Women’s Cricket World Cup: England vs Pakistan ends in failure as Nat Sciver-Brunt’s side gets reprieve despite poor performances | Cricket News
Pakistan’s chances of a huge victory over England were thwarted after rain spoiled their Women’s Cricket World Cup match in Colombo.
It was a huge disappointment for England, who had struggled with both bat and ball, but an even bigger heartbreak for Pakistan who are still waiting for their first win of the tournament.
England had collapsed to 79-7 after 25 overs before rain fell and delayed proceedings for four hours, reducing the match to 31 overs per team.
However, Charlie Dean (33) and Em Arlott (18) then combined to add another 47 runs for England’s eighth wicket, setting their opponents the reduced target of 113 via DLS.
While Pakistan then seemed to be building thanks to Muneeba Ali (9no) and Omaima Sohail (19no) to reach 33-0 after six overs, the rain started to fall again and took away any chance of victory.
The point leaves Sciver-Brunt’s side seven points behind Australia at the top of the table, who will be back in action on Thursday against Bangladesh, live on Aerial sportsfrom 10:30 a.m.
This ends England’s 100 per cent record after beating South Africa and beating Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s superb bowling display saw them finally put a point on the board after defeats against Bangladesh, India and Australia.
This is also the third rain of the tournament after Australia v Sri Lanka and New Zealand v Sri Lanka. These games were also held in Colombo.
England batting collapses as Pakistan deny chance of victory
It was an innings to forget for England after being put into bat by Pakistan, collapsing to 79-7 after just 25 overs before the rain started to fall.
Pakistan made an early impact in the second match as opener Tammy Beaumont (4) fell, reaching for a delivery that clipped her bail out of off stump. Her compatriot Amy Jones (8) quickly followed in third, with the jaffa of Fatima Sana (3-19) doing the job.
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Rameen Shamim got redemption by dismissing Alice Capsey after a dropped catch earlier in the match.
With Nat Sciver-Brunt (4) and Heather Knight (18) in place, it looked like England could recover, but that hope was short-lived and stood out at the end of the seventh over. First, the England skipper fell to the beauty of a Fatima defender in a captain-on-captain showdown, and former England frontman Knight did the same, but via lbw as England floundered on 39-4.
The wickets didn’t stop there, with Emma Lamb (4), Sophia Dunkley (11) and finally Alice Capsey (16) forced to walk as England toiled away before rain brought proceedings to a halt.
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As part of Inspiring Generations, England cricketer Davina Perrin talks about her journey in cricket, the need to improve diversity in sport and how she wants to be a role model for the next generation of girls. BCE video credit
After a delay of almost four hours and with six overs to try for the highest possible score, Dean and Arlott turned aggressive to add 47 runs in England’s strongest stand. Linsey Smith (4no) and Sarah Glenn (3no) then saw action for the final over to help England reach 133-9 and eventually set Pakistan a reduced target of 113 by DLS.
Although England tried to keep Pakistan quiet by handing the new ball to Sciver-Brunt and Smith, their plan did not work as Ali and Sohail made their mark in the powerplay, rising to 33-0 after those six overs, although spinner Dean tightened things up with a maiden.
With things looking up again for Pakistan, it took just four deliveries before the covers were out again.
That left Pakistan seeing their two-point hopes dashed and England potentially a point higher than they would have been without the weather interference.
Sciver-Brunt: England weren’t good enough | Fatima: We could have beaten England
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Nat Sciver-Brunt admitted England were not good enough against Pakistan
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt:
“I thought Pakistan played brilliantly and made it very difficult for us to get into the game.
“After the rain break we hit well to give ourselves a chance, but we weren’t very good today, we weren’t good enough. We’ll put our hands up.
“I don’t think we adapted as well as we could when there were a lot of seams.
“Everyone is training really well and following their process, but it’s about bringing that into the games.”
Pakistani captain Fatima Sana:
“Today is the day we could have beaten them – but [the weather] was not in our favor.
“I knew the pitch was good for fast bowlers, so I just tried to bowl a good length, attack the stumps. It will be good when we win the match!
“We have played well in the last few games, so hopefully we can execute with the bat in the next few games.”
England World Cup results and schedule
Anytime in the UK and Ireland, all matches live on Sky Sports
- against South Africa: Friday October 3 – England won by 10 wickets 🔵
- against Bangladesh: Tuesday October 7 – England won by four wickets 🔵
- against Sri Lanka: Saturday October 11 – England won by 89 points 🔵
- against Pakistan: Wednesday October 15 – It rained, no results
- against India: Sunday October 19 (10:30 a.m.)
- against Australia: Wednesday October 22 (10:30 a.m.)
- against New Zealand: Sunday October 26 (5:30 a.m.)
Watch the Women’s Cricket World Cup live on Sky Sports Cricket in its entirety, up to and including the final on Sunday 2 November. Stream contract-free cricket, football, golf and more with NOW.
