There are matches that teams win. And then there are games that teams contrive to lose, inexplicably, from a position of strength.
The England women’s team would place firmly in the second category after its World T20 semifinal against defending champion Australia, imploding miserably to lose by five runs here on Wednesday.
The last time the two met in the semifinals of the competition, England had come off the winner, going on to lift the title in the inaugural edition on 2009. There was to be no repeat this time as the unbeaten side’s middle order was exposed brutally by the Aussies, who booked their fourth straight final spot. Chasing 133, England was only able to reach 127 for seven in 20 overs with a combination of nerves of reckless shots.
Aggressive skipperAustralia captain Meg Lanning, named Player of the Match, had said her team would be aggressive and she stuck to her promise both with the bat and the ball. Her 50-ball 55 was the highlight of the Aussie innings and her two brilliant catches to dismiss well-set England openers Charlotte Edwards and Tamsin Beaumont ensured the chase would not materialise.
England elected to field on a good batting wicket and it looked for a while that Charlotte had taken the right call before her batters failed to cope with the pressure of the climbing run rate.
Despite Lanning’s innings, and a quick start by openers Alyssa Healy and Elyse Villani, Australia would have felt at least 15 runs short, thanks mainly to some exceptional fielding from the English including two direct run outs from the deep by Natalie Scriver and and Anya Shrubsole, the latter sending back Lanning.
England’s chase disintegrated in the last seven overs, going from 61 for no loss in nine overs to 127 for seven in 20, losing six wickets for just 39 runs. Australia fought back to prove why it is a three-time defending champion, diving around to save runs and bowling a tight line that forced England to go for the big shots.
Those came off occasionally but more often than not, found a fielder in the deep. Edwardsand Beaumont farmed the field, the placing and timing of their shots a delight to watch.
Batting looked easy and everything Lanning tried in terms of fielding and bowling changes was swept away. With 17 extras, it looked like England would finally exact revenge for its previous two losses in the final.
That wasn’t to be as Lanning stepped up to finally break the partnership with a brilliant catch at mid-off to dismiss her opposite number in the 10th over.
The scoring rate dropped but the runs kept coming till Beaumont was at the crease before Lanning, running in from cover, dived in front to snap up another catch.
The rest of the batting just couldn’t measure up to the job at hand as Ellyse Perry and Co. tightened the screws to keep the Southern Stars shining.
The scores: Australia 132 for six in 20 overs (Meg Lanning 55, Alyssa Healy 25; Natalie Sciver two for 22) bt England 127 for seven in 20 overs (Tamsin Beaumont 32, Charlotte Edwards 31; Megan Schutt two for 15) by five runs. Player-of-the-match: Meg Lanning.
