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Ghastly start for England against India. 10/2 with Wyatt and Capsey falling to some excellent bowling from Thakur inside the first three overs.

India waste a review with a hopeful try against Nat Sciver-Brunt. But England in sore need of a partnership here.

Three down now but Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt have raised the fifty with some positive play...61/3 off nine and it looks a bit easier with Thakur out of the attack for now.

Big game this. Neither team probably wants to meet Australia in the semis and the winner here should avoid that fate.

Hard to see the Aussies being beaten here anyway , to be honest. But these two sides are the most likely to challenge them.

Good tenth over for England : eleven off so 72/3 at halfway...

Good recovery to total 151. Nat getting 50 and Amy Jones 40.

Thakur an amazing five wicket haul

Chase might be interesting. 50/50 I think.

India starting very well in the chase ...Kat Siver-Brunt getting smashed everywhere. England will need to get their excellent spinners on quickly or this could run away fast...27/0 from just three overs.

Couple of wickets gone now ...India 57/2 in the tenth over. Mandhana the big threat , still in on 31 at better than run a ball.

But the RRR up close to nine so advantage England at this point.

Ecclestone gets Kaur with a juggling catch by Capsey...big wicket. 62/3

Couple of good overs for India bringing them back into this...11 and 9 from Nat S-B and Dean. While Mandhana is there India can hope. Only three off Glenn's next though.

Raining now ! Think England ahead on Duckworth-Lewis ?

If we get the full 20 , they need another 59 from 5

Fifty for Manhana ! Raised with a six....but out next ball ! Caught in the deep , two wickets for Sarah Glenn and it's 105/4.

Want 47 from four...

Ecclestone finishes with 1/14 from 4 ...reliable as ever

India need an unlikely 31 from the last over...

Pretty awful last over from Katherine Sciver-Brunt ...gone for 19 but England deservedly win the game and will avoid the Aussies in the semi. Job done

Plenty of holes in this England team, but for the first time in ages - with the additions of Capsey and Dunkley to the top three - they have the firepower to keep up with the Aussies. They both failed today, but the intent has been there since the warm up games to try and play the game the Aussies play and not the game every other country in the world plays.

The Irish catching is so bad its comical, not just in this match but in others as well. It's a shame as they are doing well in other areas, but it really is an unacceptable standard

VTR wrote:The Irish catching is so bad its comical, not just in this match but in others as well. It's a shame as they are doing well in other areas, but it really is an unacceptable standard

And it's probably the easiest thing to work on and improve, at least to get up to a moderately acceptable level. Practice and build confidence.

Ireland weren't too far off winning it on DLS.

More excellent intent from England. 33-2 after 4.2 when Capsey was dismissed, and they added 22 in the last 10 balls of the PP. Really good to see.

89/2 off the first ten pretty handy...good to see Danni Wyatt in the runs . She and Nat S-B are having fun ; though I'd have to say there has been some right old rubbish bowled over the last few...guess you can only slaughter what you get to face

Would like to see a bit more from the two young guns at the top of the order , if I'm being picky. Dunkley and Capsey have each played one good innings so far mixed with three failures : hope they're saving something up for the finals.

No question England are finishing top so will then have to beat SA (who are practically certain to replace NZ as semi finalist in the other group) for the right to play off for the title with Australia or India. They'd fancy doing that : but would like to get everything working smoothly for the sharp end of the tournament - they admit parts have been a bit messy so far , although good enough to win. Fielding and Kat S-B's bowling could do with some work.

Wyatt gone now but done her job with that fast fifty...England 112/3 and on for a big total

Yes - some juicy full tosses served up by the Pakistan spinners has helped! And the fielding too…

As you say Alfie, basically everything would have to go right for England (or anyone) to beat the Aussies. But at least they give themselves a chance playing this way rather than patting it about for 140 and then losing in the 16th over.

Yes , JD , Aussies will take a power of beating ! But in t20 , surprises can happen. I think the main thing England might have going for them is three very effective spinners ; so if they can get a lot of runs , who knows ?

Of course it is not impossible that India on a good day could upset Australia in the semi !

Nat Sciver-Brunt propelling England towards 200 with some excellent striking... Jones isn't messing about either.

Getting late here so I'll probably catch the formality of dismissing Pakistan on replay tomorrow. But better stick around for now to see if Nat can get another 34 in the last three overs

213/5 ...that'll do , I think

England taking some batting form into the knockouts...

Really good from England. Won’t be the toughest challenge they’ll face, but good teams hammer bad teams. SA await.

dummy_half wrote:

VTR wrote:The Irish catching is so bad its comical, not just in this match but in others as well. It's a shame as they are doing well in other areas, but it really is an unacceptable standard

And it's probably the easiest thing to work on and improve, at least to get up to a moderately acceptable level. Practice and build confidence.

Its been poor all tournament and cost them a win against the West Indies. Even yesterday, they could have restricted India to 20 - 30 runs less had their fielding been of a decent standard and they could have won that...

That said, signs are there for Ireland that they will get better and better. Ed Joyce is not a bad option at the helm either.

alfie wrote:213/5 ...that'll do , I think

England taking some batting form into the knockouts...

Crunching to be fair. It has an Australia v England final written all over it

India giving it a good go in their semi against Australia - 62 needed from 42 balls, keeping well up with the required scoring rate. 6 wickets in hand

And the Aussies held on to win by 5 runs. The game turned on a rather bizarre run-out on Harmanpreet Kaur, who was dominating the scoring just after my earlier post - running back for a tightish but not desperate 2nd, she went to slide her bat into the crease, only for it to dig into the ground about a foot short of the crease line and leave her short. From then on, Australia chipped away at the wickets sufficiently to control the scoring rate and get home.

Didn’t manage to see the game unfortunately - but sounds as though India’s bowling and fielding really let them down and they should have won. Surprised the Aussies chose to win and bat too.

Ash Gardner won POTM but Darcie Brown was robbed - 2/18 off 4 when no-one else went below 7s in the match is brilliant

Watched the Australian innings : India's dreadful fielding pretty clearly ended up costing them the match. Drops , mis-fields , poor throws...it was village.

Went back to bed when the Indian openers got out early - probably should have stayed up as it apparently ended up a very exciting finish !

So : does that game mean Australia are possibly vulnerable - or have got their minor glitch out of the way ?

Anyway tonight sees the second semi and either England or the hosts SA go on to tackle the Aussies. Past records suggest England are overwhelming favourites : could this be a banana skin ?

SA will have home support ; but they might need more than that to post a competitive total against an England attack whose three-pronged spin weapon is well suited to the pitches we've been seeing.
You'd think their best chance would be if England were to stumble with the bat in attempting their usual high-octane pursuit of runs. They come in on the back of a huge score against Pakistan and with several players in good form ; but perhaps they have some vulnerability in that the proper batting ends at six. Ecclestone has really worked on her batting - so much so she has moved ahead of Kat Sciver-Brunt in the order. But I'm not sure the last five can match the sort of batting depth that Australia can boast.
Haven't needed it , so far. Knight & co will be hoping that continues to hold up and book them another shot at their arch rivals on Sunday.

Bit late for me with a match to play tomorrow but you fellows might find it worth watching...

I wouldn't class Ecclestone or KSB at proper batters, but both are quite capable of adding a quick 15-20 at the end of a T20 game, so I don't see it as being that big weakness.

So far, it seems that England's batting has been NSB and whoever can hang around with her for a few overs. Probbly need a bit more of a contribution from the rest of the top order today, and definitely will against Australia if we reach the final.

India continue to choke in K.O stages of ICC events both in men and women format

It was a shame for the Indian ladies as they were so close. Agree with the fielding costing them the match, the Aussies were there to be beaten.

On to today, i think it will all be rather easy for England.

Looks like England may be chasing 160+, with the South Africans 83/0 after 12.

England loosing a bit of composure here after a very good start. The South Africans are buzzing in the field.

Sciver out for 40, with England needing 33 from 22. Good finish coming up

England are folding. So much for me thinking this would be a walkover for them...

SA have been excellent in the field - would they have had the same pep having to hide Van Niekerk somewhere?

Well this is going pete tong...

Seems I managed to wake up in time to see England fall over that banana skin I suggested might be lying in wait...

Could blame eirebilly I suppose

Unless the skipper can produce a super finish I think they're done...

Ah sure alfie, I will shoulder this...

Heather Knight though...

Knight gone now. That's all she wrote.

Simply much more hungrier in the field after the 10 over mark.

Knight gone and that's it ...well played SA.

England I think paid the price for taking this one a little too much for granted. And probably for persisting with Katherine Sciver-Brunt when she's had a dreadful tournament. That last over of hers really cost them.

England were completely in control after 10 overs. After the break, South Africa came out a completely different side. Their energy in the field was very noticeable and they just squeezed the game out of England.


Congrats South Africa

Very impressive all-round performance by South Africa.

That's really f*cked up my excellent observation-to-be that it's 12 semifinals for SA (men & women, 20 & 50 overs) without ever making it to the final.

Think the final could be a massacre. Can't fault South Africa, very good today, but I think that is their big performance and they will struggle to play that well again, and are facing an even tougher team

Disappointing from England in the field. I tend to find that if Ecclestone and/or Glenn get hit they can often lose composure in the field. A lot of reliance on those spinners. Particularly as Kath Sciver-Brunt's consistency has declined with age hence the seam attack not delivering in the same way.

Sarah Glenn I find an interesting bowler. Her action looks odd with lots of moving parts and the lower arm but the flight is then fairly traditional whereas many leggies with odd actions tend to also have 'different' speeds and flights. The rise of leg-spin in women's cricket is great to see in general though and adds a lot as a spectator.

Lauren Bell looks a terrific talent as does Issy Wong. I'm hoping the pace attack can rebuild around them going forward.

Not a good game for Brunt it must be said and her treatment of fellow fielders was disappointing to see. I played against Brunt as a junior and she was an absolute pleasure so it's even more disappointing from that perspective. Not the first time in recent years either. Unsurprisingly it has been highlighted following the loss. It reminded me of unpleasant memories of Swann, Broad and Jimmy doing similar at times under the Flower regime but that got overlooked more as they were winning.

There's plenty of talent for England to build around but their fielding does need improvement all the above about Brunt's antics said.

I only saw the last two overs of the SA innings (an excellent one from Ecclestone followed by a load of rubbish from KSB) but did fear 164 would be difficult.
England were up with the rate or ahead of it for much of their innings but they really folded under pressure once Nat Sciver-Brunt holed out...which probably shouldn't have been unexpected. As I pointed out before the game their batting tails away after the top six : not usually fatal against lesser teams but a serious weakness in big games. Not the first time they've failed rather disappointingly. Usually it is SA get tagged as "chokers"...

Not all doom and gloom of course as there are young players coming through - though perhaps not as fast as they'd like to think...otherwise we'd surely have seen KSB replaced by now. (Not wishing to just pile on her but having an ineffective pace bowler filling a place that should have been occupied by another batter doesn't help) Australia have solid batting down to about nine : England need to aspire to something similar.

Bit of rebuilding ahead now : perhaps this reverse will paradoxically be helpful for the new coach to really effect a necessary re-set.

So Australia v SA tonight for the crown...

Locals will be pumped up for this after their fine upset of England ; but I will be very surprised if they trouble the favourites too much in this one.

Australia are not just stronger overall and better balanced than England , but they have also had their "fright" in the close semi final win over India. Conversely , maybe SA just played their own "final" on Friday ?

Crowd will support them again. But I think it will take more than that to upset this Australian outfit.