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An interesting nugget from Hussain, who says that England have been practising for bowling with the dew by dipping their hands in buckets of water and bowling with a wet slippy ball. They need to practise that for sweaty conditions like today too.
Well that was…not the most enthralling cricket of the tournament.
Nasser sums it up: “England got better as they went through that innings. An error strew innings by both sides. Wickets from full tosses, a catch put down, New Zealand gave their wickets away, didn’t bat their overs. If they do that against Australia or England they won’t bowl them out. Luckily for England, New Zealand were even more under par.”
Alice Capsey: “Nice to get a ball in hand, we’ve done well to restrict them to a lowish total. My second wicket was from a full toss. Looks like there was a little bit of turn when I was bowling a lot slower, felt like a bit harder to hit straight. Anything that was targeting the stumps looked hard to hit. No chase is easy but fingers crossed.”
WICKET! Tahuhu c Dean b SMith 2 (New Zealand 168 all out)
A hopeful chip caught by Capsey running backwards over her shoulder from mid off. Cracking catch, end to a sorry innings.
38th over: New Zealand 168-9 (Tahuhu 2, Carson 1) Can New Zealand limp to 200?
WICKET! Kerr run out (Dean) 10 (New Zealand 166-9)
New Zealand’s innings whimpers towards a close after Kerr is run-out, late out of the blocks and short of the crease at the striker’s end. Given out on review.
37th over: New Zealand 165-8 (Kerr 9, Tahuhu 1) Three singles from Smith’s ninth.
36th over: New Zealand 162-8 (Kerr 7, Tahuhu 0) NSB picks away at the tail – her eighth World Cup wicket.
WICKET! Mair lbw Sciver-Brunt 0 (New Zealand 162-8)
Not the best decision the umpire will ever make. Mair looks very out as NSB thumps into her pads and ball-tracking agrees. Decision overturned with a flourish.
35th over: New Zealand 157-7 (Mair 0, Kerr 2) This innings slipping through New Zealand’s grasp now.
WICKET! Gaze b Smith 14 (New Zealand 157-5)
And another one! Done by the drift and loses her off stump.
34th over: New Zealand 156-6 (Gaze 14, Kerr 1) NSB replaces Bell. Scrapes her hair back in the heat and makes the break through. Farewell Sophie Devine, all time great. And thank you.
Devine c Jones b Sciver-Brunt 23 (NEw Zealand 155-6)
A top-notch off cutter. Jones whips the bails off but NSB fancies a catch and calls for a review. Good ears! A kiss off an inside edge and Devine walks off for one last time, a quick march, without ceremony.
33rd over: New Zealand 154-5 (Devine 23, Gaze 13) Smith. Another England full toss goes unpunished and New Zealand milk just one from the over. Hopefully this is England’s off game, and they’ll be all button back up for the semi-final against South Africa on Wednesday.
32nd over: New Zealand 153-5 (Devine 23, Gaze 12) Bell struggling a little with her radar – a wide, then a slower ball wafting down leg side which Devine shovels behind for four. Gaze then wildly top edges a short ball for four more. The players take drinks.
31st over: New Zealand 142-5 (Devine 18, Gaze 7) Smith, more bounce in her boots now. Dries her hands on the soil of Visakhapatnam. Just three singles.
A stat from the Guardian’s women’s cricket queen Raf Nicholson: “Dunkley has only bowled two overs across the three domestic comps last season. So not exactly bowling fit!”
Ecclestone won't bowl again today
30th over: New Zealand 139-5 (Devine 16, Gaze 6) Bell gets a change of ends too, three from the over.
News on Ecclestone – she is having more treatment on her shoulder after feeling discomfort when bowling, and won’t bowl again today.
29th over: New Zealand 136-5 (Devine 14, Gaze 6) Smith returns after her uneasy first spell. A different end, an older ball, and altogether a neater over. Just one from it.
28th over: New Zealand 135-5 (Devine 13, Gaze 6)…and I speak too soon as Gaze dollies her first ball back to Casey, who makes a Horlicks of a pat-a-cake catch. The end of the over… no it isn’t… as the no-ball signal goes off and a free hit is splayed over long on for four by Gaze.
WICKET! Green c and b Capsey 18 (NEw Zealand 128-5)
A cracking catch by Capsey as Green toe-ends a low-full toss back and Capsey, smartly picks up by her boots. The kind of catch that would not have been taken during the Ashes.
27th over: New Zealand 124-4 (Devine 11, Green 17) Dunkley has an interesting action, a kind of lurching camel. Her first ball is cut off the back foot for four and New Zealand have their boundary.
26th over: New Zealand 118-4 (Devine 10, Green 12) A sweet sweet four through the covers by Green, playing in her 200th international match.
25th over: New Zealand 111-4 (Devine 9, Green 6) Dunkley wasn’t just a fill-in – she goes again with her leggies. New Zealand milk five singles and we are halfway through the innings.
24th over: New Zealand 106-4 (Devine 7, Green 3) Devine, now in a cap, chewing gum. Now we’re so used to helmets, there’s something glorious about seeing a human face. New Zealand don’t make the most of Capsey’s allsorts – there have been “six or seven horrendous balls that haven’t made it to the boundary this innings” tuts Isha Guha on the radio.
Ecclestone off
23rd over: New Zealand 102-4 (Devine 6, Green 1) Ecclestone for the first time. It looks painful, she grimaces after each delivery. A discussion with NSB after two balls, but she continues. A wide, a wicket, then she’s off again – that shoulder still not right. Dunkley continues the over.
WICKET! Halliday c Dunkley b Ecclestone 4 (New Zealand 101-4)
A rather desperate slog sweep from Halliday, well caught by a retreating Dunkley on the rope, backwards over her head. Ecclestone, in pain, breaks through straight away.
22nd over: New Zealand 97-3 (Devine 5, Halliday 3) Dean again for her seventh over in a row. Asks for a slip, gets one. Great to see Wyatt-Hodge racing about in the field, an agile duracell bunny. Singles, tick, tock.
21st over: New Zealand 94-3 (Devine 3, Halliday 2) Three gentle singles off Capsey.
20th over: New Zealand 91-3 (Devine 1, Halliday 1) England right back on top again, and Ecclestone hasn’t even bowled. The fabulous Sophie Devine in the middle for the last time in ODIs and possibly the last time ever in a New Zealand shirt.
WICKET! Plimmer lbw Dean 43 (New Zealand 89-3)
Two in two! Dean floats one in, clonks the retreating Plimmer on the knee roll and she doesn’t bother to review.
WICKET! Kerr c Dean b Capsey 35 (New Zealand 89-2)
Kerr licks her lips, tries to smash Capsey down the ground but instead picks out Dean, who plucks it out of the air. with one hand.
19th over: New Zealand 89-2 ( Plimmer 43)
Ecclestone back on the field
18th over: New Zealand 85-1 ( Plimmer 41, Kerr 33) Not too many in the ground today, and quite a wind whistling across. A hot wind. Dean continues – Kerr slog sweeps but can’t reach the rope and another decent over.
17th over: New Zealand 81-1 ( Plimmer 39, Kerr 31) The cameras spot Ecclestone on the boundary, wrinkling her nose as she rolls her left over. Capsey replaces NSB, her first ball is edged for four. And, to everyone’s relief, they take DRINKS.
16th over: New Zealand 76-1 ( Plimmer 34, Kerr 31) Dean, elegantly dishevelled as always, aviator shades, wayward bun, whistles through a tidy over – fast arm, on the money.
15th over: New Zealand 75-1 ( Plimmer 33, Kerr 31) The fifty partnership come up as Plimmer, bat hovering as she waits, tonks NSB straight into the bluebell blue sky for four. An otherwise neat over.
14th over: New Zealand 70-1 ( Plimmer 28, Kerr 31) Dean stems the boundaries, finds her rhythm. My nephews, visiting from London, have joined me on the sofa.
13th over: New Zealand 67-1 ( Plimmer 26, Kerr 30) On the rope, England put ice packs round their necks, gulp at frozen water. A pretty good over from NSB till the penultimate delivery, a drag down, and Plimmer tucks in, pulled to the boundary.
12th over: New Zealand 61-1 ( Plimmer 21, Kerr 29) Dean finds her line too, just three singles dabbed .
11th over: New Zealand 58-1 ( Plimmer 20, Kerr 27) Better from Sciver-Brunt, just a single from it. It’s hot, hot, hot out there – 40 degrees in the middle.
10th over: New Zealand 57-1 ( Plimmer 20, Kerr 26) Charlie Dean replaces the struggling Smith, and Kerr sweeps her immediately and with gumption for four. Eccleston is still off the field after hurting her left shoulder fielding on the rope earlier in the innings.
9th over: New Zealand 52-1 ( Plimmer 20, Kerr 21) Nat Sciver-Brunt replaces Bell and also struggles to hit her straps, Plimmer slams her last two balls to the rope.
8th over: New Zealand 43-1 ( Plimmer 12, Kerr 3) Smith has the most wickets in the power play, but something is amiss today. Kerr cracks her second ball to the rope, her third is a wide full toss that Kerr plonks behind square also for four, the free hit is spatulated through extra cover for four, and the next purred through cover for four more. Definitely time for a break.
7th over: New Zealand 25-1 ( Plimmer 12, Kerr 3) A handful of singles off Bell.
6th over: New Zealand 22-1 ( Plimmer 11, Kerr 1) Smith pockets a wicket despite not really finding her rhythm and the majestic Bates leaves the crease for possibly the final time.
WICKET! Bates c Lamb (sub) b Smith 10 (New Zealand 21-1)
A waist high full toss does for Bates who muscles it to mid off. The umpires check for a no ball – the players have their waist measurements checked before the tournament started – who knew? – but the ball is good. A pie, but good.
5th over: New Zealand 21-0 (Bates 10, Plimmer 11) Bell gets clonked for two fours by Plimmer.
New Zealand win the toss and bat - Wyatt-Hodge in
Argghgh I got my times totally wrong there, done by the clocks going back. Apologies. Danni Wyatt-Hodge plays for Emma Lamb. New Zealand unchanged.
Preamble
Good early morning and hello GMT for another year. It’s still black here, but not in broiling Visakhapatnam where England will be in top spirits – South Africa, their opponents in Wednesday’s semi-final, bundled out for 97 by Australia.
This is a dead game for both England and New Zealand – though England can leapfrog South Africa to finish second behind Australia in the group stage – an ego-boost, but no more. New Zealand, who have had a disappointing tournament, stalked by rain and just one win, against Bangladesh, say farewell to faithful captain Sophie Devine who plays her final ODI of a stonking career of 158 matches, 4,256 runs and 110 wickets.
On paper, this also seems a good chance for England to give a game to some of the drinks carriers – to Danni Wyatt Hodges, mysterious bench warmer as the middle order implodes, or Lauren Filer. But Charlotte Edwards has not been moved so far.
Play starts at 5.30am GMT, grab an early morning brew and join us.
