Tag: England

GUWAHATI: Laura Wolvaardt’s magnificent 169 and Marizanne Kapp’s all-round heroics powered South Africa to victory over England in the first semi-final of the ICC Women’s World Cup here at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

The emphatic win marked the first time that South Africa women have reached the World Cup final.

Set a daunting 319-run target, England crumbled under pressure and were bowled out for a mere 194 in 42.3 overs.

The Three Lions chase started on a bizarre note as they lost their top-three batters for ducks in the first two overs.

Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka wreaked havoc with the new ball, removing Amy Jones, Tammy Beaumont, and Heather Knight.

As a result, England were in deep waters with 3-1 in 1.1 overs.

After early setbacks, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Alice Capsey paired up and added 107 runs for the third wicket partnership. The stand provided them with some respite and increased their hopes of reaching the final.

Skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt made 64 from 76 balls, while Capsey scored 50 from 71 deliveries.

However, Sune Luus provided South Africa the much-needed breakthrough with Capsey’s dismissal. At this stage, England were 108-4 in 22.5 overs.

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Sciver-Brunt was involved in another partnership of 30 runs with Danni Wyatt-Hodge before a collapse that folded their innings. Wyatt made 30 from 34 balls with the help of five fours.

For South Africa, Marizanne Kapp picked up a five-wicket haul while Nadine de Klerk scalped two wickets.

Earlier, after being put into bat, South Africa racked up 319-7 in their 50 overs.

Captain Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits laid a strong foundation with a mammoth 116-run stand for the opening wickets. Brits stuck 45 from 65, including six fours and a maximum.

England kept on taking wickets at regular intervals, but it was Wolvaardt’s knock for the ages that held South Africa’s innings. The skipper 169 from 143 balls was peppered with 20 fours and four sixes.

Marizanne Kapp also starred with the bat as she hit four boundaries and a six on her way to 42 from 33 balls.

For England, Sophie Ecclestone was the long, bright star in the bowling. She picked up four wickets in her quota of 10 overs.

The second semi-final between hosts India and defending champions Australia will be played tomorrow in Navi Mumbai.

READ: Persistent rain washes out India-Australia T20I opener

HAMILTON: New Zealand produced a dominant all-round performance to seal the three-match ODI series against England with a commanding win in the second game at Seddon Park on Wednesday.

Led by Blair Tickner’s fiery spell and composed half-centuries from Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell, the Black Caps chased down a modest target of 176 with five wickets and nearly 17 overs to spare, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

Tickner’s 4-34 set the tone as England were bundled out for just 175 in 36 overs after being put in to bat.

None of the English batters managed to occupy the crease for long, as regular wickets derailed their innings from start to finish.

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Only Jamie Overton (42 off 27) and captain Harry Brook (34 off 34) offered brief resistance, but both fell to soft dismissals that summed up England’s reckless approach.

In reply, New Zealand’s chase began shakily when Jofra Archer removed Will Young for a duck in the very first over.

However, Rachin Ravindra steadied the innings with a fluent 54 off 58 balls, striking eight boundaries and a six. He shared a 63-run stand with Daryl Mitchell, who once again proved to be New Zealand’s rock in the middle order.

Mitchell remained unbeaten on 56 from 59 deliveries, decorated with six fours and two sixes, while captain Mitchell Santner’s blistering cameo of 34 off 17 balls ensured a quick finish as the hosts reached 177-5 in just 33.1 overs.

Archer was the standout bowler for England, finishing with 3-23 in his 10 overs, while Jamie Overton and Adil Rashid claimed one wicket each.

READ: Australia’s Pat Cummins makes tentative bowling return

Injured Australia captain Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the first Ashes Test against England in Perth next month, head coach Andrew McDonald said on Monday.

McDonald said Cummins had “run out of time” as he recovers from a lower back injury, and that veteran batter Steve Smith would lead the side in his absence.

Australia are clinging to hope the pace spearhead will be ready for the second match of the Five-Test series.

“We’ve grappled with it for a little while, and the nature of the injury is that you grapple with it day-by-day,” McDonald told reporters. “We’re really optimistic and hopeful for the second Test match.”

“He’ll be back bowling this week, that’s a huge step.”

But McDonald conceded Australia were unable to give a firm timeframe for Cummins’ return.

The 32-year-old has not played since picking up a lower back injury in a Test match against the West Indies in July.

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McDonald said Australia were “incredibly fortunate” to call on the experienced Smith in Cummins’ absence.

Scott Boland looms as the likely replacement, joining fellow quicks Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.

“Losing your captain is not ideal, but when you’re talking about Scott Boland as a potential replacement — it’s not a bad position to be in,” McDonald said.

Cummins’ race to prove his fitness has become a major storyline leading up to the first Test, starting in Perth on November 21.

“I’m still doing a bit of gym and keeping things kicking over, but with this kind of injury, it’s rest and then we’ll build back and kind of work back from the Ashes,” he said in September.

“Still really hopeful to be able to be part of the Ashes. But it is a little bit of a wait-and-see.”

Pat Cummins has suffered serious back issues several times over the years, including a flare-up in 2018 that kept him out of action for a full off-season.

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VISAKHAPATNAM: Linsey Smith’s three-wicket haul, backed by a strong batting display, led England to a comfortable eight-wicket win over New Zealand here on Sunday in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025.

Set a mere 169-run target, England hit the winning runs on the loss of two wickets with ease in 29.2 overs.

Amy Jones remained unbeaten with 86 from 92 balls, a knock peppered with 11 fours and a six, whereas Tammy Beaumont struck seven fours in her 38-ball 40.

For New Zealand, there was nothing much in the bowling charts like batting as Lea Tahuhu and Sophie Devine managed to scalp one wicket each.

Earlier, New Zealand could not capitalize on the decision to bat first as their innings folded on 168 all out in 38.2 overs.

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The Three Lions removed opener Suzie Bates in the fifth over, who departed after scoring just 10 from 16 balls.

Following the early wicket, Amelia Kerr and Georgia Plimmer added 68 runs for the second before the former’s wicket sparked a collapse that the White Ferns could not recover from.

The pair was removed on successive deliveries, reducing New Zealand to 89-3 in 19.1 overs. Kerr made 35 from 43 balls with the aid of five fours, and Plimmer scored 43 from 57 deliveries laced with seven fours.

Besides the pair, there were no significant contributions from the middle-order batters.

For England, Linsey Smith remained the star bowler with three wickets to her name. Alice Capsey and Nat Sciver-Brunt supported her well with two scalps apiece.

Playing XIs

MOUNT MAUNGANUI: England ODI skipper Harry Brook sent an early warning for Australia ahead of the 2025 Ashes with an imperious 135 against New Zealand at Bay Oval here on Sunday.

With the Ashes starting in a month’s time, England’s Test vice-captain Brook appears in fine form— a positive sign for the Three Lions’ batting lineup.

Brook smashed 135 from just 101 balls, albeit England ended on the losing side. However, the right-hander earned the player of the match award for his rescuing act.

Harry Brook came in to bat when the Three Lions were in deep waters with 5-3 in just 1.6 overs. However, he struck 11 sixes and nine fours, powering his side to a respectable 223 run total.

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The 26-year-old shattered multiple records during his knock, including the most sixes as a captain batting at number five or below in ODIs. His 135 was also the fifth-highest by an England captain at this position or below.

He also scored the highest percentage of runs made by an England batter in a completed men’s ODI innings.

According to Wisden, Brook’s knock accounted for 60.53 percent of England’s runs, making it the highest of England’s all-time.

Moreover, only two other batters in ODI history have smashed tons when the team score was three down for less than 10 runs. The other players are Pakistan’s Sarfaraz Ahmed – 105 from 3 for 2 against England in 2016 at Lord’s- and India’s Yuvraj Singh – 103 from 3 for 5 against South Africa in 2005 at Hyderabad.

Despite his record-breaking knock, England lost the match by four wickets, courtesy of Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten 78 from 91 balls.

Blackcaps chased down the target in 36.4 overs with Mithcell hitting seven fours and two maximums.

Playing XIs

England: 1 Jamie Smith, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Joe Root, 4 Jacob Bethell, 5 Harry Brook (capt), 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Sam Curran, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Luke Wood.

New Zealand: 1 Will Young, 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Michael Bracewell, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 Zak Foulkes, 9 Nathan Smith, 10 Jacob Duffy, 11 Matt Henry.

READ: Brook’s sublime 135 in vain as New Zealand beat England

Captain Harry Brook’s brilliant century wasn’t enough to rescue England as hosts New Zealand eased to a four-wicket win in the first one-day international on Sunday.

Brook struck 11 sixes on his way to 135 in England’s modest score of 223, before New Zealand reached 224-6 in response with more than 13 overs remaining.

Daryl Mitchell hit the winning runs to be unbeaten on 78 at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui and put the Black Caps ahead 1-0 in the three-match series.

Victory was set up by a lethal early spell from New Zealand seamer Zakary Foulkes (4-41), who scythed through the top order, reducing England to 10-4 and then 56-6.

Brook led the recovery with a scintillating career-best ODI score.

He raised his ton with three successive sixes off Jacob Duffy before he was last man out in a rearguard 101-ball knock.

The 26-year-old surpassed his previous best score of 110 not out, against Australia in Chester-le-Street last year.

All-rounder Jamie Overton was the only other England batter to reach double figures, posting a career-best 46 in a seventh-wicket stand of 87 with Brook.

Earlier, veteran seamer Matt Henry (2-53) clean-bowled Jamie Smith from the first ball of the innings after England were sent in.

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Foulkes followed up with the prized wickets of Ben Duckett and Joe Root in his first over as England lost six wickets in seam-friendly conditions inside the first hour.

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner praised his new-ball pair, particularly Foulkes, who was playing only his second ODI.

New Zealand’s innings also began poorly, with seamer Brydon Carse (3-45) removing Will Young and Kane Williamson in his first over to leave them teetering at 24-3.

It was a first golden duck in 166 ODIs for New Zealand batting great Williamson, who was playing his first international match in nearly eight months.

Mitchell combined with Tom Latham (24) and Michael Bracewell (51) in solid middle-order stands.

Mitchell’s 91-ball knock should have ended on 33 when he lobbed a simple chance, but was dropped.

The remaining matches are in Hamilton on Wednesday and Wellington on Saturday.

England won the three-match T20 series 1-0 after two games were washed out by wet New Zealand weather.

READ: Virat Kohli surpasses Sangakkara to achieve THIS ODI milestone

INDORE: Ashleigh Gardner’s sublime 104* and Annabel Sutherland’s 98* powered Australia to an easy win over arch-rivals England in the 23rd fixture of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 here at the Holkar Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

The victory marked Australia’s fifth consecutive victory in six matches, and they are now the only unbeaten side in the tournament.

Set 245, Australia hit the winning runs at ease, losing just four wickets in the process with 57 balls to spare.

The defending champions’ chase started on a shaky note as they lost the opener Phoebe Litchfield on the third ball of their innings. She was castled for one from two balls.

England had left Australia reeling with two more wickets in the next four overs. Georgia Voll and Ellyse Perry were the next batters to be dismissed. Both made six and 13 runs respectively.

Consequently, Australia were 24-3 in 5.2 overs before a 44-run partnership between Beth Mooney and Annabel Sutherland, bringing the total to 68 in 15.5 overs.

However, Sophie Ecclestone scalped the prize wicket of Mooney, further derailing the chase. She scored 20 from 44 balls with the help of a boundary.

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At this stage, England gained a foothold on the match, but it was Sutherland’s and Gardner’s monumental 180-run stand that took the game away from the Three Lions.

Both batters not only took the game away from England but also batted so briskly that the game ended in 40 overs.

Gardner’s knock was peppered with 16 fours, whereas Sutherland struck nine fours and six and ended up two runs shy of what could have been a magnificent hundred.

For England, Linsey Smith picked up two wickets in her eight overs.

Earlier, after being put into bat, England scored 244-9 in their 50 overs, courtesy of Tammy Beaumont’s composed knock.

Beaumont remained the cornerstone in England’s batting lineup and made 78 from 105 balls, studded with 10 fours and a six.

Alice Capsey was the second-highest scorer for her team, making 38 from 32 balls with the aid of five fours.

For Australia, Annabel Sutherland starred with the ball, picking up three vital wickets in her quota of 10 overs.

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CHRISTCHURCH: England skipper Harry Brook smashed 78 to steer his side to a thumping 65-run victory over New Zealand in the second T20I on Monday.

The visitors raced to a mammoth 236-4 from their 20 overs after Black Caps captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to field at Hagley Oval.

Brook and opener Phil Salt (85) blasted New Zealand to all parts while the hosts didn’t help themselves with misfields, errant throwing, and dropped catches.

Wicketkeeper Tim Seifert dropped Jacob Bethell after a top edge swirled high in the strong northwest wind, and later James Neesham put down Brook.

The Brook drop was crucial, with the 26-year-old blasting 78 from just 35 deliveries as part of a 129-run partnership with Salt.

Brook showed his intent just two balls after he was dropped, smacking a powerful pull shot more than 100 metres over midwicket, the ball landing outside the ground.

He hit six fours and five sixes during his stay, finally falling after mistiming a lofted drive to long-on.

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Salt played second fiddle for much of his innings, scoring 85 from 56 balls, rotating the strike before seizing on any loose bowling.

Brook said the pair tried to keep one another “calm and composed” during their century stand, while “looking to manipulate the field and put them under as much pressure as possible”.

Tom Banton blasted 29 from only 12 balls to end the innings, helping England to the highest T20 total scored in Christchurch.

New Zealand’s chase started poorly, losing both Tim Robinson and Rachin Ravindra in the second over.

It found life with Seifert and Mark Chapman, who combined for a 69-run partnership in quick time, but when both fell either side of the 10-over mark New Zealand’s pursuit had all but ended.

England’s spinners, Adil Rashid (4-32) and Liam Dawson (2-38), and seamer Brydon Carse (2-27) gave away little during their spells as New Zealand were bowled out for 171.

The third match of the T20 series will be played at Eden Park in Auckland on Thursday night.

READ: Shan Masood keeps Pakistan afloat in second South Africa Test

Australia middle-order batter Marnus Labuschagne opened up about his poor form with an Ashes spot looming, admitting that he had been trying too hard instead of relying on his natural batting strengths.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Fox Sports, Marnus stated that he wants to enjoy his game and play with freedom.

“It’s always nice when you’re scoring runs. The only thing I really wanted coming into this summer — take everything out, selections, everything else — I just wanted to be back playing cricket the way I want to be playing, playing with that freedom,” he said.

“It’s nice to have come out and started the way I have. Coming into this summer, runs was going to be the currency and that was probably the big focus point,” he continued.

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With Ashes looming, Marnus has picked form and scored four hundreds in his last six innings in Australia’s domestic competition.

He was going through a poor run of form from last couple of year, eventually sidelining him from the Test squad ahead of their three-match series against West Indies across June and July earlier this year.

“It doesn’t matter how you score them or what it looks like; just find a way to keep scoring runs. Since then, my technique moulded into whatever the game needs,” he explained.

The right-hander lamented diving too deep into the technical aspects of his game instead of focusing on what natural ability he had in his batting.

“There’s a few technical things that I’ve ironed out of my game and had a bit of time to work on.

(I was) getting too deep into my technique and trying to be too perfect instead of just playing with what I’ve got; just going out there, reading the game and then using my technique to adjust to whatever they’re bowling and how they’re trying to attack me,” he concluded.

Australia has started its action-packed summer on a high note with a thumping seven-wicket victory over India.

Meanwhile, the first of the five Ashes Tests against England will begin on November 21 at the Perth Cricket Stadium.

READ: Marsh, bowlers power Australia to win in rain-hit ODI opener

COLOMBO: Pakistan were denied a shock victory over England when their ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 match was washed out as Colombo continued to be drenched by unrelenting monsoon showers on Wednesday.

Pakistan, rooted to the bottom of the points table and still searching for their first win in the eight-nation tournament, were left cursing their luck after putting England through the wringer with a brilliant bowling display that restricted the four-time champions to 133-9 in a game reduced to 31 overs.

Chasing a revised target of 113, Pakistan’s openers looked in fine touch, coasting to 34-0 in 6.4 overs, before the heavens opened once more and the game was abandoned at 9:58 pm local time.

Pakistan’s bowlers had their tails up from the outset, with captain Fatima Sana leading from the front.

She swung the ball into the batters and picked up three early wickets before returning after the rain break to snare another, finishing with eye-catching figures of 4-27.

“We showed today that we can beat any team. Disappointed about the rain. We were really good with the ball and the bat, and we would have been happy with a win,” Sana said.

It was the wicked inswinger that undid England’s top order, as four wickets tumbled to seamers, leaving the defending champions in dire straits at 39-4.

Diana Baig drew first blood by rattling Tammy Beaumont’s stumps, while Sana bowled Amy Jones through the gate with a brute of a delivery before removing Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt in quick succession with deliveries that jagged back sharply.

The spinners then tightened the screws, mopping up the middle order to ensure the seamers’ hard work didn’t go to waste.

Play was initially halted with England teetering at 79-7 after 25 overs.

When play resumed, Charlie Dean and Em Arlott offered some resistance, adding 47 runs for the eighth wicket.

England’s tail added 54 runs in six overs to give their bowlers something to bowl at, but Pakistan were well ahead when the skies opened again.

England had never lost to Pakistan in 16 previous ODIs and it needed bad weather to preserve that record.

It was the third rain-affected game in Colombo this World Cup after Australia and Sri Lanka split points without a ball bowled and Sri Lanka’s fixture against New Zealand also ended in a washout on Monday.

“Pakistan were top today and they never let us come back into the game. We fought back in the end, but we were not good enough. It was seaming quite a lot and we didn’t adapt well,” England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt said.

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