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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Geoff Lemon (later) and James Wallace (earlier)

ICC Women’s World Cup: West Indies beat England by seven runs – as it happened

West Indies celebrate their victory after Anisa Mohammed dismissed Sophie Ecclestone at University Oval in Dunedin.
West Indies celebrate their victory after Anisa Mohammed dismissed Sophie Ecclestone at University Oval in Dunedin. Photograph: Joe Allison-ICC/ICC/Getty Images

And here’s Raf Nicholson’s report of the day’s events in Dunedin:

A contest that twisted and turned. West Indies recognised that this was not an easy pitch to score quickly on, with even the dangerous Deandra Dottin going at a strike rate of 48. But a big stand between Campbelle and Nation took them most of the way to 225 for 6, even though there was no big flurry of runs at the end.

England’s batting failed again: 94 for 5 at one stage, then 156 for 8. Tammy Beaumont was a lone hand through the first half of the innings. Wyatt and Dunkley revived England with some fast scoring, but there was a lot left to do when they were out. Then it was down to Ecclestone and Cross who looked like they were going to produce a miracle, but Anisa Mohammed produced the late twist. Two wickets and a run out for her in the match, and she now has 178 ODI wickets.

That puts West Indies second on the table, having beaten England and New Zealand, while England languish with the other winless teams in Pakistan and Bangladesh. England can still qualify for semi-finals from here, but there isn’t much room left for error. A big result from an engaging day. See you next time.

West Indies beat England by 7 runs

What an extraordinary match. The play on the field wasn’t perfect, but the flaws made it very compelling. There was plenty of skill on show as well, not least from Anisa Mohammed right at the end.

WICKET! Shrubsole b Mohammed 0, England 218-10

Game over! Shrubsole charges Anisa Mohammed, wanting to reach the pitch of the ball to play it more safely, but misses it altogether. Turns it into a yorker. Would have been stumped had the ball not been so straight. And that is the ball game.

WICKET! Cross run out 27, England 217-9

Another twist in the tail of the tale of the tail. The 61-run partnership comes to an end as Ecclestone smokes a straight hit, Anisa Mohammed gets a finger on it, and Cross is out of her ground backing up at the non-striker’s end. Goodness!

47th over: England 217-8 (Ecclestone 32, Cross 27) Almost caught again! Ecclestone gets her third stroke of luck, skewing a shot just over midwicket, misreading a slower ball from Selman and popping it up. Matthews dives and can’t reach it. Four singles and a wide from the over. England need 9 from 18.

46th over: England 212-8 (Ecclestone 30, Cross 25) Sophie Ecclestone was kissed by an angel this morning! Dottin returns. Pace, great ball, seaming in. Inside edge. It misses off stump by a whisker, then evades the keeper’s dive down the leg side, and reaches the boundary. Ecclestone follows up with a couple of runs to extra cover, then gets a full toss and puts it away! Through midwicket. A dozen runs from the over, the partnership is 56 now, and England need 14 to win.

45th over: England 200-8 (Ecclestone 20, Cross 24) Selman’s over concedes only three singles. Narrowing the gap a little: 26 from 30 balls needed as the team 200 comes up.

44th over: England 197-8 (Ecclestone 19, Cross 22) Ecclestone survives! Henry has two catches already today, and puts in a good diving effort coming forward from long-on, but can’t reach the miscued drive. England end up with six from the Matthews over. 29 more to win.

43rd over: England 191-8 (Ecclestone 15, Cross 20) Onward they go, the partnership worth 35 runs so far. They need to double that if they’re to reach the finish line.

Wicket overturned!

The experience of Anisa Mohammed looks to have done the job, bowling only her fourth over of the day, but Cross reviews the lbw in hope and it is turning past the leg stump.

Updated

42nd over: England 185-8 (Ecclestone 12, Cross 17) A couple more singles from Matthews, a quiet over but every run helps. 41 to get.

41st over: England 183-8 (Ecclestone 11, Cross 16) Another boundary for Cross, this time pulled in the air from Alleyne. Cross looked good with the bat in the Australian summer, from limited opportunities. This partnership is worth 27. The deficit is 43.

40th over: England 178-8 (Ecclestone 10, Cross 12) Matthews back on to bowl spin. Ecclestone somehow jams an edge past her leg stump and profits by three runs. Cross adds two more from a sweep. That’s all they need. Another 48 to win.

39th over: England 173-8 (Ecclestone 7, Cross 10) Boundary for Cross! Poor ball from Connell on leg stump and Cross flicks it away square. Seven from the over all up, England need 53 from 66.

38th over: England 166-8 (Ecclestone 6, Cross 5) They find the going easier against Taylor, working singles around before Ecclestone sweeps for two. Five in total.

37th over: England 161-8 (Ecclestone 3, Cross 3) Connell to Ecclestone, big appeal for a ball missing leg stump by a mile. Only one run from the over.

36th over: England 160-8 (Ecclestone 3, Cross 2) Four singles from the Taylor over. At least what Dunkley and Wyatt have done is got them ahead of the rate, so the lower-order players don’t have to slog. But there’s a lot of gathering ahead of them if they’re to make 66 more.

Updated

35th over: England 156-8 (Ecclestone 1, Cross 0) What a difference an over makes. England need 70 runs from 90 balls with two wickets in hand.

WICKET! Brunt c Dottin b Connell 1, England 156-8

Goodness me. Three wickets in six balls now. The second one of the Connell over. Short, wide, slashed straight to point where Dottin makes no mistake this time. England falling apart.

WICKET! Wyatt c Henry b Connell 33, England 154-7

Two in three balls, and both the set players from that great partnership are gone. A new over, a change of ends, but it’s Chinelle Henry again with the catch, this time at mid-off, tracking the loopy edge from Wyatt’s crossbat slog and taking an excellent running catch.

WICKET! Dunkley c Henry b Taylor 38, England 154-6

34th over: England 154-6 (Wyatt 32) Last ball of the over strikes again, and Dunkley’s good innings ends on 38 from 35 balls. She gets a very wide ball from Taylor and for some reason tries to drag it leg side. A mistake she’s made before. Hits it straight to midwicket.

33rd over: England 150-5 (Wyatt 32, Dunkley 35) Shamilia Connell comes back, the opening bowler. She bowled six overs off the top, now her seventh. Dunkley brings up the 50 stand with a single, gets the strike back, then smokes a cut shot for four. She’s been outstanding today. Has changed the game. The 150 comes up, and for the first time today, England’s current run rate is higher than the required rate. 76 to win.

Updated

32nd over: England 143-5 (Wyatt 31, Dunkley 29) Stafanie Taylor replaces Dottin with herself, bowling off-spin. Taylor bowls a no-ball as well though, not an overstep but a wide that she loses control of and it lands off the pitch. Wyatt slogs the free hit away and it’s parried in the deep, only concedes one run. Eight from the over in the end. The partnership is 49.

31st over: England 135-5 (Wyatt 29, Dunkley 25) Wyatt scampers home for a single as Dottin hits the batter rather than the stumps. Selman bowling her fourth. Dunkley wants to keep going, charging and slogging over midwicket for four! She has spoken about wanting to play without fear, and it is working today. Seven from the over all up, and that keeps the run rates going the right way.

91 runs required.

30th over: England 128-5 (Wyatt 27, Dunkley 20) Deandra Dottin has the ball. Interesting! She hadn’t bowled for three years before the previous West Indies match against New Zealand. Then she came on to bowl the 50th and defend six runs to win the match. Dottin drama. She doesn’t start so well here though, overstepping to offer a free hit next ball to Dunkley, who hits it through midwicket for four. The over ends up going for 11, the required rate comes down to 4.9, and the overall rate up to 4.27. Things can change so quickly.

29th over: England 117-5 (Wyatt 26, Dunkley 12) Selman sends down a good over for West Indies, becalming Dunkley for most of it. Two singles.

28th over: England 115-5 (Wyatt 25, Dunkley 11) Wyatt and Dunkley are trying to keep things moving. They’re both loitering on the back foot against the spin of Mohammed, forcing the ball away through the off side. Six from the over, and it takes England’s run rate above 4 for the first time today. They need 5.2.

27th over: England 109-5 (Wyatt 21, Dunkley 9) Selman continues, back into the holding pattern with three singles and a wide.

26th over: England 105-5 (Wyatt 20, Dunkley 7) Sophia Dunkley to the middle, and a lot of counterpunching is required from her and Wyatt. They do exactly that, a boundary apiece, Dunkley crashing Mohammed behind point, Wyatt whacking just over the attempted catch at mid-off.

WICKET! Beaumont lbw Mohammed 46, England 94-5

This time Anisa Mohammed gets her quarry. Similar to the last shout, Beaumont shuffling down, but the line is straighter and she gets hit in line, given out by Claire Polosack. Beaumont has to review, just in case, but three reds come up on the screen and England are really struggling.

25th over: England 94-4 (Beaumont 46, Wyatt 16) Shakera Selman is coming on after those Alleyne boundaries to bowl her first over, medium pace business. Three singles from the over. That England lot, they’re at the halfway mark of the overs and they need 132 more runs.

24th over: England 91-4 (Beaumont 44, Wyatt 15) More spin at last. Anisa Mohammed has been held back until the 23rd over, and could go through most of the innings from here. Been around for years, has the off-spinner, and is one of a pack of current bowlers vying to pass Catherine Fitzpatrick and take second spot on the women’s ODI wickets list. Mohammed begs for another, first turned down by Umpire Polosack, then supported by her captain Stafanie Taylor with a review. That shows Beaumont well down the track, and being hit fractionally outside the line of off stump. The ball would have clipped off. But not out. Only a leg bye from the over, so that makes it a maiden for the bowler.

23rd over: England 90-4 (Beaumont 44, Wyatt 15) And on she goes, Danni Wyatt. Gets to face the last two balls of the Alleyne over, and goes hard at them both. Carves them away, one through slip, one through point, for four apiece.

22nd over: England 80-4 (Beaumont 43, Wyatt 6) Danni Wyatt hasn’t come out to prod around nervously like everyone else. Gets out the fine sweep for a couple, then drives three through the covers. Throw in some singles and suddenly Matthews’ seventh over goes for eight runs. That helps.

WICKET! Jones c Matthews b Alleyne 72-4

21st over: England 72-4 (Beaumont 41) Alleyne gets into the book! From the last ball of the over again, a wicket falls. Beaumont has already taken a boundary from the over via a pull shot, but Jones tries to add another. Big drive, edged to slip and gone. That was the seventh ball of the over. Alleyne was unhappy when her sixth ball was called wide, but she’s happy now.

20th over: England 66-3 (Beaumont 36, Jones 1) Matthews finishes her sixth over with 2 for 19, she’s been excellent. Three singles here. England need 160 more to win. They’re going at 3.3 an over and need to reach 5.3.

Anna Bryan emails in to the OBO from Dunedin.

“The sun is finally out here in Dunners. The 9 other spectators and I are having a lovely time of it. Must say the Windies definitely look the better of the fielding sides. Great energy and can’t help but think it’s creating chances. England looked flat and bored in the field in comparison. I’m making an early call of catch of the tournament for Dottin… was a stunner! By the way, shout out for even more international cricket in Dunedin. It may be a small stadium but there is truly nothing better than a day at the cricket at the lovely University Oval. And so great that we have a few CWC22 matches.”

19th over: England 63-3 (Beaumont 34, Jones 0) Another missed chance. This one is the very tricky sort, a shot hit back hard and low at the bowler, and Alleyne can’t get down quickly enough to catch Jones for nought. No run from the over though.

18th over: England 63-3 (Beaumont 34, Jones 0) Matthews is proving very tricky to face today. Beaumont edges her through slip for four, then can’t score from the next five balls.

17th over: England 59-3 (Beaumont 30, Jones 0) Alleyne goes from catching to bowling. A single to Beaumont, four dots to Jones, the wicketkeeper who is now in the middle.

WICKET! Sciver c Alleyne b Matthews 2, England 58-3

16th over: England 58-3 (Beaumont 29) Beaumont tries to take on Matthews again and again only gets a couple, rather cloughing the attempted loft over mid-on. At least she makes it over the fielder though. Natalie Sciver doesn’t. She’s aiming more at midwicket I think, from the last ball of the over, but miscues it completely and it pops up in the air to mid-on for a very simple catch.

15th over: England 55-2 (Beaumont 26, Sciver 2) Drinks break, then the 15th over. Alleyne tries a short ball and Beaumont pulls a couple. With that warm-up out of the way, Beaumont lays into her next opportunity and pulls it for four. Goes hard the other side of the wicket next but finds the cover sweeper for one.

14th over: England 48-2 (Beaumont 19, Sciver 2) Plenty riding on Beaumont now, who has been out there the whole time without being much of a presence. She skips down to lift Matthews over midwicket but only gets two. A couple of singles either side.

13th over: England 44-2 (Beaumont 16, Sciver 1) Aaliyah Alleyne to bowl her first over, right-arm seamers. Beats Sciver on the cut shot. A wide and a leg bye follow, extras up to nine.

12th over: England 41-2 (Beaumont 16, Sciver 0) Huge for West Indies to get Knight cheaply. Now they need the very in-form Sciver.

WICKET! Knight c Campbelle b Matthews 5, England 41-2

What an extraordinary dismissal. Not in terms of the mechanics of it: a simple enough push forward at the spinner that takes an edge to the keeper. The strange part is that the edge is that the edge is so fine that the fielding side didn’t hear it. They appeal for a stumping, and square leg sends the appeal upstairs. But as per protocol, Umpire Wilson in the box has to check whether other modes of dismissal apply, and he sees that ball close to the bat. There is a spike on the soundwave technology when Knight hits her bat on her pad, but there is another spike as the ball passes bat. So without West Indies using a review, that is given out caught behind. Remarkable.

11th over: England 39-1 (Beaumont 16, Knight 3) Connell will continue, with 1 for 16 from her first five overs. Her sixth goes for five runs, including an attempted bouncer that goes awry for another wide.

10th over: England 34-1 (Beaumont 14, Knight 1) There is the single to point for Knight, as the West Indies go to spin for the first time in the match via Hayley Matthews.

9th over: England 31-1 (Beaumont 12, Knight 0) The skipper Heather Knight to the crease. She’s more active to begin with, reaching for Connell’s wider line and trying to find gaps in the field towards point, but can’t get through for her first five balls.

WICKET! Winfield-Hill c Dottin b Connell 12, England 31-1

Absolute screamer from Dottin! She makes up for her blemish by removing the same player with an even better catch! High to her left goes that cut shot, and Dottin takes off, meets it one-handed and reels it in. Fabulous.

8th over: England 31-0 (Winfield-Hill 12, Beaumont 12) Henry bowling to Beaumont, who takes four balls to chop away a single. Neither player has found it easy to score so far, the wides and drops have bailed them out.

7th over: England 29-0 (Winfield-Hill 11, Beaumont 11) Another one hits the dust. And another one down, and another one down... every opening bat today has now been dropped. Winfield-Hill laces a cut shot at Dottin at point, who jumps up and deflects it away.

6th over: England 25-0 (Winfield-Hill 10, Beaumont 8) Henry gets an over on line at least, only six balls to get through it, and England collect three singles.

5th over: England 22-0 (Winfield-Hill 8, Beaumont 7) Oh no! Another dropped catch. The England opening bats each dropped their opening counterparts, and now Beaumont gets a life from Anisa Mohamed at slip. Pretty standard catch, had some velocity on it from Connell’s bowling but straight to her.

Updated

4th over: England 16-0 (Winfield-Hill 4, Beaumont 6) Henry gets called for her first wide, so about half of England’s runs have come from extras after they gave plenty away themselves. Outswing from Henry is taking the ball away from the right-handers. Here’s another wide. And another! Six runs out of 12 from extras. Beaumont shifts the balance back in favour of the bat by driving four through cover. Disappointment for Henry.

3rd over: England 8-0 (Winfield-Hill 3, Beaumont 2) Connell continues with that line, but reins in the wides. A couple of singles cut away for England.

2nd over: England 6-0 (Winfield-Hill 2, Beaumont 1) Chinelle Henry to partner Connell. Winfield-Hill gets a run first ball, and now it’s Beaumont’s turn to get stranded for a while, not willing to reach for that wide line. Eventually gets a run when Matthews knocks the ball away at cover.

1st over: England 4-0 (Winfield-Hill 1, Beaumont 0) Shamilia Connell has the new ball, a tall and powerful fast bowler, and she sets her line consistently outside the off stump. Inconsistently in terms of bowling too wide on occasion. Winfield-Hill plays and misses a couple of times, and takes until the last ball of the over to run a single, but by then Connell has bowled three wides.

Hello all. Thanks James for stewarding the setting of the target, I’ll do my best with the chase. One caveat is that I’m on the road, operating on somewhat sporadic internet, so if I do vanish for a few minutes then trust that I’ll be doing what I can to get back to you. That was a very... West Indies innings. This women’s team has been a confounding one in the last few years, especially with the bat. But they’ve looked in good nick at times in their last few matches, so we’ll see.

Anyhoo, that’s me done, all riled up by extras and with nowhere to go. Except maybe to bed. Geoff Lemon is waiting to pick up the reins, he’ll canter with you merrily through the next few hours.

Thanks for tuning in, goodbye.

Whatever happens in the next few hours, England will need to tighten up if they are to give themselves a fair crack at retaining this trophy.

England will fancy their chances of chasing this total down especially after their strong showing with the bat in the last game. Don’t count West Indies out just yet though, you only have to look at their last game to see that they aren’t going to give up without a tussle.

End of West Indies Innings: 225/6

Fifty overs completed. West Indies take four runs off the last over delivered by Shrubsole. Poor old Chinelle Henry is run out for nowt After sitting through that slow boat of an innings by her teammates.

Wicket! Campbell b Sciver 66

49th over: West Indies 221-4 (Henry 0 Nation 45) Nicht so good from England. Shrubsole drops a sitter off the first ball of the over, the ball going right through her at short third and the batters scampering through for a couple. Sciver then serves up a full toss above waist height and gives away a no ball, Campbelle then sweeps away a leg side delivery for four to fine leg. Sciver then serves up another full toss that looks like it should be hit to Kingdom come but Campbell almost swings too hard, misses and is bowled. Sciver barely celebrates. England have dropped catches, missed run outs and given away oodles of extras in this innings. If they go on to lose this game they will have to look at their fielding, and bowling, bar Ecclestone and Cross who have been excellent. In fact, even if they win, they can’t go on missing opportunities and gifting runs to the opposition in the form of wides. Anyway, one over to go.

48th over: West Indies 208-4 (Campbelle 55, Nation 45) West Indies plunder another 11 runs off the over as England are starting to look a bit sloppy, ending as they started. 200 up and the hundred partnership between Campbelle and Nation. What can they get up to here?

47th over: West Indies 197-4 (Campbelle 51, Nation 38) FIFTY UP for Campbelle! She swivels a pull away off Sciver for a boundary and then takes on a risky two to notch up her half ton. Batted. It’s been slow going but if West Indies can have a few big overs here then they are very much in this game.

46th over: West Indies 186-4 (Campbelle 41, Nation 37) Shrubsole goes for 8 runs as West Indies finally look to be upping the ante.

45th over: West Indies 178-4 (Campbelle 39, Nation 31) Amy Jones misses an easy run out! Jones has kept so smartly all day but just failed to scoop up Danni Wyatt’s underarm throw off the turf, missing the ball and breaking the stumps with her empty glove. It was out by a mile too! Nifty work by Wyatt who swooped in smartly. A couple of singles follow and then, WHAT IS THIS?! A lesser spotted boundary off the bat! Nation drives Sciver away behind point for four! That’s the first one of those since the 32nd over. It’s been attritional stuff. Sciver gives away a wide, England have been poor in that department today. West Indies steal a MASSIVE 11 runs off the over.

Some of these Caps Locks are not necessary.

44th over: West Indies 167-4 (Campbelle 37, Nation 24) Cross into her last and she should have a wicket for her efforts! Nation slashes her to short third where Anya Shrubsole is caught snoozing, is late to react and the ball winds up on the turf. That’s harsh luck for Cross who has bowled a gem of a spell there. 36 off her 1o overs.

43rd over: West Indies 162-4 (Campbelle 34, Nation 22) Nat Sciver comes back into the attack, a bit more intent shown from these two batters who manage to prise six runs from the over. They’ve six wickets in the hutch, must be time for a swing and a swish soon? Unless they know something I don’t. Which is more than likely.

42nd over: West Indies 156-4 (Campbelle 32, Nation 18) Kate Cross into her ninth, along with Ecclestone she has been fantastic at stifling this West Indies innings. She goes for just two runs off her penultimate over.

41st over: West Indies 154-4 (Campbelle 31, Nation 17) Ecclestone finishes her miserly spell and picks up figures of 3-20 off her ten. With four maidens. Great effort.

Updated

40th over: West Indies 152-4 (Campbelle 30, Nation 16) Cross is full and straight as per.A bit too straight, she zips one down the leg side and Amy Jones whips off the bails, they go upstairs to see if Nation tottered over and out of her ground but she’s safe. Ten to go. West Indies must be thinking about chancing their arm a bit soon? England have lots of overs from Nat Sciver up their sleeve.

39th over: West Indies 147-4 (Campbelle 29, Nation 14) A rare bad ball from Ecclestone as she spears a quick one down the leg side and again Jones has no chance of stopping it from making its merry way to the boundary. Right now it looks like the only way West Indies are going to pick up boundaries...

Eleven overs to go, can West Indies struggle up to posting something challenging here?

38th over: West Indies 138-4 (Campbelle 27, Nation 12) Kate Cross is back on and again it is just three from her over. Tidy.

37th over: West Indies 135-4 (Campbelle 24, Nation 12) Brilliant bowling from Ecclestone, she racks up another maiden over. Check out her figures: 8-4-9-3. Sensational.

36th over: West Indies 135-4 (Campbelle 24, Nation 12) West Indies still going nowhere, maybe they are stockpiling wickets for a bombardment in the final ten? Or maybe they are just struggling to rotate the strike in the face of some tidy bowling.

Statto alert

35th over: West Indies 132-4 (Campbelle 23, Nation 10) Brunt to continue and she serves up another wide. This is poor from Brunt who hasn’t looked in rythym all innings. It looks a bit blustery and that could be affecting her accuracy. Five off the over.

34th over: West Indies 127-4 (Campbelle 20, Nation 10) Five singles off Knight’s over.

Honest, guv.

33rd over: West Indies 122-4 (Campbelle 17, Nation 8) The pressure valve gives a little hiss as Brunt gets taken for 9 from her over. Brunt has not been at her best today, a wide down the leg side is followed by an even wilder wide that Jones has no chance of stopping. The skipper might be thinking of letting her take her sweater after that one.

32nd over: West Indies 113-4 (Campbelle 15, Nation 7) Campbelle takes Knight for a welcome boundary, lofting a full one confidently over the in field. Six from it in total.

31st over: West Indies 107-4 (Campbelle 10, Nation 6) The telly still keeps dropping in and out but never fear, I’ve got options coming out of my ears. Namely a radio and some other websites on a separate laptop tab that are helping hugely. We’ll muddle through. Brunt comes on to replace Ecclestone and there just a couple off it. West Indies digging in but going nowhere fast.

30th over: West Indies 105-4 (Campbelle 9, Nation 5) Just two runs off Knight from what I can gather. 30 overs done. We’ll have one more and then drinks. Hopefully the pictures sort themselves out soon otherwise I’ll be forced to get on the blower, “Rupes - sort it out son, it’s 18 quid a month for this.” This being sub poor lounge music and no moving pictures of cricket.

29th over: West Indies 103-4 (Campbelle 8, Nation 4) Ecclestone wiles her way through another. Just three off her seventh. The TV picture keeps dropping out forcing Sky to put up a holding screen and play some lounge music. Sorry stuff. Forgive me if things get a bit scrappy whilst I find and fire up a wireless.

28th over: West Indies 100-4 (Campbelle 8, Nation 1) Knight continues despite looking like she has a bit of a dodgy knee. She looks slightly laboured through her action and definitely a bit ginger between balls. Only two off it though as West Indies remain bogged down by that flurry of wickets.

WICKET! Knight ct Wyatt b Ecclestone 6

Knight smokes one to cover off Ecclestone and Wyatt holds on to the tracer bullet! A wicket maiden for England’s premier spinner who has 3-8 off her six overs so far. Chapeau Sophie.

27th over: West Indies 98-4 (Campbelle 7, Nation 0)

26th over: West Indies 98-3 (Campbelle 7, Knight 6) News incoming...

REVIEW!

Heather Knight traps Campbelle on the crease and the umpire raises the finger! It is sent upstairs and ball tracking shows the ball hit her outside the line and so the decision is overturned. If England can get another couple here they could really start to get a strangle on this match.

25th over: West Indies 95-3 (Campbelle 7, Knight 3) Ecclestone whirls away and West Indies are really spluttering here, just three runs coming from the over.

That she is.

24th over: West Indies 92-3 (Campbelle 2, Knight 2) It is the skipper and she begins smartly, just a single from her first.

23rd over: West Indies 91-3 (Campbelle 5, Knight 2) Ecclestone gets some bounce and has a spring in her step. Just two from it. Heather Knight is coming on for a twirl to replace Cross.

22nd over: West Indies 89-3 (Campbelle 4, Knight 1) Kycia Knight and Shemaine Campbelle are the two new batters still standing after the carnage. Kate Cross strays down the leg side a few times and then serves up a full bunger that Campbelle does not miss out on. Breath slowly being caught here, typing-fingers just getting loose. “Rocket ship grease down the cracks of my knuckles”.

Cross can take a lot of credit for those wickets, she kept a lit on the scoring and in the end the pressure told.

WICKET! Stafanie Taylor ct Jones b Ecclestone 0

Three wickets in the over! Stafanie Taylor gets a good one first up and tickles it to Jones who pouches gleefuly. It was coming and the game well and truly bubbled over in that over. 3-0 in five deliveries.

21st over: West Indies 81-3 (Campbelle 0, Knight 0)

WICKET! Dottin Run Out (Wyatt) 31

And another! Poor run and Wyatt dives in with a direct hit!

WICKET! Matthews ct Shrubsole b Ecclestone 45

Told ya! England have got one.

20th over: West Indies 81-0 (Dottin 31, Matthews 45) Cross reels off a maiden. Deandra is dottin’ big style here. Bet I’m the first to make that pun. Not even going to bother checking. I’ve said it before but something has got to give here. Was that a Jack Nicholson film? Promise I’ll check the emails soon. Bare with.

19th over: West Indies 81-0 (Dottin 31, Matthews 45) Ecclestone bowling nicely and she is tying down this destructive pair. Just a single to each off the over. Better from England, they are putting the smother on here.

18th over: West Indies 80-0 (Dottin 30, Matthews 44) Just a single off Cross, a missfield by Nat Sciver allowing the batters to trot through for one. It’s brewing.

17th over: West Indies 79-0 (Dottin 30, Matthews 43) Sophie Ecclestone to send down her lovely twirlers. And she starts with a very tidy maiden. Can sense the Windies batters are getting a smidge frustrated here, could be some lusty blows just around the corner. Or a wicket. Or something. Something will happen. You have my word on that.

16th over: West Indies 78-0 (Dottin 30, Matthews 43) ‘Many Rivers to Kate Cross’ with the last over before drinks and again England keep it buttoned up. Just a single off it. Time for a slurp. England have tightened up, but they needed to. Wonder if Heather Knight will give them a bit of a ticking off as they set about their Kia Ora.

15th over: West Indies 77-0 (Dottin 29, Matthews 43) Sciver again keeps it tight. England are just frustrating West Indies here, the last few overs have been more probing. Feels like summat’s gotta give soon...

14th over: West Indies 73-0 (Dottin 26, Matthews 42) Four runs off Cross’ next over, Amy Jones is stood up to the stumps as she does now to most of England’s bowlers, she is very tidy and displays some #Fasthands to whip the bails off but no dice. On we go.

13th over: West Indies 69-0 (Dottin 25, Matthews 40) Just two off Sciver who is keeping things in check at the other end.

12th over: West Indies 67-0 (Dottin 24, Matthews 39) Kate Cross comes into the attack and is bowling full and straight. DROP. Oh No! Another chance goes begging! Matthews bunts one straight back to Cross who snatches at it in her follow through and the ball ploops onto the turf, ungrasped. Two balls later and Matthews gets more on it, the ball sailing for six over the bowler’s head. Cross allows herself a wry smile.

11th over: West Indies 61-0 (Dottin 24, Matthews 33) Sciver calms things down at the other end, just three singles off it.

Fifty up for West Indies

For Zero wickets. Matthews decides to lay into Shrubsole’s full deliveries. Six over long on to start the over and then nails another for four down the ground. She takes a single and the Dottin launches the final ball of the over down the ground for four more. Ten overs are done and England can put a few out, they need to, and they need to break this dangerous partnership.

10th over: West Indies 58-0 (Dottin 23, Matthews 31)

9th over: West Indies 43-0 (Dottin 20, Matthews 19) An OBO scrawlers dream as Nat Sciver serves up a maiden first up. On the money with every delivery. Brunt bowled a lot of short stuff in her opening spell, Nasser is wondering on comms if it was a strategy... or just not very good bowling. I’m not sure, a wicket off that first (full) ball might have made a difference though.

8th over: West Indies 43-0 (Dottin 20, Matthews 19) Five dots from Shrubsole as the rain continues to fall lightly, Matthews plays another fantastic back foot punch off the final ball of the over to pick up four. Just that four from the over. It looks to me as if Nat Sciver is going to replace Brunt at the other end.

7th over: West Indies 39-0 (Dottin 19, Matthews 16) Drizzle is falling in Dunedin, but that is the least of England’s worries as Matthews hits Brunt for two fours, one pulled away through mid-wicket and the other a delicious back foot punch backward of cover. Brunt looks miffed and then serves up another leg-side wide. Maybe the ball is getting a tad imperial-leathery in these conditions? Ten off the over for West Indies.

6th over: West Indies 29-0 (Dottin 19, Matthews 8) Another drop! Off Shrubshole’s bowling and it is Matthew’s who gets a life this time! A much harder chance than the first it has to be said. Another leading edge goes swirling into the grey skies and Tammy Beaumont never looked likely, managing to get half a paw on the ball as it came down over her shoulder.

It was Winfield-Hill who put down the first chance. I’m not snitching, promise.

5th over: West Indies 22-0 (Dottin 16, Matthews 4) Brunt serves up a wide and then it’s double trouble as she knocks off the bails with her leg during her delivery stride - Dottin slaps the short ball away for four to the mid-wicket fence and and then scampers two from the resulting Free Hit. Brunt then gets out of the over well with three dots. England looking a bit flat after that first ball drop.

4th over: West Indies 14-0 (Dottin 9 , Matthews 4) Shrubsole bowls a tidy over, just the single off it. A bit all or nowt at the minute from West Indies.

3rd over: West Indies 13-0 (Dottin 9 , Matthews 4) Dot Dot Dot Dot Dot and two off the last for Matthews.

2nd over: West Indies 11-0 (Dottin 9 , Matthews 2) Shrubsole with the new ball from the other end and she is bowling full, just a single each to Dottin and Matthews before the final ball of the over when Dottin decides it’s time for a wahoo over cow-corner and she plops another full ball onto the grass bank for SIX!

1st over: West Indies 3-0 (Dottin 2 , Matthews 1) Brunt has the new ball and she charges in under grey skies and DROP! First ball skier and it has gone down. Dottin gets a leading edge to Brunt’s very first ball, she tries to flick to leg but the ball just nibbles a smidge and it loops in the air to cover where it is grassed, I think by Winfield-Hill. I’ll confirm if she was indeed the guilty party. Dottin is then watchful, understandably. It is three off the first over.

We’ve had the anthems, Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin are shimmying across the turf to take guard. Let’s go!

Updated

Here are both of those sides confirmed. It looks chilly in Dunedin. A double cable knit jumper day. The players are milling around. We should be underway in just over five mins.

WEST INDIES WIN THE TOSS AND WILL BAT FIRST

Both teams are unchanged from their last game, I’ll post all players in two tics.

Preamble

Hello and welcome to the good ship OBO for this World Cup bout between Heather Knight’s England and Stafanie Taylor’s West Indies, coming to you LIVE* from Dunedin.

England have won the last five ODI meetings between these two sides but are fresh off another defeat to Australia. Albeit this time in a record-toppling match that went right down to the final over, thanks to a sublime chasing ton from Nat Sciver. Still, Australia prevailed at the last and England are in search of a win to get their campaign back on track, they currently have their paws on the silverware don’t forget.

Talking of final over drama… West Indies are probably still coming down after their smash ‘n’ grab defeat over hosts New Zealand in the tournament opener. Hayley Matthews scorched a century and bagged a brace of wickets, a POTM performance which helped squeak West Indies over the line.

With just six runs needed off the final over for New Zealand to win the game, Deandra Dottin snatched up the ball for her first (and only, obvs) over in the match. Dottin proceeded to dismiss both the two set batters (Katey Martin and Jess Kerr) and completed the victory by running out Hannah Rowe off the penultimate ball of the game. 1W1WW and what a finish.

Join us for what is hopefully more of the same. I’ll be back in a jiffy with news of the teams and the toss.

Oh, and feel free to send me any thoughts, theories or ramblings (within reason) either on the twitters or trusty old email.

*By way of my one-owner-from-new 12 year old LG TV in South London. Still counts. Still counts.

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