Key events
WICKET! Smriti Mandhana c Filer b Ecclestone 32 (India 69-2)
Ecclestone back on for her second. England need to squeeze and take wickets but Rodrigues and Mandhana nudge into the gaps to rotate strike easily… but NOW THEN! Ecclestone picks up Mandhana with a quicker ball angled across that is sliced in the air to Lauren Filer. England now have both Indian openers back in the sheds. Maybe a sniff for England, maybe.
8th over: India 66-1 (Mandhana 31, Rodrigues 3) Dean back into the attack and Mandhana sweeps behind square for four. She’s such a brilliant manipulator of the gaps in the field. Jemimah Rodrigues is the new batter, she’s perky as per, working into the gaps and scurrying between the wickets. Ten off the over along with the wicket of Verma.
WICKET! Shafali Verma c Capsey b Dean 31 (India 56-1)
Alice Capsey takes a catch in the deep, England needed that… and about five more.
7th over: India 56-1 (Mandhana 24)
“It might take Charlotte Edwards some time to change the side but she can’t be happy with what she’s seen so far this Summer” says Kevin Wilson. “The same underperforming players underperforming. I hoped she’d be bolder with her selection but this side is going nowhere against decent sides without changes.”
There was an initial uptick when Edwards and Sciver-Brunt took over but Engand have let bad habits from the winter creep back in during this series.
6th over: India 53-0 (Mandhana 22, Verma 30) Issy Wong into the attack. England desperately need a wicket. Clang! Wong’s first ball is top edged into the helmet by Mandhana. The physio comes out to do the checks and it looks as if all fine. Decent lick from Wong from her first ball… yes I’m clutching at English straws.
Do not start dropping catches! Verma plinks Wong in the air and Ecclestone has her feet in treacle trying to come round at wide mid-on, she puts in the dive but the ball lands safe. Not the greatest effort to a tricky chance. Penny for Charlotte Edwards’ thoughts…
A decent over from Wong but it’s still all India in Manchester.
5th over: India 50-0 (Mandhana 20, Verma 29) Ecclestone is summoned but is greeted by a crisp Mandhana drive through the covers for four more. India scoring as many boundaries in four overs and England did in their entire innings. The fifty partnership comes up in 29 balls. India cruising at Old Trafford.
4th over: India 45-0 (Mandhana 15, Verma 29) Shot! Bell comes back and attempts a yorker, Mandhana digs it out with an angled blade and steers it entirely on purpose to deep third for four. England trying to stop India’s runaway train at the moment. Bell tries a slower ball but it comes out all wrong – a head high full toss that results in a free-hit that Verma duly shimmies down the ground and clobbers for four. India outclassing England in every department tonight.
3rd over: India 31-0 (Mandhana 10, Verma 21) India want this over quickly by the looks of it! Charlie Dean is into the attack and swiped down the ground for four by Mandhana. A single brings the rampant Verma on strike and she wastes no time in dancing down the track and depositing over the bowler’s head for four more!
Eleven ruins off the over.
2nd over: India 20-0 (Mandhana 5, Verma 5) England opt for the pace of Lauren Filer to Shafali Verma who has looked uncomfortable against the fast bowler in this series. Hmmm uncomfortable you say? Verma drives over the top for four and then rocks back to cut violently for four more. Shot! Filer drags one down but Verma plays a forehand smash back down the ground for four another four. Excellent batting. An expensive over and a chunk taken out of England’s total already.
1st over: India 5-0 (Mandhana 5, Verma 1) Lauren Bell starts with the new ball for England. Gah! A short ball is swivelled away for four by Mandhana! Bell does well to keep the rest of the over quiet, back of a length and speared in, six off the first over for India, they are up the required rate…
Here come the players for the second innings. England need something special with the ball to keep themselves in this T20 series.
“Evening James, from a quite subdued Old Trafford.”
Hello to you Guy Hornsby.
“Well, England fans are subdued. India’s are having a hell of a night! It’s been a pretty difficult watch so far. India bowling tightly and England unable to find the gaps, and really never risking many 2s. It’s hard not to feel that this total is a good 20 short at least. Perhaps we’ll have an inspired England bowling performance. We’ll need Lancs’ own Sophie Ecclestone to pull out some magic here, you feel.”
England make 126-7 9 (India need 127 to win the match and series)
Some humpty from Issy Wong at the last! Two sixes off Deepti Sharma gets England over 120. It could be too little too late but they have a target at least. A frustrating innings comes to a close. India will start their chase very shortly. The series is theirs for the taking.
19th over: England 110-7 (Eccleston 8, Wong 3) This is quite painful to watch, England can barely get bat on ball and Ecclestone is pinned in the midriff by a Kaur short ball. Painful on the field too. A four! Kaur sends down a full bunger to finish and Ecclestone manages to smear it to the fence. It wasn’t timed but not a lot has been all innings. Don’t judge a wicket or innings until both sides have batted on it… but I very much doubt England have anywhere near enough.
18th over: England 105-7 (Eccleston 4, Wong 2) Issy Wong joins Ecclestone but neither batter can break the shackles. Just four runs off the eighteenth over, England’s overall run rate languishing at five an over. Charani finishes impressively once more – she ends with 2-30 off her four overs.
WICKET! Charlie Dean run out (Shree Charani/†Ghosh) 4
Sophie Ecclestone joins Charlie Dean. Can the two spinners dig England out of a hole? Erm no… Dean survives a huge LBW appeal off an attempted reverse-sweep against Yadhav, the ball brushed the glove on the way to hitting the pad and that saves her blushes BUT THAT IS OUT! Dean sets off for a single that isn’t there on the final ball, she’s sent back by Ecclestone but is acres short of her crease when the stumps are broken. England are falling in a heap again.
17th over: England 101-7 (Eccleston 2, Wong 0)
WICKET! Paige Scholfield c Reddy b Yadav 16 (England 98-6)
Scholfield’s turn to be caught in the deep! It’s a rinse and repeat. England spluttering towards a three figure score.
16th over: England 98-5 (Scholfield 16, Dean 3) Deepti Sharma returns and whistles through an over for the cost of just four runs. Four overs to go, England need boundaries but they’ve only managed to hit eight all innings so far.
15th over: England 94-5 (Scholfield 14, Dean 1) Charlie Dean is the new batter and she clips a single from her first ball. England have really struggled ot get any impetus into their innings, whenever they’ve tried they have lost wickets. India have kept the pressure on them very well with tight lines and nifty fielding.
WICKET! Amy Jones b Kaur 9 (England 93-5)
Amanjot returns for her third over. England tick over but can’t find the fence… gone! Amy Jones backs away and sees her stumps splattered.
14th over: England 89-4 (Jones 8, Scholfield 11) Eight runs off the over as England look to increase the intensity with a handful of overs to go. Some sharp fielding in the deep and in the ring prevents any boundaries being scored. India have been electric in the field this evening.
13th over: England 81-4 (Jones 6, Scholfield 6) More singles than a Thursday night in Clapham. 130 feels a long way away at this rate.
12th over: England 75-4 (Jones 3, Scholfield 3) Paige Scholfield joins Amy Jones. They rotate strike but singles won’t hurt India.
WICKET! Capsey lbw b Shree Charani 18 (England 70-4)
Make that a proper pickle! Capsey attempts a reverse to Charani and the ball straightens a smidge, the batter misses and is stone dead lbw! Capsey still burns a review but after seeing the replay on the big screen she’s trudge off before the decision is made, leaving the umpire to give Ms Scotch Mist out when the inevitable three reds appear.
11th over: England 70-3 (Capsey 18, Jones 1 ) Amy Jones at the crease with England in a bit of a pickle.
WICKET! Tammy Beaumont c Reddy b Yadav 20 (England 68-3)
Big moment! Beaumont tries to go downtown straight after drinks but she doesn’t get enough meat on the bones, Reddy taking a tumbling grab running in from long on.
10th over: England 68-2 (Capsey 17, Beaumont 20) Beaumont steers a Reddy short ball fine for a welcome boundary. The sun still beating down at Old Trafford. England trying to get a competitive score on the board. That helps! Capsey aims a swipe at Reddy’s final ball full toss, it misses everything including the gloves of Ghosh stood up to the stumps. Four byes to the total and time for a halfway slurp.
9th over: England 58-2 (Capsey 16, Beaumont 15) India squeeze back through Amanjot Kaur. Keeper up and stump to stump. Just four runs off the over and Beaumont nearly perishes by clipping a full toss to Mandhana at short midwicket. She’s have been sick as a pig with that. Fortunately it fell a few inches short.
8th over: England 54-2 (Capsey 14, Beaumont 13) England up the ante as Beaumont slams consecutive boundaries through the covers off Sneh Ranah.
7th over: England 42-2 (Capsey 12, Beaumont 3) More spin from India as Yadav gets a bowl after taking that sharp catch to get rid of Dunkley. England can only deal in singles. India have been on it in the field so far this evening.
6th over: England 38-2 (Capsey 10, Beaumont 1) Tammy Beaumont arrives in the middle. England could do with a Captain’s innings from her now. She glides a single past point to get off the mark. Bosh! Capsey slog sweeps Sharma for four to keep England ticking.
WICKET! Sophia Dunkley c Yadav b Sharma 22 (England 33-2)
That’s a big wicket! Dunkley is in fine form but she falls to an uppish drive that Radha Yadav dives and takes at inches from the turf at point. Beaten in the flight by Deepti Sharma and England have lost both openers.
5th over: England 33-1 (Dunkley 22, Capsey 6) Charani with her lovely left arm loop once more. Capsey sweeps and is lucky that a top edge loops over the keeper and away for four! A scrambled single brings Dunkley on strike. Plonk! Dunkley clears the front leg and smears wide of mid-on for four! We might not be in for a high scoring match here, England on for about 130 at the moment compared to the 180-odd at the Oval last week.
4th over: England 23-1 (Dunkley 17, Capsey 1) A quiet start in the main from England. Arundhati Reddy comes on to bowl her medium pacers with the keeper stood up to the stumps. Just two runs off the over. Tidy.
3rd over: England 21-1 (Dunkley 16, Capsey 0) Alice Capsey arrives at number three. She’s due a score too. A truly dangerous player if she gets in.
WICKET! Danni Wyatt-Hodge c Reddy b Shree Charani 5 (England 21-1)
Here come the boundaries! Dunkley carves past point for four and then snaps the bottom hand on a drive down the ground for SIX. Comfortably clearing the ropes. Shree Charani has been in the wickets this series… and she gets another!
Wyatt-Hodge tries to replicate the six that Dunkley hit earlier in the over but plinks a toe end to Reddy who takes a decent catch pedalling backwards at mid-on. Charani now has nine wickets and counting in the series.
2nd over: England 10-0 (Dunkley 5, Wyatt-Hodge 5) Deepti Sharma rattles through the second over for just four runs. Some sprightly running from England’s openers but no boundaries as of yet.
“It’s a big ground, a hard ground to score boundaries on because of the dimensions. You’re better off playing square here, which doesn’t normally suit the women’s game because of the general strength in scoring down the ground” Says Alex Hartley on TMS, she’s got plenty experience of bowling on this ground.
1st over: England 6-0 (Dunkley 3, Wyatt-Hodge 3) No boundaries off the first over as Kaur targets both batters back of a length. Dunkley opens England’s account with a chip in the air for a couple through midwicket and Wyatt-Hodge drives smoothly past cover point. The outfield looks quite green and lush despite this MEGA heatwave we’ve been having. No hosepipe ban in Old Trafford…
Amanjot Kaur has the ball in hand, Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge will open up for England. They both got half centuries at the Oval in the last match and put on a hefty opening stand. Righto, let’s play!
The players head out onto a sun soaked Old Trafford pitch, it is actually the first time a women’s T20I has been played at the ground. These two sides last played against each other here in 1999! India squeaked home by one wicket on that occasion.
100 T20I Caps for Sophie Ecclestone tonight, she achieves the milestone on her home ground too. She’s a special player but going through a bit of a rough spot at the moment. The stage is set for a big performance.
Oh and Phil ‘Jags’ Jagielka has just presented her with her cap. She’s a big Toffees fan so will be chuffed with that.
The Lionesses are in action against the Dutch as we speak and they are showing it on the big screen at Old Trafford ahead of the match getting underway in about twenty minutes. England are 2-0 up!
Emillia Hawkins is on the tools for us, promise you’ll come back though yeh?
England win the toss and will bat first
Looks a decent Old Trafford wicket and Tammy Beaumont elects to have first use, following the blueprint that saw them succeed in South London last week.
Teams: (both sides unchanged)
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Sneh Rana, Shree Charani
England: Sophia Dunkley, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Alice Capsey, Tammy Beaumont (capt), Amy Jones (wk), Paige Scholfield, Sophie Ecclestone, Issy Wong, Charlie Dean, Lauren Filer, Lauren Bell
Preamble
James Wallace
Hello and welcome to the fourth T20 between England and India from Old Trafford, Manchester. The place is bathed in sunshiiiiiine ahead of tonight’s encounter, it’s a must win game (again) for the home side as they find themselves 2-1 down with two games to play.
England won an arse-nipper down at The Oval on Sunday, a victory by just five runs secured off the final ball kept their series hopes alive but there was also a calamitous batting collapse and some questionable catching on show once again.
Head Coach Charlotte Edwards will be desperate to see her side up their standards and take the series to a decider at Edgbaston on Saturday before the ODI series gets underway the following week. They’ll be without Nat Sciver-Brunt once more as the England captain recovers from a groin injury, Tammy Beaumont will take the reins for the second match in a row.
We await news of the teams and toss but will have them imminently. Play gets underway in half an hour. Join us and get in touch. D’ya know what I mean?
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