12th Match: England Women v India Women at Lincoln, 6 Feb 2003 CricInfo Live Report

12th Match: England Women v India Women at Lincoln, 6 Feb 2003
Matthew Appleby

India Women innings: 1st drinks, 2nd drinks, End of match,
England Women innings: 1st drinks, 2nd drinks, End of innings,
Pre-game: Scene set,

ENGLAND WIN OFF LAST BALL
India failed to reach England’s target of 209 despite 98 by Mithali Raj in the Women’s World Series of Cricket at Lincoln 3 today.

England took the last six wickets for 23 runs in 37 balls to pull a stunning wicket out of the hat off the last ball of match.

Sarah Collyer bowled a straight one to give England a win by one run in the tightest climax imaginable.

The key moment in India’s decline came when Lucy Pearson swooped to conquer with a pick up and throw from short fine leg to run out Raj, called for the single by Nooshin Al Khadir, at the bowler’s end.

India then needed eight off 13 balls, which became five off the last over.

Clare Connor took the responsibility to bowl the final overs with Collyer, and bowled Neeta David and Amita Sharma, who both lost the plot when they had time to push singles in the final overs.

Earlier, Charlotte Edwards dropped Hemlata Kala at 138 in the 38th over and the fifth wicket pair of Raj and Kala brought up their fifty partnership soon after with Raj’s tenth boundary.

England captain Connor tried both opening bowlers again before the 40th over, but knew a wicket, preferably Raj’s, was crucial in taking the match.

Lucy Pearson (1/35 off ten overs) dropped short in the 39th over and Raj hit two more boundaries, bringing up the 150 off 232 balls.

Raj passed India’s highest score of the tournament, 78 by Amita Sharma, at this point, and looked set for the series’ first century.

India needed 40 off the last ten overs after Raj and Kala hit 46 off six overs from Pearson and Laura Harper (one for 55 off ten overs).

Raj seemed to edge Pearson to wicketkeeper Claire Taylor on 83, but the ball hit the deck.

A direct hit by Laura Newton ended Kala’s enterprising innings of 38 off the last ball of the 43rd over, and the game took another turn with India needing 25 in six overs to win.

Raj edged Clare Taylor past wicketkeeper Taylor’s gloves on 91 in what could have been a key moment.

David let a flail for four go to her head and Connor bowled her next ball at 197/6 with 21 deliveries left.

Sharma did the same two overs later, and in between Raj had gone, unsettling the India batsmen enough to choke at the finish.

Off the first ball of the last over, with five needed, Mamta Kanojia attempted a third to Pearson and Claire Taylor had a choice of which end to run out a batsman.

Kanojia went, but Al Khadir squeezed a single off the next ball, leaving two to win in four balls with a wicket in hand.

Jhulan Goswami kissed her bat then played out two balls before a misjudged swing. Off the last ball she swung again and Collyer hit the stumps.

RAJ KEEPS INDIA IN IT
India is 123/4 chasing 209 to beat England in the Women’s World Series of Cricket at Lincoln 3.

Mithali Raj is holding the innings together with 61 not out, while Hemlata Kala is on seven.

They brought up the 100 in 177 balls with Raj cutting Dawn Holden to the boundary to reach her half century in 79 balls shortly afterwards.

Opener Sunetra Paranjpe (17 off 51 balls) went straight after drinks, hitting Laura Harper’s off spin directly to Arran Thompson at cover.

Paranjpe’s replacement Anjum Chopra took her run rate up to almost a run a ball by hitting Sarah Collyer for consecutive onside boundaries in the 26th over.

However, the India captain missed a sweep in the same over, to be lbw as the ball kept straight.

England was coming apart at the time, with its players’ fragile confidence slipping away.

Senior batsmen Raj and Chopra had added 39 in seven overs for the third wicket to take the required rate down to five an over, but Raj and Sulaksna Naik struggled to get going again when Chopra was dismissed.

Naik outside-edged Holden’s off spin to Clare Taylor in the gully before she had scored with the score at 92, and India’s task suddenly looked daunting.

But Raj looked immovable, and as the sun has re-emerged after a dull early afternoon, India have a chance with Raj at the crease.

RAJ PICKS UP PACE FOR INDIA
India made a steady start chasing 209 to beat England in the Women’s World Series of Cricket at Lincoln 3.

Sunetra Paranjpe (17 not out) and Mithali Raj (27 not out) have added 46 for the second wicket as India reached 50/1 at 18 overs.

Lucy Pearson shifted opener Dhar Rumeli (nought) with a juggling catch at first slip by Kathryn Leng off a thick outside edge in the fifth over.

Raj hit Clare Taylor for consecutive onside boundaries in the 12th over, after Taylor had bowled five overs for six runs.

The India vice-captain, on 20, lofted Clare Connor behind Sarah Collyer at mid on, who dropped a difficult catch over her shoulder.

Increasingly the pair opted for aerial shots against the England spinners, boosting the early pedestrian run rate to towards three an over.

Raj brought up the fifty off 108 balls with a whack for three over midwicket off Connor.

EDWARDS LIFTS ENGLAND TO CHALLENGING TOTAL
England’s Charlotte Edwards hit her side’s first half century of the tournament to help set India a target of 209 to win in the Women’s World Series of Cricket at Lincoln 3.

Edwards, who returned to form with 79 not out after a best of 23 in the series, came in at 66 in the 19th over and hit 10 boundaries in her 92-ball knock.

Edwards’ eighth ODI fifty (she also has three centuries) came up with a straight driven four off Hemlata Kala off her 71st ball faced.

England hit 62 off the last eight overs, and 81 off the last 12 to end at 208/4 in its 50 overs. Its second hundred came in 106 balls, compared to 185 for the first.

Indian spinners Neetu David (one for 20 off 10 overs) and Nooshin Al Khadir (one for 45 off 10 overs) held up England mid-innings, but Edwards and Arran Thompson grew in confidence to break the field up and set a challenging total.

They added 98 for the fourth wicket, England’s highest stand of the series, with the fifty coming in 57 balls. Thompson found the gaps as the pair hurried for ones and twos, only hitting only one boundary in her 43-ball innings of 38.

She was dismissed in the 49th over after missing a big drive at a Mamta Kanojia delivery.

Sharma made a hash of running out Clare Connor in the final over, missing the stumps from a couple of metres fielding off her own bowling.

India will rue putting England in on a pitch that has kept true, after an improved England performance (with nothing at stake) compared to its dismal 86 all out in the first fixture between the teams last week.

ENGLAND SLOWED BY INDIAN SPINNERS
India stymied England’s promising start in their last group game of the Women’s World Series of Cricket at Lincoln 3 with some tight mid-innings bowling.

Hemlata Kala and Neetu David (one for 20 off 10 overs) bowled very straight to restrict England after openers Sarah Collyer and Kathryn Leng went within four overs.

Charlotte Edwards led the recovery with 31 not out in England’s 38 over total of 123/3. Arran Thompson is unbeaten on five.

In the 34th over, Nooshin Al Khadir, who took 5/14 against England last week, halted England’s progress by bowling no. 4 Claire Taylor round her legs for 14.

Edwards and Kathryn Leng (22) both made series high scores and Sarah Collyer (33) became the first England batsman to pass 100 runs in the series as England sought its first decent total in six matches.

The scoring rate slowed when, at 64, in the 18th over, Sarah Collyer stepped down the wicket to slow left armer David and was stumped by Sulaksna Naik for 33.

David and medium pacer Kala restricted scoring as coach Harmer urged caution.

As Harmer spoke, an attempted quick single by Kathryn Leng (22 off 60 balls) to Anjum Chopra at mid on off Kala resulted in the opener being run out by a direct hit at the bowler’s end.

Edwards, with 46 runs in four innings this series, took 17 balls to score before late cutting Kala to the rope. England’s leading batsman then hit two more boundaries, a leg hit and a sweep in her next three scoring shots.

Taylor, on five, edged a drive at David in the 29th over, but Naik dropped the chance.

England reached 100 off 186 balls with an Edwards drive to the boundary off a David full toss.

Edwards, driving on 19, had a scare when Mithali Raj claimed a catch at short cover, but umpire Jeremy Busby gave the benefit of the doubt.

A lone youth with an India flag is occupying the seating, with the sun-soaked Waitangi Day crowds, and Sky TV, concentrating on the dress rehearsal for Saturday’s final on the adjacent Bert Sutcliffe Oval.

ENGLAND MAKE THE MOST OF BEING PUT IN
England has made its best start of the series after being put in by India in their last group game of the Women’s World Series of Cricket at Lincoln 3.

England is 60/0 after 16 overs with its leading run scorer in this series Sarah Collyer 31 not out and Kathryn Leng on an unbeaten 15.

Leng missed a few ‘ankle balls’ but off drove Jhulan Goswami (0/23 off four overs) gloriously to get England underway in the third over.

Amita Sharma bowled her right arm medium economically in an opening spell of 0/18 off seven overs.

Collyer and Leng brought up England’s first half century stand of the series after 77 deliveries with a Leng single.

England coach John Harmer said he would have batted if Clare Connor had won the toss.

The teams meet again at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval tomorrow to decide third and fourth places.

INDIA CHOSE TO FIELD AT SUNNY LINCOLN
England plays for pride today against in the World Series of Women’s Cricket at Lincoln 3 in its last chance for a win before the play-offs.

India captain Anjum Chopra won the toss and chose to field at a cloudless Lincoln University, where the No.3 ground wicket behaved in a slow and low manner in the last game on it, when Australia beat England by 108 runs on Sunday.

England replaces Laura Spragg and Nicky Shaw with Laura Harper and Charlotte Edwards after Monday’s seven wicket loss to New Zealand. Mandie Godliman has a stress fracture of the foot.

India’s Jaya Sharma failed a fitness test this morning. It replaces Mandilka Babita and Reema Malhotra with Neetu David and Sunetra Paranjpe following Tuesday’s nine wicket defeat by Australia.

England: Clare Connor (captain), Charlotte Edwards, Dawn Holden, Sarah Collyer, Laura Harper, Claire Taylor (wicketkeeper), Arran Thompson, Kathryn Leng, Laura Newton, Clare Taylor, Lucy Pearson. 12th man: Nicky Shaw.

India: Anjum Chopra (captain), Dhar Rumeli, Mithali Raj, Hemlata Kala, Nooshin Al Khadeer, Sulaksna Naik (wicketkeeper), Jhulan Goswami, Mamta Kanojia, Sunetra Paranjpe, Neetu David, Amita Sharma. 12th man: Mandilka Babita.