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The Independent
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Charlie Dean sees the lighter side of ‘Mankad' dismissal, says England team-mate
Facing India at Lord's might bring back some unhappy memories for England all-rounder Charlie Dean, but she has been able to see the lighter side of her controversial 'Mankad' dismissal three years ago. The teams meet at the home of cricket on Saturday for the first time since a controversial finish in 2022, when India spinner Deepti Sharma pulled out of her action and ran Dean out backing up at the non-striker's end. The rarely used mode of dismissal, while entirely legal, caused a familiar row about the spirit of cricket and India were booed off after Dean was seen in tears as she left the field. There were disputes about whether Dean had been warned or not – with Sharma insisting she had before England skipper Heather Knight took to social media to insist otherwise. But as the sides prepare to meet in the second Metro Bank one-day international, with the hosts needing to win to take the series to a decider, the rancour has been replaced by mirth. 'Did something funny happen a few years ago? Charlie may have mentioned it once or twice,' said all-rounder Alice Davidson-Richards. 'It's been mentioned in more of a jokey way. It's something we can laugh at and I think Charlie finds it funny to joke around with it. We're just excited for the team to get going.' Dean was just a year into her international career when she caught in the Mankad maelstrom but has since become an integral part of the side and was spoken of as an outside bet for the captaincy before Nat Sciver-Brunt replaced Knight earlier this year. In a way, her time at the centre of a controversy may even have accelerated her growth. 'I think, as with any other cricketing experience, it's another game that you're going to learn from,' said Davidson-Richards. 'Whether it's that sort of incident or whether it's bowling the last over to close out a game for the team, Charlie has played so many games now and is such a smart cricketer. For her it's just another game of cricket.' India opener Pratika Rawal has been censured by the International Cricket Council for making 'avoidable physical contact' with opponents Lauren Filer and Sophie Ecclestone during her side's win at the Utilita Bowl. Rawal was fined 10 per cent of her match fee and punished further with one demerit point but insisted there was nothing malicious in her actions. 'It was not intentional, that shoulder barge thing was not deliberate. I don't think there's a reaction or a fuss out of it,' she said.
Telegraph
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
England women will not start winning unless they score much quicker than this
India (262/6) beat England (258/6) by four wickets England Women's shortcomings at the top of the order ultimately proved too costly as they slipped to a narrow four-wicket defeat in their opening ODI against India. The batting was always going to be under the spotlight, with Nat Sciver-Brunt missing most of the preceding T20 series through injury and Heather Knight ruled out for the summer. It was also an ideal chance for some of those on the fringes to step up and cement their place with a 50-over World Cup on the horizon in the subcontinent this autumn. But even as India dropped five catches in the field, they were able to secure their second-best ever chase in women's ODIs, bringing England's unbeaten home run (stretching back to 2023) to an end. In the last few years, in the absence of Knight and Sciver-Brunt, England have struggled to dominate with bat in hand, and the contest in Southampton started off in exactly the same fashion. Amy Jones had been successful at the top of the order against West Indies with back-to-back centuries, and in domestic cricket this year, but made just one run off seven deliveries. Tammy Beaumont made five, while Emma Lamb took the time to get herself in and set a platform with 39 from 50, but was unable to push on – something that is almost inexcusable with a strike rate of just 78. Alice Davidson-Richards and Sophia Dunkley put on 106 runs for the fifth wicket, but they did so slowly, taking more than 20 overs to do so – and crucially neither were able to push on and inflict a match-winning score on India. Dunkley brought up her half-century from 68 balls, with Davidson-Richards a touch slower, bringing up her milestone from 70 deliveries. England's acceleration did come, but it was only in the final few overs of the innings, and their first innings total of 258 looked under-par on a good batting surface with a quick outfield. Dunkley even admitted that despite her own 83, England were '20 runs short' on the day. It was not a game for the ages, but instead a slightly low-scoring and at times scrappy affair in Southampton. With India 214 for four, and needing another 44 runs, Lauren Filer made the crucial breakthrough to stem India's momentum, with the ball just scratching Jemimah Rodrigues' glove on the way through to Jones. Richa Ghosh had looked settled, but fell for just 10 leaving India 229 for six as England started to gain the upper hand. India may look at their shot choices and question whether a ramp and a charge down the track were necessary given the circumstances, but it was because of the pressure England – and Filer – had built up so successfully. However even in the second innings there were questions raised and issues that England will have to address. When India needed 50 from the final 60 deliveries, Deepti Sharma was struck on the pad by Lauren Bell, who did appeal but not with great conviction. Ball tracking later showed the delivery would have crashed into leg stump, and the ball also went away for four leg-byes. Should England have made the decision to review, it could have changed the course of the final run chase. But India won with 10 balls to spare when Beaumont dived over the ball and let it go for four. Charlotte Edwards insisted when she took over that what mattered was winning matches. Yet again her side fell short.
Int'l Cricket Council
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Int'l Cricket Council
'We are going to dominate': Radha predicts India to prosper
England could only muster 126/7 with the bat against India at Old Trafford, with the side badly missing the experience of injured skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt and former captain Heather Knight during the middle overs after they elected to bat first after winning the toss. New England coach Charlotte Edwards wasn't too disappointed with the result and believes her team remains on target to perform well at the ICC women's Cricket World Cup in India and Sri Lanka later this year. "As long as we are looking to get better, I am not going to panic," Edwards told Sky Sports after the match. "We are going to be calm. We are a team on a journey. We are a team in transition. It's not going to happen overnight. "We are not going to suddenly get this team performing how we want them to. But hopefully we have got a bit of time, certainly in T20 cricket. "Hopefully you will see an improved team in ODI cricket, that's our immediate goal (at the 50-over World Cup) come October." The fifth and final T20I match of the series between the two sides will be held in Birmingham on Saturday.
The Independent
04-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
England avert disaster as Sophia Dunkley and Lauren Filer find a way to keep India series alive
For England, disaster has been avoided; the series remains alive. Never previously had India conquered these shores in T20I cricket but it looked for a long time that they would do so with two games to spare having dominated the opening two encounters. Yet shorn of their skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, a rollicking century stand for the first-wicket between Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge just about pushed the hosts out of the reach; though a dreadful collapse and some failings in the field are cause for continuing concern. When their openers had blasted to 137-0 from 15 overs, Edwards might have expected her side to power out of sight. They did not, a collapse of 9-31 limiting them to a total that India very nearly hauled in – but the side will be better for closing out a close one, Lauren Filer, Issy Wong and Lauren Bell combining cool heads and hostile bowling to hold on. Certainly, it has been inconvenient to lose their two most senior figures to injury this summer, Sciver-Brunt's groin issue following a hamstring problem for her predecessor Heather Knight, but this is far from a callow side – and yet, just as during the Ashes, they have looked short of the ruthlessness required against the top teams. A win was much needed, though, to prevent this series deteriorating in a manner akin to that trip Down Under. Credit must go to Tammy Beaumont, filling in for Sciver-Brunt, for getting her side back on track when they seemed to be sliding off the rails, and to her bowling attack, who eventually found the answers to some tough questions posed by India. England's desire to do something different was evident at the toss, with stand-in skipper Beaumont confirming three changes after opting to bat first. One, of course, was enforced, with Paige Scholfield replacing the absent Sciver-Brunt on her home, but the two in the bowling attack – Wong's venom preferred to Em Arlott's accuracy and Charlie Dean's off-breaks to Linsey Smith's left-arm darts – was a nod to the punishment India's batters had meted out in the two thrashings that had opened this series. Dunkley and Wyatt-Hodge had been parted after seven and six balls, respectively, in the opening two matches in this series; a need for firmer foundations had clearly been relayed as they began without undue risk. It was Dunkley who first ventured something more expansive, an immaculate straight drive off Amanjot Kaur for four bettered later by a similar shot off Shree Charani that landed a foot or so over the rope. Wyatt-Hodge took a little longer to hit her stride but was soon on the move. Having been given a life by Jemimah Rodrigues at deep midwicket, the powerful right-hander deposited Charani over the same fielder's head two balls later. It was her younger colleague, though, who looked in more fluent touch throughout, a half-century brought up from 35 balls with a punch to long-on with Wyatt-Hodge content to stay in her slipstream. On paper, England perhaps looked a batter light but the platform being laid was outstanding. Back-to-back boundaries off Sneh Rana took Wyatt-Hodge to her 20th 50 in the format. When Dunkley finally fell for 75, the partnership had tallied 137 and left the rest of the order a furious five overs in which to add their own input. But they could barely even last that long: No 11 Bell was required to unexpectedly strap her pads on to negotiate the final four balls. A total of 171 felt distinctly under-par given the manner in which the openers had played. Early wickets felt vital but Bell's shelling of a steepling top edge from Shafali Verma on the boundary was an inauspicious start. By the time the cavalier right-hander was eventually bowled by Sophie Ecclestone, she had blasted 47 from 25 balls – Bell's error had been costly. When Alice Capsey later put down a simpler chance to give Harmanpreet Kaur a life, the pieces of an all-too-familiar and perplexing puzzle were falling into place for England. But a frustrated Filer, who had been denied, cranked it up, removing Smriti Mandhana for 56 before clonking Richa Ghosh on the head with a sharp bouncer. From there, Wong, Ecclestone and Bell hit the right areas to keep England in the hunt.
The Independent
03-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Nat Sciver-Brunt ruled out of England's T20 clash with India due to injury
England have announced they will be without captain and star player Nat Sciver-Brunt for Friday's third Women's T20 against India. Despite batting after spending a large chunk of India's innings in Bristol on Tuesday off the field, Sciver-Brunt is now awaiting the outcome of a scan on her left groin. She will at least miss out at the Kia Oval as England look to drag their way back into a five-match series they trail 2-0, with the recently-recalled Tammy Beaumont leading the side in Sciver-Brunt's absence. The hosts will be keeping their fingers crossed Sciver-Brunt's setback is not too serious, with her predecessor as England skipper, Heather Knight, already out for the summer due to a hamstring injury.
