When Charlotte Edwards was asked about her retirement a few days ago, she brushed aside the question. “It’s not crossed my mind yet. Moreover, the Twenty20 World Cup is just a year away,” she said.
On Friday, Charlotte showed that retirement was a long way away as she scored a match-winning century (106 not out, 121b, 15x4) against New Zealand in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2013 at the Brabourne Stadium. Incidentally, this was her second century in this year’s edition.
New Zealand seamer Lea-Marie Tahuhu and a few others inside the circle thought Charlotte, on 99, had edged behind while chasing a ball outside the off-stump. To everyone’s surprise, the umpire declared a wide and the England batswoman proceeded to complete her century and helped her team finish third in the competition.
When she was on 31, Charlotte became the first woman player to score 5,000 runs in ODIs. In the morning, England wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor’s courage to stand up to the medium-pacers saw seamer Jenny Gun bowl a miserly spell of 8-1-20-1. The other notable aspect of the first session was strike bowler Katherine Brunt taking punishment from the in-form Amy Satterthwaite (85, 95b, 11x4). Brunt went for 54 in her wicketless 10-over spell.
The curator rolled out a perfect batting pitch, but New Zealand’s listless showing saw it muster only 220, thanks to some controlled left-arm spin bowling by Holly Colvin who ended up with three for 31 off 10 overs.
The scores: New Zealand 220 for eight in 50 overs (Amy Satterthwaite 85, Holly Colvin three for 31) lost to England 222 for six in 47 overs (Charlotte Edwards 106 n.o., Lucy Doolan three for 50).
