fact made it to the 12th over without loss and had 42 on the board thanks to openers Izzy Collis (27) and Megan Janman (16), but then the wickets started to tumble with Lancs opening bowler Bhumika Doshi (4/36) claiming three in one over to really put the cat amongst the pigeons. Paige Scholfield (40) and Charlie Walder (23*) mixed caution and aggression and saw Sussex into three figures and beyond. Sussex at least felt they had something to bowl at.

On the main pitch Devon made short shrift of chasing down their target of 72 achieving it in the 21st over with just one wicket down. They now had to wait and see who they would play in the following day's final.

Sussex made the ideal start getting rid of Lancs' Emma Lamb in the fourth over and then running out her opening partner Ellie Threkeld in the same over. Doshi (11) and Hannah Till (22) seemed to be getting Lancs back on track, but Doshi spooned a long hop straight into square leg's hands and Lancs were 29/3. Ellen Burt then claimed Shachi Pai with a sharp legside catch by keeper Abbey Freeborn. The slow looping legspin of Izzy Collis (3/21) then accounted for Maddy White and Lancs had been reduced to 48/5 in the 17th over. Georgia Holmes (12) joined Till at this stage and they added 26 for the sixth wicket before Holmes was deceived by Collis and was caught at square leg. When Till was stumped in Collis's next over the writing was on the wall for Lancashire. Kezia Barrett (3/4) mopped up the tail without any undue fuss as Lancs were bowled out for 90 in the 32nd over, 45 runs short of their target.

And so on to the final the next day. Devon won the toss and inserted their south coast opponents on a bright morning, but with the outfield covered in a heavy early morning (10am start) dew. In fact Sussex skipper Freya Davies later confessed that, had she won the toss, she would have opted to bat anyway, backing her batsmen to score 150 and her bowlers to defend it. After a steady start Sussex lost both openers in quick succession and looked vulnerable at 35/2 with 12 overs gone. Davies (21) and Paige Scholfield (94) were happy to bide their time and took drinks at 61/2 after 23 overs, with Lydia Harris bowling a magnificently

Paige Scholfield walks off with her job well done

accurate spell of left-arm bowling going for just 10 runs off her 9 overs. But in the seven overs after drinks the pair added a further 49 runs before Davies became Harris's sole victim. With Harris bowled out Scholfield set about the back-up bowlers, dispatching them for an array of boundaries, including one massive six into the houses adjacent to the ground. She received great support from Abbey Freeborn (13) and Charlie Walder (19*) and the Sussex runs began to pile on as the Devon fielding began to fray a little at the edges. 77 were added in the last 10 overs as Scholfield edged closer to a well-deserved 100, but with two balls remaining in the innings and still needing 6 for her century she skied one to cover. It was the perfect innings for Sussex who ended on a healthy 210/5. If Davies was right about her bowlers then that would be more than enough.

And so it proved. Davies herself nipped out the first wicket and then Megan Janman (2/12) and Ellen Burt (4/22) ripped the heart out of the Devon reply, leaving them floundering on 29/5 with 15 of their 45 overs already gone. There was really no way back for Devon despite a valiant knock from Gemma Lancaster (22*) and they were all out for 122 in the 33rd over as Sussex cruised to a well-deserved victory.

In the third/fourth play-off Lancs made 184/7 (Doshi 85) against Warwickshire, who finished just 17 runs short with 9 wickets down.

Unfortunately the season did not end quite so well for the U13s after all four teams turned up at the ground for their finals, only to find that it was already being prepped for next season. The tournament could not therefore take place.  

MD
23/IX/13