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England v India: first women’s T20 cricket international – live | England women’s cricket team
Key events
7th over: England 58-2 (Jones 29, Knight 5) England go after the debutant Nandani, with Jones hitting two boundaries and Knight one in an over that goes for 15. Now it’s time for some spin from the left-armer Shree Charani.
6th over: England 43-2 (Jones 18, Knight 1) That second wicket has put the brakes on England, who have scored only six from the last two overs.
In case you missed the start of the game, Heather Knight is now England’s most capped women’s cricketer. This is her 310th appearance, one more than Charlotte Edwards.
5th over: England 39-2 (Jones 15, Knight 1) A fabulous inswinger from Reddy beats Jones on the inside and bounces just over the stumps. Just two runs from the over.
Since you asked, at the same stage India were 66 for 2.
4th over: England 37-2 (Jones 14, Knight 0) That was the last ball of an over that started well for England when Capsey and Jones both crashed cut shots to the fence.
WICKET! England 37-2 (Capsey c Ghosh b Gaud 6)
Alice Capsey chases a stinker of a delivery from Gaud and gets a top edge through to Richa Ghosh. It was short and wide, almost too wide, and Capsey was straining just to reach the ball.
3rd over: England 27-1 (Capsey 1, Jones 9) The debutant Nandani Sharma, who was called up after an excellent performance in the WPL, comes into the attack. The non-striker Capsey is almost run out when a throw from mid-on misses the stumps; it would have been seriously close with a direct hit.
After taking only two runs from the first four balls, Jones belts a boundary straight down the ground. Nandani stuck out a hand but didn’t get a touch; it would have been a miraculous catch.
2nd over: England 19-1 (Capsey 1, Jones 1) Amy Jones is the new batter.
WICKET! England 18-1 (Dunkley c Verma b Gaud 16)
Dunkley launches Kranti Gaud back over her head for six, but that’s as good as it gets. Two balls later she clunks a cross-bat stroke towards mid-off and is nicely caught on the run by Verma. That’s another frustrating cameo from Dunkley, 16 from 9 balls.
1st over: England 11-0 (Dunkley 10, Capsey 0) The England openers, Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey, are in the strange position of knowing one of them will probably miss out at the start of the World Cup. Watch the running!
There are no tight singles in the first over, just two boundaries for Dunkley – an inside-edge and a meaty cut – and a safe two on the leg side.
The players are back on the field, and Arundhati Reddy has the ball.
England need 189 to win
20th over: India 188-7 (Reddy 9, Gaud 1) A single off the last ball, so Lauren Bell ends with figures of 4-0-34-3. Her two-wicket opening over seems a long time ago, thanks mainly to a blistering counter-attack from Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues. India should have enough runs.
WICKET! India 183-7 (D Sharma c Dean b Bell 22)
Deepti Sharma pulls a slower ball to deep midwicket to end a handy cameo of 22 from 13 balls. One delivery remaining.
19th over: India 178-6 (D Sharma 17, Reddy 5) A very costly penultimate over for England, with Dani Gibson being hit for 17. It could have been even worse – Deepti Sharma hit the first two balls for four, then Gibson sprayed five wides down the leg side. Gibson did well to concede only a single from the last four deliveries, but that still feels like a big moment. It’s not only in a runchase that the 19th over can be pivotal.
Talking of 19, that’s how many runs England have conceded in wides tonight. Where’s Paul Hardcastle when you need him, or Rory Bremner for that matter.
18th over: India 161-6 (D Sharma 7, Reddy 3) Deepti Sharma sweeps her old friend Charlie Dean expertly for four. But that’s the only boundary from another pretty good over for England, and dean finishes with superb figures of 4-0-26-1.
17th over: India 153-6 (D Sharma 2, Reddy 1) Wong, who is bowling round the wicket to the right-handers, has a big LBW appeal against Reddy turned down. It was closer than it looked but probably pitched just outside leg stump.
Scorecard aficionados will love India’s. These are the individual scores:
WICKET! India 148-6 (Fulmali b Wong 6)
The fightback continues. Wong gets a wicket of her own, bowling Fulmali off the pad with an excellent slower ball. It hasn’t been perfect from England, not even close, but the response to adversity from Corteen-Coleman and especially Wong has been admirable.
16th over: India 148-5 (Fulmali 6, D Sharma 0) Richa Ghosh is a helluva first wicket for Corteen-Coleman. And after an understandably nervous first over, she has bowled beautifully. Figures of 3-0-19-1 do not flatter her.
WICKET! India 148-5 (Ghosh c Wong b Corteen-Coleman 4)
Tilly Corteen-Coleman gets her first T20I wicket thanks to a sensational catch from Issy Wong! Ghosh got into position to reverse-hoick over short third, but she didn’t get enough on it and Wong charged back to take a truly brilliant running catch.
15th over: India 144-4 (Ghosh 2, Fulmali 4) India are still on top, especially as England are a batter light, but those wickets have changed the mood a little. Bharti Fulmali doesn’t necessarily agree: she hammers Ecclestone down the ground for her first boundary.
14th over: India 137-4 (Ghosh 0, Fulmali 0) Rodrigues’ innings was a delight: 69 from 40 balls with 10 fours, all round Chelmsford, and a six.
WICKET! India 137-4 (Rodrigues ct and b Dean 69)
Two wickets in three balls for England, and this definitely isn’t a blessing in disguse for India. Rodrigues played beautifully and looked on for a century until she popped a leading edge back down the ground and was superbly caught by Dean. With bat or ball, in the field or as captain, she is a gem of a cricketer.
WICKET! India 133-3 (Bhatia run out 54)
A much needed wicket for England, though it might be a blessing in disguise for India. Bhatia had lost her way after a pulsating start and now she’s on her way. She was dropped by Gibson earlier in the over, a sharp chance in the covers, and was short of her ground when the bowler Dean collected a good throw from Corteen-Coleman and broke the stumps.
13th over: India 127-2 (Bhatia 53, Rodrigues 60) Bhatia swishes unsuccessfully at a full toss from Bell that almost hits the stumps. It’s been an innings of two halves from Bhatia: 40 from the first 16 balls, 13 from the last 22.
Rodrigues has batted at the same tempo throughout and gets four more with a beautifully placed dab past short third.
12th over: India 120-2 (Bhatia 52, Rodrigues 54) Wowsers. Rodrigues moves to a 31-ball fifty, a blistering and beautiful fifty – by launching Corteen-Coleman’s first ball over long-off for six.
Corteen-Coleman responds superbly – first with a flighted delivery that takes a leading edge and loops just short of the bowler, then with a quicker ball that beats the advancing Bhatia and is fumbled down the leg side by Jones. It wasn’t an easy stumping chance, but a keeper of Jones’ quality etc etc.
On the plus side, that was such an impressive response from Corteen-Coleman: six off the first ball, two off the last five.
11th over: India 112-2 (Bhatia 51, Rodrigues 47) Rodrigues carves Gibson over the off side for four. After a single from Bhatia brings up a mildly outrageous hundred partnership from only 58 balls, Rodrigues dumps a full toss over mid-on for four more. England are wilting under the admittedly considerable pressure.
10th over: India 101-2 (Bhatia 50, Rodrigues 37) Issy Wong, whose first over went for 27, returns to the attack and shows no sign of being affected by that hideous start. Bhatia lashes four over mid-off, her first boundary since the fifth over, but it was a terrific shot rather than a poor ball. A clip for two takes Bhatia to a coruscating 31-ball fifty, her first in T20 internationals. Not bad for somebody playing their first game for India in any format since 2024.
9th over: India 92-2 (Bhatia 43, Rodrigues 35) Rodrigues reverse sweeps Ecclestone through short third for four. It went straight under Bell, who will know she should have done better.
This has been a worrying performance in the field from England, even if India have put them under pressure with some exceptional batting. Rodrigues reinforces that point by making room to thump another emphatic boundary over the off side.
8th over: India 81-2 (Bhatia 42, Rodrigues 25) A terrific over from Dean includes four successive dot balls to Bhatia. England really needed a quiet over like that, and their captain delivered it.
7th over: India 79-2 (Bhatia 41, Rodrigues 24) Dani Gibson becomes England’s sixth bowler of the innings in only the seventh over. It’s a pretty good start, with a tight wicket-to-wicket line and only six runs conceded.
6th over: India 73-2 (Bhatia 40, Rodrigues 19) Charlie Dean brings herself on for the final over of the Powerplay. Rodrigues pulls ferociously behind square for four, then gets lucky when a top-edged sweep is misjudged by Corteen-Coleman at short fine leg. She didn’t quite backpedal quickly enough and couldn’t get a hand on the ball as it dropped to the turf.
5th over: India 66-2 (Bhatia 40, Rodrigues 12) Sophie Ecclestone’s first ball is driven inside-out for four by Rodrigues, the shot of the innings so far. Bhatia sees that shot and raises it, skipping down to chip over wide long-on for six. This is awesome batting from India, Bhatia in particular, and England are under serious pressure.
This is already a career-best score for Bhatia, which is hard to believe given how well she has played.
4th over: India 51-2 (Bhatia 30, Rodrigues 7) The debutant Tilly Corteen-Coleman replaces Issy Wong. She starts a little nervously, with two unpunished full tosses, before Bhatia crashes another boundary to bring up the fifty from just 3.5 overs.
England may not have bowled well, but India’s response to losing both openers in the first half has been extraordinary.
3rd over: India 44-2 (Bhatia 25, Rodrigues 5) A low full toss from Bell is chipped jauntily over midwicket for four by Rodrigues. There’s a brief concussion check when a throw from the outfield hits Bhatia on the helmet; when play resumes, Bhatia inside-edges a jaffa from Bell for four more. Some start, this.
Wong’s first over goes for 27
2nd over: India 34-2 (Bhatia 21, Rodrigues 0) With no Linsey Smith in the side, Issy Wong shares the new ball. The result is a nightmare for Wong and England. There were three wides early in the over, two of which flew down the leg side to the boundary, and Yastika Bhatia ran with the mood to hit four fours of her own. The first two were sliced deliberately through backward point, and she followed up with drives through mid-off and cover.
1st over: India 7-2 (Bhatia 5, Rodrigues 0) That was the last ball of a pr-etty eventful first over.
WICKET! India 7-2 (Verma c Capsey b Bell 2)
Two wickets in the over! After getting off the mark with a streaky mishit over the off side, Shafali Verma drags Bell towards mid-on and is caught by the stooping Alice Capsey.
That was smart bowling from Bell, who followed Verma outside leg stump and cramped her for room.
WICKET! India 0-1 (Mandhana c Dean b Bell 0)
Smriti Mandhana drives the first ball of the match straight to Charlie Dean at extra cover! It’s a perfect start for England – and the second time in just over a week that Lauren Bell has taken a wicket with the first ball of a T20 series. There’s your statgasm for the night.
Time for the action, and action there will be from ball one
This week’s Spin is a cracking read. Raf’s book, which she’s been researching for 15 years, is published next week and looks superb.
Heather Knight, a quiet giant of English cricket in the past decade, is about to become England’s most capped women’s cricketer. Tonight’s game in Chelmsford is her 310th appearance across formats, one more than her coach Charlotte Edwards. “What a place to do it, eh?” chirps Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports.
Team news
The precocious Tilly Corteen-Coleman makes her T20I debut, one of two changes from the series decider against New Zealand on Monday. Lauren Bell also returns to the XI; Linsey Smith is rested and Maia Bouchier has been omitted. England’s batting looks light – presumably by design, to see how Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson fare under pressure in the middle order.
India make three changes from their most recent T20I, a defeat to South Africa at Benoni in April. Smriti Mandhana, Yastika Bhatia and Nandni Sharma come in for Anushka Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur and Renuka Singh.
England Dunkley, Capsey, Jones (wk), Knight, Kemp, Gibson, Dean (c), Wong, Ecclestone, Bell, Corteen-Coleman.
India Mandhana (c), Verma, Bhatia, Rodrigues, Fulmali, Ghosh (wk), D Sharma, Reddy, Charani, N Sharma, Gaud.
England win the toss and bowl
Two stand-in captains at the toss. Smriti Mandhana calls incorrectly and Charlie Dean puts India into the bat. Smriti confirms that Harmanpreet Kaur is being rested today.
India are in a horrible group at the T20 World Cup. Only two teams qualify for the semi-finals, which makes the presence of Australia and South Africa (who beat India 4-1 in a recent T20 series) less than ideal. But there’s still every chance India can become undisputed white-ball world champions.
Aside from that defeat in South Africa, their T20 form has been excellent since they failed to get out of the group at the last World Cup two years ago. In the last 12 months they have won T20 series in both England and Australia – and nine of their squad started the ODI World Cup final win over South Africa in November.
Preamble
What do you get for beating the world champions? An even tougher test a few days later. England started their T20 World Cup build-up with a 2-1 series win over the holders New Zealand; now they face the 50-over world champions, India, in an intriguing three-match series that begins at a sweltering Chelmsford.
Most people have India as second favourites behind Australia to win the World Cup, so this is a litmus test for both teams. But while neither team will want to go into the World Cup on the back of a series defeat, winning and losing is only part of the story. Cricket is an individual game within a team sport, and there are places up for grabs in both teams.
By the time the series finishes at Taunton on Tuesday, Charlotte Edwards and Amol Muzumdar should know their XIs to start the World Cup.
Tonight’s match begins at 6.30pm.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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