England stumbled past Ireland after a late-night wobble at the Hampshire Bowl, reaching their not-exactly-mountainous target of 119 with 15 balls to spare.
Perhaps the most interesting question tonight was whether England would make any changes to their lineup in the light of the fact that this was always likely to be their easiest game of the group stages, giving them the opportunity to rest the likes of Lauren Bell, Sophie Ecclestone and possibly even Nat Sciver-Brunt. But it was an invite they unequivocally declined, playing the same full-strength XI they fielded against Sri Lanka in the tournament’s opening match.
Playing Sciver-Brunt ultimately proved to be both England’s best and worst decision. She top-scored with 48 off 37 balls; but then retired herself hurt after experiencing tightness in her calf – the same injury that has been bothering her all summer. She did emerge to do TV interviews after the game, and emphasised that it was just “precautionary” but… we’ll see!
It is perhaps appropriate that Sciver-Brunt was Made in Japan, because her style is very-much that of a Japanese car – unflashy but reliable. As always, she didn’t do anything spectacular today, but she also never looked like getting out; and given that England were 35-3 chasing a low total, that was just what they needed – taking them to within 9 runs of victory before handing over to Kemp and Gibson to bring England home. (Though Kemp managed to get herself run out before the target was reached, which felt a bit “You had one job” but didn’t actually matter, to be fair.)
Earlier in the evening, following an hour’s delay after some quite heavy rain, England had looked to be on course to contain Ireland to around 100; but a poor final over allowed them to reach 119, with Louise Little proving that a Little can go a long way, as she burglarised four 4s off Lauren Bell, including an edge off a bouncer which appeared to leave Amy Jones fuming, presumably because Bell had failed to signal it.
Overall England didn’t bowl brilliantly; but they were very solid in the field, certainly compared to New Zealand’s error-strewn performance earlier in the day. Heather Knight in particular looked sharp, and took a very, very good catch to dismiss Gaby Lewis, who failed to add to the 141 runs she scored on her last visit to this ground.
This result puts England in pole position in the “Group Of Not Death” (the “Group of Life” perhaps?) and leaves Ireland alongside New Zealand – on the brink, but not mathematically out.
The really interesting game now in Group B is the next one – West Indies v Scotland. The winner of that match has a very real chance of making the semifinals and Scotland will perhaps never get a better chance to do so.