India beat England in the final ODI at Lord’s on Saturday by 16 runs, but the match ended in controversial fashion after Deepti Sharma ran out Charlie Dean at the non-striker’s end, prompting a chorus of boos from the crowd
England had been chasing the count after collapsing to 53 for five even before the first bowl break, chasing just 170, but a remarkable effort from Dean (47) who calmly added 35 runs with Freya Davies for the last wicket. it looked like he might see them over the line until Sharma’s intervention in the 44th over.
Dean was in tears but resolutely shook hands with the opposing players before walking off, as India celebrated.
“I don’t think it was any offence, it’s part of the game,” India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said. “It shows your awareness of what the batsmen are doing. I’ll support my players – she hasn’t done anything out of line.”
England’s Kate Cross said: “Ultimately it’s Deepti’s choice how she does it. If you’re talking about the spirit of cricket, I thought [shaking hands] that was great of Deano.”
The incident threatened to overshadow what was supposed to be the final match for 39-year-old Jhulan Goswami, who has been terrorizing batsmen with her 5-foot-11 frame since 2002. Her opening swansong seemed which could end in Anti-Climax: Freya Kemp bowled it for a golden duck, before sending her five wicketless innings as every Lord’s fan, both in England and India, wanted her to.
Finally, on the sixth attempt, he caught Alice Capsey at the point of cover, proving you’re never too old to teach a young dog new tricks. Twenty-five overs later he finished his last game of international cricket bowling Cross. She was mobbed by her teammates and received a standing ovation from the crowd.
England’s defeat came despite an unplayable opening spell of five from Cross that reduced India to 17 for three, the seamer using a late move to dismiss Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia for ducks and catching Harmanpreet lbw for just four, after his attack in Canterbury on Wednesday. .
Cross returned in the 22nd over to remove a fluent-looking Smriti Mandhana (50), who faced a bouncer on her own stumps. But Sharma then swept his way to 68 not out, and managed enough of a recovery for his side along with an aggressive Pooja Vastrakar (22) to see them through to a series of clean sweeps.
England will return to Lord’s next summer as part of their multi-format Women’s Ashes series which, for the first time, includes matches at some of England’s marquee grounds (a Test at Trent Bridge and night T20s at Edgbaston, the Kia Oval). and of the Lord). On the one hand, the return to the “home of cricket” is long overdue; previously, England had not played an international at Lord’s since the 2017 World Cup final. The ECB’s ambition to make a seismic rise from grounds such as Worcester (capacity 5,000) and Hove (capacity 6,000) to Edgbaston ( 25,000) and The Oval (27,500) should be applauded, and the crowd of 15,000 at Lord’s would suggest the appetite. watching women’s international cricket live in London is alive and well.
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On the other hand, if the goal is to attract a generation of new fans, the pressure will be on to make next summer’s Women’s Ashes at least competitive. On the last two occasions (home in 2019 and away in 2021-22), the final score was 4-12, and not in England’s favour. England’s entire strategy this summer has focused on making sure these results are not repeated in 2023. Four players (Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Freya Kemp and Issy Wong) have made their debuts, while two (Alice Davison -Richards and Bryony Smith) have made their debut. made returns
And yet consistency for this new-look England has so far been elusive. Their success earlier this summer against a decaying South Africa did them little good at the Commonwealth Games (medal count: nil), while the defeat against India is their first loss in a bilateral series at home against different Australian opposition in 15 years. . “It’s a frustrating time because as an England team you want to win cricket matches,” Cross said.
England’s big problem against India has been the leadership void that has dogged the team since Heather Knight suffered a hip injury in July. Nat Sciver reluctantly accepted the Commonwealth Games gig, before pulling out just three days before the first T20 against India, citing “emotional exhaustion”.
Amy Jones, who had never captained over-50s cricket before, was selected for the role, apparently in the absence of other plausible candidates. He has looked more and more out of his depth.
This, one would hope, is where a new coach can step in and make his mark – applications close for the position today.
Meanwhile, England will be desperate to see a successful return for Knight ahead of his next international assignment in the Caribbean this winter. The captaincy has been a hot potato for long enough.