Australia vs India had not on the face of it much depending on it save as a preliminary skirmish before the finals. For the women in green, at any rate. Australia could not realistically be toppled from top spot even with a calamitous defeat. India by contrast must win. This for them is a quarter-final since South Africa’s defeat of Bangla Desh. In the other group New Zealand were gifted a last-minute reprieve and had the chance to seize a semi-final spot. This would have meant defeating England, which they could not do; despite playing arguably their best game of the tournament. Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine and Brooke Halliday propelled them to a respectable 163. Alas, England brushed aside their bowlers and strolled to a nine-wicket victory with 16 deliveries in hand.

This opportunity had only turned up after the Irish women stunned the West Indies at Bristol. The Irish had frequently threatened during the tourney – notably against New Zealand – but had been unable to finish the job. Possibly inspired by the victory of their men’s team over the all-powerful visiting Indians, Ireland seized the initiative and refused to let it drop. The Maguire sisters, Prendergast and Kelly pinned their opponents down and refused to allow them any liberties, while Cara Murray’s leg-breaks bamboozled the hapless. Even the mighty Hayley Matthews could do nothing against her, and holed out to Stokell. Murray’s four overs of bewitching flight, turn and deadly accuracy yielded her 2/13.

Chasing a mere 129 to win, Ireland lost their captain early to the teasing spin of Munisar. But Prendergast and Hunter had not the slightest intention of letting slip the prize. Even a late flurry of wickets did not divert them from their objective, achieved by six wickets with a couple of overs in hand. The garlands belonged to many, although Orla Prendergast’s contribution (1/29 from her four overs, and a masterful 63 from 44) was pre-eminent. The Caribbean women were caught napping, and paid the price for their inattention. Bha bhua iontach é sin! As it transpired West Indies were reprieved, and will play Australia in the semi-final.

India won the toss and immediately decided to bat. Soon it became apparent that that there would be neither swing, seam movement, nor spin for the fielding side. Mandhana and Shafali were untroubled raising a stand of 66 until the latter attempted an inside-out cover-drive from Molineux and lost her stumps. Then Rodrigues was caught ball-watching while Mandhana completed two-thirds of a run towards her. The journey back was doomed, thanks to a swift and accurate throw from Hamilton. Thereafter the innings meandered. After 18 overs the home side ( so-called, given that the vast crowd was overwhelmingly pro-India) had reached 2/134, and Australia would have been well-satisfied with their work thus far.

Out of nowhere the fielding fell apart. That three catches went down in a few minutes was bad enough. That they all went for six from the blazing bat of Harmanpreet was considerably worse. Only when the Indian captain holed out to Perry at deepish mid-off did the insanity cease. Perry would no sooner drop that than her trousers. But 36 from the last two overs was a wholly avoidable disaster. Would 170 be enough? It looked if anything slightly over par; since the wicket, though docile enough, looks a little tired.

Voll hit the first ball from Renuka for four, and was trapped in front by the second. Litchfield meanwhile experienced a curious stop-motion innings, hitting two fours and a six, but finding herself frequently becalmed. She looked out of sorts, and it was no surprise when she holed out to Mandhana from the ever-impressive Sree Charani. When Mooney found Yadav from Deepti Australia found themselves in a sizeable chasm at 3/68 in the tenth over.

Australian hearts  must have sunk; but they need not have worried. A masterclass of strokeplay from Perry and Gardner saw Australia home with an over to spare. A stand of 100 from 57 speaks volumes by itself; but what the figures do not show is the command of the situation exerted by these two. No, get your eye in first. Required rate up to eleven? No problem. We will choose whom to target and club them insensible. Perry’s weary lofted drive at the death – safely taken by Shafali at long-off – happened far too late to affect proceedings. It was a vital experience for the Australians. They had cantered through the previous games unchallenged and untroubled. But it is another matter entirely to dig yourself a substantial hole and then climb out of it.  They will play West Indies, while England will play the suddenly-reprieved South Africans.

Headingley – so long the setting for dour contests beneath lowering skies  – is sharing in England’s summer heatwave. Long queues at ice-cream vans, bare legs and crop-tops, umbrellas in bright colours, and wide grins in the stands tell their own tale. This was Australia’s final hit-out before the serious business begins, and they made it count. The match began with a first-ball duck for Mooney, who edged Sadia Iqbal to slip. Gull Feroza dived to her right and pulled off a miraculous catch as if producing a startled rabbit from a green-and-white cap. Would Australia reset and consolidate? To ask the question is to answer it. Perry and Voll uncorked a glorious vintage of strokes in a century stand from 58 balls. Voll was all brute power. But Perry’s delectable strokeplay was a joy to behold. At one point she was beaten in flight. She opened the face of her bat somewhat and guided the ball to the offside boundary. Really, what can a bowler do under these circumstances? And Diana Baig’s return to the side was an unhappy one. She has lost her swing and control; and was badly mauled, especially by Perry.

It is greatly to Pakistan’s credit that they persisted. What might have been well in excess of 200 became 7/199. And Australia only got that far thanks to an imaginative cameo from Carey, who backed away to leg and smote the ball to the off boundary. An unbeaten 26 from 13 was her hat in the ring to keep her place in this team. It seemed unlikely that Pakistan could chase 200, and … they didn’t. A sympathetic chronicler would prefer to pass lightly over the viridian-clad women’s innings. Muneeba had experienced a dreadful time with the keeping gloves, but opened the batting and managed 32 from 25 before falling victim to Perry, who once again took two wickets in her opening over. Perry’s bowling duties have been largely curtailed in recent years; but the new administration deems that she will be called upon when needed. Eight bowlers were used, and shared the wickets democratically. Australia has qualified, almost certainly top of the table (unbeaten; net run rate a staggering 4.7). India, South Africa and Bangla Desh still contend for the other position.

In the other matches last night New Zealand kept the faint flicker of hope alive with a tight win over Scotland. They are out of form, but managed the run chase professionally enough after losing three early wickets to the exuberant Scots. The batting star of the tournament thus far has been Darcey Carter, whose marvellous unbeaten 72 sustained the Caledonian innings single-handed. And Sri Lanka likewise kept their campaign alive with a crushing win over Ireland, who are visibly wilting in the heat. A scorching century from Chamari Athapaththu was an ominous warning from a sleeping giant of the game. But unless England or West Indies experience a calamitous collapse they are both through to the semi-finals. And Australia’s contest with India awaits on Sunday.

Australia found themselves unexpectedly inserted, having lost the toss on a pitch which is generally full of runs and offers little to the bowling side. They did as they pleased for most of their innings, despite losing Voll and Perry early to Zwilling and Heather Siegers. The Dutch specialise in leg-spin, fielding three of them. All very different. Heather is a more orthodox leggie for the most part. Her sister Silver has the most extraordinary action yet seen in world cricket. Some leggies bowl a bit round-arm. It’s the best way to obtain spin from the leg, after all. Silver twists her body the other way in a manic contortion, delivering from around mid-off. It is as if she is auditioning for Cirque du Soleil on the high rings. Caroline de Lange however bowls in a manner last seen in the days of Paul Adams: curling in on herself while staring at the popping crease at her feet; and somehow delivering the ball to the other end, possibly using braille. It works, too. She took two wickets in each of the first two matches and dismissed Gardner and Carey today.

For the women in green Beth Mooney smacked her way to a brisk 74 before retiring with back spasms. Gardner made a belligerent 58 in her usual style, alternating between thunderous drives over the bowler’s head, and savage pulls and cuts. The cherry on top was delivered by Wareham, whose 41 took just 18 balls. 6/219 more or less put the contest to bed. And when Kim Garth’s speed and outswing removed the two openers a dire calamity loomed as an unpleasing possibility. But Babette de Leede and Sterre Kalis had other ideas. Without attempting batting suicide they cantered along at a run a ball, defying all eight bowlers in the process. A 98 run victory was not unexpected, but the Orange Army in the stands had plenty to cheer about. This is their first taste of T20 World Cups and they are here to make an impression.

I may have mentioned that New Zealand are probably already out of the running. Last night they all but succumbed to a spirited Irish team led by their star all-rounder Orla Prendergast (4 overs, 2/26); another subtle spell from their teenage left-arm spinner Aimee Maguire; and a brilliant spell from Cara Murray, whose analysis of 2/26 from four did not flatter her. Only a last-minute scramble late in the innings from Halliday and Sharp produced a passable tally of 140, and for much of the Irish innings the target looked gettable. Prendergast and Murray both made excellent fifties. The all-round excellence of Amelia Kerr ultimately proved the difference. She made 30 and took two cheap wickets: her final over proving decisive.

The following contest between Pakistan vs Bangla Desh was a rum business. For much of their innings the Bengalis remained becalmed, unable to get beyond second gear. Fatima Sana took two wickets in her first over and kept the Bangla side in a straitjacket. With six overs to go the story was a dismal 4/72, with Ritu Moni on seven from 15, unable to urge the ball off the square or indeed anywhere productive. Then her wicket fell, and teenage sensation Shorna Akter strode to the middle, utterly unfazed by the dire situation. Why she does not bat at four or five is an insoluble conundrum. Shorna smote the ball all over Southampton and raced to an unbeaten 39 from 22. Suddenly it looked a different game. Halfway through the eighth over Pakistan’s openers had reached 49 and looked to be cruising. But the Bengali left-arm orthodox spinners Nahida and Meghra brought the innings to a standstill. Wickets crashed, and no-one was able to replicate Shorna’s lower-order belligerence. It was an astonishing comeback, and a thrilling victory.

In the evening at Headingley England beat Scotland as expected. But they did not have things all their own way. Halfway through the 17th over the home side had subsided to 5/139, thanks to enegetic bowling and fielding. But 61 came from the final 21 balls as Gibson and Kemp swung their bats with might and main. 200 always looked out of reach, but the Scots fought to the very end. The final margin of 38 runs was a credit to the intrepid visitors. Without veteran Sophie Ecclestone (2/23 from her four) there would have been a deal more trepidation for the English.

Australia’s next match is on Wednesday against the winless Pakistanis. The big showdown against India has been saved until last. For Australia, the tourney then begins in earnest.

Or so it seemed. And yet. Bangla Desh arrived having seen off the Netherlands in their opening round. And the balance of power in women’s cricket is tilting sharply. The defending champions New Zealand (yes really!) are all but out of the tournament, having been ambushed first by the resurgent West Indies, and then by Sri Lanka, led by Nilakshika Silva’s blazing half-century. The Kiwis have not improved, while others have. Even England – fresh from their demolition of Sri Lanka – were made to work hard by the Irish, who defended a very modest total with such vigour that they came moderately close to embarrassment, thanks to superb spells from Orla Prendergast and Aimee Maguire.

And yet some things remain the same. And Australia looks better than ever. The new administration – coach Shelley Nitschke and captain Sophie Molineux – looks determined to stay ahead of the field. Ash Gardner – after an amnesiac performance in round 1 – was rested. Nicola Carey was included, but did not get a chance to bowl, although seven others did. Molineux won the toss, took one look at the pitch, and elected to bowl. Why would you not? It wasn’t a green mamba. Rather it was the sort of wicket under lowering skies where Brian Close would approach his captain Ronnie Burnet and beg to be allowed the new ball and the chance to roll the opposition for a hundred-odd. (He did. Several times.)

Not much need be told of the Bangla innings, which rarely progressed out of first gear. Kim Garth took the advantage of the downhill slope to overwhelm the openers with pace and late movement. In a surprise move Ellyse Perry was offered the ball, and took two wickets in her first over. And all through this Nigar Sultana Joty watched in dismay. The uncharitable might point out that she chewed up 47 deliveries for her painstaking 27. Had she thrown her hand away early her team might have been bowled out for 50-odd. But. She has carried her team’s batting for a decade. And it is not as if anyone else was doing any better. Ritu Moni managed 16 from 26. No blame attaches to her either. Not when you come in at 5/27.

What went wrong for them? They need to learn how to hit with power down the ground, between mid-off and mid-on. Aside from that they did their best. Was Australia really that good? Yes they were. The final total read 8/77. You might expect Australia to knock off the runs in ten overs and they did. A brilliant catch by Ritu Moni despatched Mooney; but Georgia Voll, having missed out against the Proteas, filled her boots with a brisk, unbeaten 45. Perry hit the winning runs on her way to 19. Australia means business this time round. They have won this trophy six times already, but their thirst for glory remains undiminished.

In the following match India pillaged the Dutch attack and scored as they pleased, making their way to 5/209. In reply the Netherlands were bowled out for 114. Another mismatch, yes. But the Dutch women played with vim and vigour, seemingly undaunted by their mighty opponents. It wasn’t as one-sided as it eventually appeared. But the game of the day took place in the Birmingham twilight. Pakistan faced the South Africans, and looked completely overawed. They lost five wickets in the power play. In the 11th over they had collapsed to 8/50. The innings contained four run-outs, which bears witness to the complete demoralisation of a side playing well out of its league.

Those expecting a melancholy early finish to proceedings reckoned without Fatima Sana. Small of stature, but mighty of heart is the Pakistan captain. Why she sent herself in at number eight is indeed a mystery. No, there will be no early finish, she vowed. With some unlikely help from Tuba Hassan she managed a record stand of 71 for the ninth wicket. A target of 127 looked inadequate, especially when Annerie Dercksen smashed her way to a quick fifty. But wickets kept falling. The Pakistan spinners persisted. And just when it seemed de Klerk had put the game to bed, Fatima struck again. She had bowled Fatima Luus early on with her brisk medium-fast swing bowling, and she returned to wreak more havoc, firing out de Klerk and Jafta. The match ended in anticlimax when Fatima bowled a wide. But with an unbeaten 55, and three cheap wickets, the honours were all with the dauntless Pakistan skipper. Had her side fielded better they may well have won. But no-one could have done more.

One is not concerned with the soccer-related shenanigans occurring in Canada, Mexico and the Hermit Kingdom. Rather it is T20 World Cup time again. Australia kicks off against South Africa at Old Trafford in the group of, if not death, then perhaps imminent peril. Group 1 also contains India, and at most two of these teams can progress to the finals. Two matches have already been decided in the other group, where the home side blasted Sri Lanka off the park at Edgbaston; and Scotland easily accounted for Ireland in the curtain-raiser here. Sure as Rain at Old Trafford has been an aphorism since the days of John Wisden; but brief glimpses of azure sky and cotton-wool cumulus clouds bespoke a pleasing clemency from on high.

Newly annointed skipper Sophie Molineux won the toss and decided to bat, deducing that the pitch – which resembled a strip of sandpaper laid over a concrete block – would play lower and slower later in the day. Georgia Voll’s inauspicious Cup debut ended with a miscued pull shot for a duck; and Beth Mooney was not herself, defending grimly before chasing a wide one. Wolvaardt elected to bowl her two veteran quicks for the entire power play. Kapp and Ismail bowled with fire and venom, and batting looked difficult against the new ball.

But not for Phoebe Litchfield. Utterly untroubled by the chaos around her, she drove, swept, cut and pillaged her way to fifty. From 23 deliveries, if you please. But she miscued Khaka to Wolvaardt and marched off in fast-medium dudgeon. Of course Wolvaardt caught it. Would she drop anything at all, up to and including her car keys? You might as well expect the entrance of a unicorn in a gingham dress from the pavilion. She took three catches: two of them blinders. Gardner came and went, to a spooned catch from Mlaba, who was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 2/22 from her four overs, including two at the death. She varied her flight and pace skilfully: sometimes firing in with the spear-gun, and otherwise offering up deliciously-tempting poisoned floaters.

With four down you might expect Australia to consolidate, but the appearance of Wareham at six put paid to that idea. And Perry, who had experienced little of the bowling, decreed that full steam ahead was the best and only possible strategy. They put on 58 off 38 before Wareham fell to Wolvaardt’s final catch. Wickets kept falling, which bothered Australia not a bit. All of these women can bat. There is less tail to this batting order than in a squadron of Manx cats. The innings finished at 8/172, which will be a challenging target. But there is always Wolvaardt. And Kapp. And de Klerk.

Molineux opened the bowling herself with her left-arm spin, and trapped Luus in front. Next over Kim Garth beat Dercksen for pace and took her off-stump via the pads. Surprisingly de Klerk was promoted to four and at once set to work. When King came in with her leg-breaks de Klerk should have been caught on the boundary at bovine corner. Inexplicably, Gardner fumbled it over the boundary for six. By the end of the power play South Africa had reached 43, with de Klerk on a belligerent 22.

The appearance of Wareham in the seventh over made a momentous change as the tall leggie pegged back de Klerk’s off stump. Then Marizanne Kapp was caught loafing on a second run by Wareham’s rocket arm and sent on her way. Meanwhile Wolvaardt was looking anything but content with her lot. Trying to force the pace when your bat feels as though it is made from rubber is always frustrating. She managed a superb inside-out extra cover six from Molineux, but perished to Wareham’s acrobatic catch next ball. Thereafter the Australian spin quartet overwhelmed the rest. Wareham was adjudged Player of the Match for her all-round efforts. A sprightly 22-ball 32, 3/13, a catch and a run-out: really, what more could anyone ask of her? The truth was that Australia had far more contributors than the Proteas, who rely far too much on their gallant captain.