Key events
35th over: England 130-6 (Knight 43, Dean 11) Knight lifts Rabeya over mid-on for two, an ultimately safe shot in a decent over for England. The target is down to 49 from 90 balls.
34th over: England 124-6 (Knight 40, Dean 8) Nigar Sultana decides it’s time to play her trump card, Fahima Khatun. Dean gets in a tangle with a spitting legbreak that hits her on the back leg; too high for an LBW appeal but beautifully bowled.
Just a single from the over. Fahima’s figures are exceptional, 8-1-14-3, but that means she only has 12 balls to bowl.
33rd over: England 123-6 (Knight 40, Dean 7) Dean slaps a long hop from Nahida to the cover boundary. The win predictor barely know what day it is, never mind who’s going to emerge victorious.
I forgot to mention that Marufa Akter, whose new-ball spell put England in trouble, has been off the field for a while, possibly with cramp. That might be a blessing in disguise. As well as she bowled at the start, some of England’s batters might prefer pace on the ball at this stage.
32nd over: England 117-6 (Knight 39, Dean 2) Knight skips down the pitch to whack Maghla back over her head for four. That’s a brilliant shot from Knight, who has quietly played herself into form during this innings.
At one stage Knight had 16 from 53 balls and had been given out two or three times; since then she’s hit 23 from 23 balls with barely a false stroke.
31st over: England 112-6 (Knight 34, Dean 2) Shorna’s first poor ball is swept round the corner for four by Knight, with three singles completing a decent over for England. Sixty-seven to win from 114 balls.
30th over: England 105-6 (Knight 28, Dean 1) England need their spinners to win the match – with the bat.
Yep, it was plumb LBW. Capsey was hit on the back leg by a wonderful delivery from Maghla, the left-arm spinner; it curved in from round the wicket, quite wide on the crease, before straightening sharply to beat Capsey’s work to leg and pin her LBW.
WICKET! England 103-6 (Capsey LBW b Maghla 20)
Alice Capsey tries to review – but she’s out of time and the umpires send her packing! I think it was out anyway.
29th over: England 102-5 (Knight 26, Capsey 20) A good over from Shorna, who hasn’t shown any sign of nerves despite being an 18-year-old bowling at a crucial stage of a vital World Cup match.
28th over: England 100-5 (Knight 25, Capsey 19) Maghla replaces Fahima, who has three overs left to bowl, and almost strikes when Capsey mistimes a lofted shot that lands short of mid-off.
A single down the ground brings up the England hundred. They need 79 from 132 balls.
27th over: England 98-5 (Knight 24, Capsey 18) Time for another legspinner, the teenager Shorna Akter. Capsey slices her first ball deliberately for four, beating the fielder at short third. Shorna responds with a beauty that rips past the edge.
26th over: England 92-5 (Knight 23, Capsey 13) Fahima has changed ends, which is interesting given she bowled a spell of 6-1-12-3 at the other end. Capsey shows plenty of respect, taking just a single off the final delivery.
25th over: England 91-5 (Knight 23, Capsey 12) Capsey cuts Rabeya expertly to the cover boundary, which prompts an arm-waving row between the captain Nigar Sultana and one of her team, presumably the bowler Rabeya.
Capsey’s attacking approach makes her dangerous in a low-scoring game. But Bangladesh know that if they get her out soon, they’re into the bowlers with England still needing plenty.
At the halfway point, England need 88 runs with five wickets remaining.
24th over: England 86-5 (Knight 23, Capsey 7) Knight is playing with greater assurance now; it’s 10 overs since she was last given out, for goodness sake. England need her to be there at the end, ideally with another not-out batter. This looks increasingly certain to go to the wire.
23rd over: England 83-5 (Knight 22, Capsey 5) Alice Capsey gets off the mark with a very controlled boundary, driven through extra cover off the back foot. I don’t think she’ll try to win this game by hanging about until the 50th over.
Lamb is out! Yep, that’s the correct decision, and it was a bit of a surprise to everybody that the catch was being checked because Nahida took the ball at chest height.
That check briefly overshadowed what was a desperately ill-conceived from Lamb.
Lamb is asked to wait by the boundary while they check the catch. Nahida took the ball cleanly before falling over, and the third umpire wants to check whether she brushed the ball against the ground when she landed. It looks a clean catch to me, although there is a degree of doubt so I wouldn’t put the farm on this being given out.
WICKET! England 78-5 (Lamb c Nahida b Fahima 1)
This is a horrible shot from Emma Lamb. She tried to repeat Knight’s stroke in the previous over, only to drag Fahima straight to mid-on. England are back in bother.
22nd over: England 78-4 (Knight 22, Lamb 1) Heather Knight is clearly reading the OBO out in the middle. She targets Rabeya, skipping down to chip elegantly over mid-on for six. That’s Knight’s first boundary in 16 overs and England’s first in 11.
The non-striker Lamb survives a precautionary run-out referral when the bowler Rabeya deflects the ball onto the stumps.
21st over: England 72-4 (Knight 16, Lamb 1) Knight’s experience makes her the key player now, even though her bat has no middle at the moment and she’s already been given out two or three times.
A single and a wide from Fahima’s fifth over. It’s an odd thing to say with the required rate at 3.68 per over, but England may need to start thinking about targetting certain bowlers. Fahima is not one of them.
20th over: England 70-4 (Knight 15, Lamb 1) Bangladesh are using legspin from both ends through Rabeya and Fahima. Lamb is beaten, trying to cut Rabeya, and can’t pierce the infield during another maiden over.
England are going nowhere, and they’re not even doing it fast: the last nine overs have yielded 15 runs and two wickets.
“Hmm, cricket is many many streets ahead of another sport I could mention in its use of technology for decision making, but the low catch thing has been the grit in the oyster for so long,” says Tom Hopkins. “I feel like I’ve been aware of ‘the foreshortening effect’ for longer than I care to remember and yet we persist with using TV replays that we know can be misleading. Surely with any technology in any walk of life you need to properly understand its limitations and work within them. Wishful thinking serves no-one.”
19th over: England 70-4 (Knight 15, Lamb 1) Good thing England picked seven batters. Next in is Emma Lamb, who works her first ball past slip for a single.
Fahima’s figures are quite something: 4-1-5-2.
Dunkley is out! It was hitting leg stump, umpire’s call, so the on-field decision was crucial. England are in big trouble now. And Bangladesh are sniffing an historic achievement: their first victory over England in any format. I think it’s only the sixth game between the sides – four T20s and one ODI – but this would be seismic stuff.
WICKET! England 69-4 (Dunkley LBW b Fahima 0)
This is starting to smell of a doomed England runchase on the subcontinent – and now it positively reeks! Dunkley has been given out third ball for nought, and though she has reviewed the decision, it looks well and truly out.
WICKET! England 69-3 (Sciver-Brunt c sub b Fahima 32)
It just got even more interesting! Sciver-Brunt skips down confidently to Fahima, only to whip a low full toss straight to midwicket. The substitute Farzana takes a nonchalant catch to give Bangladesh the wicket they craved.
18th over: England 69-2 (Knight 15, Sciver-Brunt 32) A quiet over from Rabeya makes it 14 runs from from the last seven overs. This is an interesting period in the game.
17th over: England 67-2 (Knight 14, Sciver-Brunt 31) Fahima is bowling around 42mph, getting some nice flight, and so far England haven’t worked how to score off her. Don’t believe me, just look at her bowling figures: 3-0-4-0.
Since her last boundary, Sciver-Brunt has scored 7 from 21 balls. Nothing for England to worry about yet – but if she goes, things could get very tricky.
16th over: England 66-2 (Knight 13, Sciver-Brunt 31) Sciver-Brunt has settled down after that early flurry of boundaries. She needs to hang around because Knight can’t get going at all; she’s the subject of a strangled LBW shout after being hit outside the line by Nahida.
Knight has 13 from 42 balls, Sciver-Brunt 31 from 34.
15th over: England 64-2 (Knight 13, Sciver-Brunt 30) Apparently Sophia Dunkley, the next woman in, was already on her way to the middle while that catch was being checked. The replays were inconclusive but I suspect 98 per cent of former cricketers would have given that out.
Knight is given not out again!
A hat-trick of reprieves for Heather Knight. Extraordinary stuff. The third umpire decided the evidence was “inconclusive” and therefore, because there’s no soft signal, Knight survives again. I think Bangladesh are very unforunate there.
WICKET? England 64-3 (Knight c Shorna b Fahima 13)
Heather Knight falls straight after the drinks break! She drove a flighted legbreak from Fahima towards shorrt extra, where Shorna Akter took an excellent low catch.
Or so it seemed. The catch is now being checked by the third umpire.
Drinks: England need 115 from 36 overs
14th over: England 64-2 (Knight 13, Sciver-Brunt 30) After a quiet over from Nahida, who has come back on to replace Maghla, it’s time for drinks.
13th over: England 62-2 (Knight 13, Sciver-Brunt 28) Another leggie, Fahima Khatun, comes into the attack. The required rate isn’t an issue so Knight and Sciver-Brunt are happy to wait for any bad balls and milk the occasional single.
Bangladesh need a wicket pretty soon, ideally Sciver-Brunt.
12th over: England 59-2 (Knight 12, Sciver-Brunt 26) Maghla is bowling a tight, accurate spell of left-arm spin, with England taking no risks at this stage. Four singles from the over.
11th over: England 55-2 (Knight 10, Sciver-Brunt 24) Rabeya Khan, whose breezy late-order hitting gave Bangladesh something to work with, comes on to bowl her legspin. Sciver-Brunt cuffs her first ball through the fielder at short extra and away for four, then skids back to guide another boundary past the diving midwicket.
Majestic batting from Sciver-Brunt, who has raced to 24 from 17 on an awkward pitch. The other England batters have maded 24 from 49 balls between them. And two of them are out.
10th over: England 45-2 (Knight 9, Sciver-Brunt 15) Knight and Sciver-Brunt radiate calm authority when they bat together, so Bangladesh need to break this partnership at their earliest convenience.
No risks from England in the final over of the Powerplay, just a couple of singles off Maghla.
9th over: England 43-2 (Knight 8, Sciver-Brunt 14) From nowhere, Marufa bowls a dreadful over that is punished fully by Nat Sciver-Brunt. It costs 12 runs, all in boundaries. A wide half-volley is crashed to the cover boundary, then successive full tosses are put away through mid-off and square leg.
8th over: England 31-2 (Knight 8, Sciver-Brunt 2) Another left-arm spinner, Sanjida Akter Maghla, concedes a single from her first over. Never mind that, it’s time for Marufa’s fifth over.
7th over: England 30-2 (Knight 8, Sciver-Brunt 1) Knight is beaten by the next ball, the last of another marvellous over. Marufa has figures of 4-0-16-2 – and Heather Knight has been given out twice off her bowling.
Knight is not out! England 30-2
Heather Knight is given out LBW after another beautiful inswinger from Marufa… but she was on the walk, unlike Beaumont and Jones, and the ball would have swung past leg stump. Only just, mind you. This is exhilarating stuff.
WICKET! England 29-2 (Beaumont LBW b Marufa 13)
She’s gone! Marufa didn’t even realise – some of her teammates were celebrating before she twigged that it had been given out. This particular dismissal – Beaumont trapped LBW pushing around an inswinger – was predicted by allcomers before the game.
Marufa has 2 for 15 and England are imperilled once more.
Bangladesh review for LBW against Beaumont
Marufa has been bowling for this throughout the innings. Looks close, height might be an issue.
6th over: England 26-1 (Beaumont 13, Knight 8) Beaumont glides Nahida skilfully wide of slip for four, then Knight gets a boundary of her own with a precise sweep round the corner. Good batting – not just the runs but the calm certainty with which they were scored.
5th over: England 17-1 (Beaumont 8, Knight 4) Knight gets well outside the line to negate another LBW appeal from Marufa. she’s beaten later in teh over, pushing tentatively behind her front pad. Another menacing over from Marufa, who England will be happy to see out of the attack.
4th over: England 15-1 (Beaumont 7, Knight 4) When Nahida overpitches, Beaumont gets her first boundary with a crisp square drive. Things have been calmer since that Knight review, though we’re only taking about an 11-ball spell so I’m not really sure what point I’m trying to make.
3rd over: England 10-1 (Beaumont 2, Knight 4) Marufa has got her line spot on and is causing England serious problems with her consistent, extravagant inswing.
The moment I type that, she strays too far outside of off stump and is timed sweetly to the cover boundary. Lovely shot.
Review: Knight is not out!
Sheesh, that’s a let-off for England. Knight was given out caught behind after a perceived inside edge onto the pad and through to the keeper. My instinct is she didn’t hit it – but you can also argue that the evidence is not conclusive and therefore the on-field decision of out should have been upheld. Could have gone either way.
Knight given out first ball – but she reviews
This is chaos.
2nd over: England 6-1 (Beaumont 2, Knight 0) Marufa has dropped Beaumont! What a chance to have England two down inside eight balls. It was a horribly mistimed stroke from Beaumont off the left-arm spinner Nahida Akter, which looped slowly towards mid-off. Marufa ran round from short extra and shelled a simple chance.
No wicket – but it is a maiden from Nahida, and already England are under pressure.
1st over: England 6-1 (Beaumont 2, Knight 0) That was the last ball of an eventful nine-ball over.
WICKET! England 6-1 (Jones LBW b Marufa 1)
A mixed first over from Marufa includes three leg-side wides – but she shows her threat with a superb inswinger to Amy Jones, who would have been out for a golden duck but for a late inside-edge onto the pad.
Hang on, was there an inside-edge? There were two noises but repl- never mind all that, Jones has gone this time! She was hit plumb in front on the back leg by a beautiful full-length inswinger. Fantastic bowling!
Marufa Akter, a high-class inswing bowler who should trouble Tammy Beaumont in particular, will open the bowling.
Thanks Taha, hello everyone. It’s a story as old as time: England on the subcontinent, a batting team suffering slow, slow torture – except this time England were the ones doing the torturing. Their four spinners had outstanding combined figures of 37.4-7-116-9 – and they were even better before the No9 Rabeya Khan hit a coruscating 43 not out from 27 balls.
Rabeya’s innings changed the mood and has given Bangladesh’s spinners something to work with. England are strong favourites; they are also England, playing on a slow turner in Asia, so we should take nothing for granted.
What do we reckon? Bangladesh in with a chance if Marufa Akter quickly nabs the openers? Rob Smyth will have the answers as he guides you through the chase. Here’s hoping we get a thriller.
A strange, strange innings by Bangladesh. They crawled through much of it, with Sobhana Mostary top-scoring with 60 off 108 deliveries. But Rabeya Khan, down at No 9, played unlike the rest, bringing out the sweep to hurt the flow of England’s spinners, finishing unbeaten on 43 off just 27 balls, her strike rate of 159 a wild anomaly. England’s spinners had a pretty great time, all in the act and combining for nine of the wickets.
Bangladesh set England target of 179 from 50 overs
What a shot! Rabeya Khan has her teammates jubilant as she wallops Smith over deep midwicket for six. She then uses her feet well to set up a sweep to the boundary. She takes a single off the next ball, which is probably the wrong call – keep yourself on strike, Rabeya! And there’s the wicket: Maghla chips to mid-on to close the innings.
WICKET! Maghla c Sciver-Brunt b Smith 1 (Bangladesh 178 all out)
49th over: Bangladesh 167-9 (Maghla 1, Rabeya 32) This might be the best stroke of the evening, with Rabeya sweeping Capsey towards the fine-leg rope. England opt to review a leg-before call against Maghla, but there’s an inside-edge that keeps the No 11 going.
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