England made their statement of intent with the most emphatic win we’ve seen yet, chasing Scotland’s 109 within 10 overs after England’s openers were apparently advised that winning within 10 overs would put them ahead of West Indies on Net Run Rate and mean they could lose their final match (v the Windies) and still qualify for the semi-finals.
Scotland 109-6 v England 113-0 #T20WC
— CRICKETher (@crickether.bsky.social) 2024-10-13T13:18:11.459Z
In fact, the circumstances where this would happen are quite narrow (though obviously still possible), and England certainly shouldn’t be relying on it; but if it got the England openers focused and playing the way they did, that’s what matters, and maybe that’s what Jon Lewis had in mind – we already know that he isn’t above playing psychological games with his players! The unbeaten Wyatt-Hodge-Bouchier partnership of 113 off 100 balls was probably the most entertaining hour of the tournament so far – there were no 6s, which have been incredibly hard to find at Sharjah; but there were 19 4s as England conquered the Bryces’ army and sent them homeward to… think again?
Actually, that wouldn’t be fair – Scotland should really go homeward in the knowledge that everything has gone pretty well. They might not have won any games, but they weren’t humiliated – they didn’t get bowled out for 24 or anything like, and they made over 100 twice, against Bangladesh and England. For a first World Cup, it is a pretty good return.
England march on, but they still really need to beat West Indies in their final group game to guarantee a semi-final spot – there are a few scenarios where they lose narrowly and still go through, but not many of them. And it was the other group that was supposed to be the Group of Death!
England will obviously be delighted with the result, given the romp with which the game ended, but there should be some reflection on the bowling, which (stop me if you’ve heard me say, stop me if you’ve heard this before, before!) lacked penetration – it took them 10 overs to take 2 wickets, which is going to be a problem if it is repeated in a semi-final against Australia or India.
Lauren Bell was brought into the XI, it seems to give her some game time in case England want to play her later in the competition, with Linsey Smith missing out. Sarah Glenn didn’t have a great game, and my guess is that Smith will be back for the West Indies, and probably the rest of the tournament, in place of either Glenn or (more likely) Bell – not because Bell did much wrong, but because the entire exercise confirmed that UAE is a slow bowler’s paradise. (Unless your name is Megan Schutt, who does seem to have mastered the conditions in a way that none of the other “pace” bowlers have.)
Scotland 109-6 v England 113-0 #T20WC
— CRICKETher (@crickether.bsky.social) 2024-10-13T13:18:39.119Z
On the other hand, if England can bat like this a couple more times, they won’t need to take too many wickets – the World Cup is now just 3 wins away, and England are motoring.
