England won the 5th T20, and the “Tammy Series” (the games captained by Tammy Beaumont, which they won 2-1) despite losing two wickets in the final over, after a horrendous fielding SNAFU by Shree Charani, whose return throw from backward point was so weak it turned into a baseball-style relay throw and gifted them a run-3, allowing Paige Scholfield and Sophie Ecclestone to scamper two singles off the final two balls to get over the line.
Charani was named Player of the Series for her 10 wickets; but at Edgbaston she bumped back down to earth with figures of 0-35. In addition to the fielding error, she also dropped a sitter to let off Amy Jones at the end of the 18th over – if she’d executed either play India would have won the game; but that’s cricket!
Having opted to put India in, it was a mixed performance from England. They looked more committed in the field; but resting Laurens Bell and Filer allowed India to cash-in on the second-string “fast” bowling attack, with Em Arlott and Issy Wong both horribly expensive compared to the spinners.
| Bowler | Overs | Wickets | RPO |
| Arlott | 4 | 1 | 10.50 |
| Wong | 4 | 0 | 11.75 |
| Smith | 4 | 1 | 6.50 |
| Ecclestone | 4 | 2 | 7.00 |
| Dean | 4 | 3 | 5.75 |
Wong also conceded the most expensive over of the series, as Shafali took her for three 4s and a 6 in a 20-run 7th over.
Fortunately for England the spinners were a lot more effective. Having already got rid of Smriti with a calm catch at point – one of those that looks easier than it was – Linsey Smith then bowled Jemimah in her first over with her showstopper ball: a top spinner that crept under the bat as Jemimah tried to cut.
Shafali and Harmanpreet did then build India’s biggest partnership, in part thanks to that big Wong over; but it was really all Shafali, who went on to reach 75, just 6 short of her highest T20 international score. Harman looked out of sorts, as she has done all series since missing the first game; and was eventually bowled by Charlie Dean. Like Jemi, Harman was looking to cut, but on this occasion Dean engineered the perfect amount of bounce to lift it over the bat and take the very top of the off bail. If she plays another 100 games for England, Dean will do well to bowl a better ball.
India then fell away a bit through the back of the innings, but another big over right at the end with Arlott giving up 13 runs including a no-ball, meant that India were favourites going into the second innings.
England have chosen to set big boundaries for this series, and Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge (the latter playing her 300th game for England) quickly took advantage – finding the pockets and running smartly between the wickets. As they did in England’s win at The Oval, they batted through 10 overs in a big opening partnership that put the pressure back on India. Both however fell in the space of 7 balls just after the turn; and this was the moment when things could have gone either way – a full-blown collapse at this point would have surprised nobody!
Maia Bouchier didn’t look entirely convincing, but she did look more convincing than Alice Capsey has done recently; and having also taken a couple of catches (one a blinder) in the field, she might just have found a plane ticket to India in September here. Tammy Beaumont also looked shaky early-on; but from 2 off 6 balls, she seemed to give herself a bit of a pep talk, deciding at least to go down fighting. A flurry of boundaries saw her deliver 28 off the next 14 balls she faced, at a Strike Rate of exactly 200; but she couldn’t quite finish the job, and was bowled by a weird slower ball full toss that died on her, which Arundhati Reddy’s reaction suggested was not what she had intended.
Amy Jones then tried to win it with a 6, only to fall to a diving catch from Radha Yadav, which had us wondering if we were still watching cricket or the new Superman movie. At that point, India really should have closed it out. It was a lucky win for England in the end, but to a certain extent they deserve the credit for taking the match to a point where that bit of luck could be the difference.
I will be very, very surprised if this is the last time Tammy Beaumont captains England – they will go to her every time Nat Sciver-Brunt is injured now, and she will be injured a lot over the next two years. But if that is it for Tammy, she will take a winning record with her. In a results business, Beaumont got the results. Now Sciver-Brunt needs to do the same. Or there might be some awkward questions for Charlotte Edwards over the choice that was made to nominate Sciver-Brunt over Beaumont in the first place.
