Last night England were blown off the park by a staggering assault from South Africa’s captain Laura Wolvaardt. She and Tazmin Brits began with a century opening stand at nearly a run a ball. The innings was then stopped in its tracks by a masterful spell from Sophie Ecclestone. Normally England like to hold her back until later; but with the Proteas galloping away with the match she had to come on perforce. Her ten over spell stopped the assault in its tracks. Her figures of 4/44 were no more than her due. Her tight line and length, drift, spin and healthy pace were too much for the top order. The only problem was the the fact that Wolvaardt survived.

Marizanne Kapp contributed an excellent 42 (from 33) in a stand of 72, before she fell to Ecclestone, as did Dercksen. Bell had chipped in with the wicket of Jafta, and at 6/202 England were  well in it. Thereafter it was a massacre. The final ten overs produced 117. Chloe Tryon made a quickfire 33 unbeaten from 26. But the evening was all about the captain. England’s attack was torn to shreds. Wolvaardt’s 169 from 143 was definitely one of the great innings. When Kapp and Khaka reduced England to 3/1 it was pretty much all over, although Sciver-Brunt and Capsey put on a lively century stand, and Wyatt-Hodge and Smith made handy contributions. But South Africa stormed into the final by 125 runs, and should be congratulated for their cricketing amnesia from the debacle against Australia earlier this week.

Tonight Healy won the toss and batted. She was out cheaply, edging a Gaud off-cutter into her stumps. Her undaunted partner Litchfield hopped into the bowling and pillaged her way to a glorious hundred. Perry played within herself, but still managed 77 before Yadav broke through her defences. Their stand was worth 155 at seven an over, and India could do little to stop them. Australia must have been eyeing off 370 or so; but a brilliant spell from Sree Charani stopped the innings in its tracks. The support bowlers did their bit, and the outfielding was mostly outstanding. Australia’s three run-outs bear witness to this.

Charani’s secret, as related previously, is that she bowls quicker than usual, and spins the ball hard, imparting drift, turn, and bounce. With 50 deliveries to go Australia was 6/265. An imposing tally, but it threatened to fall well short of what was probably needful. Ash Gardner has already made two centuries this tournament. She was lucky to survive some fireballs from Charani early, but she kept her head and settled in with Garth to wrest back control of the match. Her 63 from 45 included four tremendous sixes, and their stand was worth 66 from 41. This took Australia well past 300. The innings ended in anticlimax with three wickets from Deepti’s final over. But the damage was already done. Could India chase down 339? It was not inconceivable; but they would have to play at the outer limits of the possible.

And they did. It became apparent very soon that they would have no trouble whatever scoring at a run a ball. The difficulty was the extra forty runs over and above: a problem they solved by attempting to hit boundaries early in the over. Garth took two wickets in the power play, but proved expensive thereafter. Jemimah Rodrigues bore a charmed life: dropped three times. Two of them were sitters. She and Harmanpreet Kaur put on 167 in 26 overs, taking only calculated risks, and never letting the RR get out of hand. It hovered around 7.5 for most of their epic stand. Finally Gardner took a brilliant running catch to dismiss the captain for a superb 89. Jemimah meanwhile looked utterly exhausted. India’s fortunes would now depend on Deepti and Gosh, who did not disappoint: both making quick twenty-somethings and giving the diminutive no.3 some breathing space.

Both got themselves out, but the respite for Jemimah proved crucial. She completed her century and then set about the attack. Amanjot chipped in with an unbeaten 15 off 8 and victory was concluded in the penultimate over. Healy must have been kicking herself for not inserting the foe. The pitch did nothing much early on, and after the dew came down the ball sat up and asked to be hit. And it was. Australia’s outfielding remained desperate. They would leave nothing on the park. But they were beaten by a home side who rose magnificently to the occasion. The packed grandstands in Mumbai Navi turned delirious with joy. Good for cricket? Oh yes. Definitely. This was a match for the ages. And India will play South Africa on Sunday, with a billion fans cheering them on.

Only 41 overs were possible tonight. And while the chronicler should always endeavour to avoid hyperbole, ordinary words are barely adequate to describe what occurred. Suffice it to say that South Africa ended the round-robin as they began it, with excessive aggression and a calamitous collapse. Wolvaardt batted brightly for a quick 31, Sinalo Jafta hit out aggressively for 29 off just 17 balls. And the rest? The rest was all about Alana King. If you thought her last day spell in the Ashes was sublime, then tonight she effortlessly surpassed herself. Her seven overs produced 7/18. And you could not say that she was to any degree fortunate.

She attacked the stumps with ferocity, drifting the ball into the pads and having it spin past the bat like a striking cobra. Three of her wickets were catches. The other four were clean-bowled. The secret – aside from the sublimity of her leg-spinners – was that she varied the amount of spin: anywhere from two to eight degrees of turn. The batsmen could not even begin to guess where to place a defensive bat. King was possibly fortunate in having a somewhat piebald pitch on which to bowl; but that is neither here nor there. Nobody else in the match could make the ball turn somersaults. It was leg-spin bowling to bring the ghost of SK Warne back from the afterlife to applaud, without reservation. As did we all.

Chasing 98, Australia lost Litchfield and Perry early; but Voll and Mooney soon put the game to rest. Mooney was out to a superb catch by Wolvaardt, but Sutherland finished the game with two fours and a two. Australia will play India; and South Africa England. There are two matches of no consequence whatever tomorrow, and whatever happens the fixture is immutable. India did manage to secure fourth place yesterday with an impressive win over New Zealand, who won the toss and decided to field. Their bowlers and fielders wilted in the broiling sun, and India ran up a vast score, Mandhana, Pratika and Rodrigues hitting the ball anywhere they pleased. Set 325 to win in 44 overs (D/L) New Zealand made a creditable fist of the chase without threatening at any point to win. Brooke Halliday’s 80-odd was a fine effort. They may be the reigning T20 World champions, but their 50-over game needs work.

The two unbeaten sides met this afternoon, in a trial run before the semi-finals. In Healy’s absence with a fetlock strain McGrath won the toss and sent England in. After eight overs the score was 0/55. Schutt and Garth could not maintain their line and length – arguably trying for swing where none was available – and Beaumont and Jones cashed in. With the arrival of Sutherland the innings appeared to grind to a halt. Jones was clean-bowled by a Sutherland special and for a long while nothing much happened. Knight came and went, trapped leg before by Molineux’ quicker ball. But it was the advent of King which changed the game. She bowled her ten overs for 1/20. With no boundaries at all, and little attempt thereto. Once Sciver-Brunt decided to charge the leg-spinner and whacked it to Sutherland at deep mid-off. Thereafter King attacked the stumps, and England played her as though she was an exploding piano.

The struggles of England’s middle order have been extensively discussed in the media. Why Dani Wyatt-Hodge isn’t playing is indeed a mystery. Tammy Beaumont alone played with any fluency. Her 78 from 105 had been a welcome return to form for the pocket rocket opener; but when she hit a catch to Voll from Sutherland the innings becalmed once more. Dunkley’s attempts to get the ball off the square were piteous to behold. Finally she charged down the wicket to Gardner – something which is rarely advisable – and Mooney had time to boil a kettle before removing the bails. Dunkley’s 22 had chewed up 48 deliveries.  In the 40th over her vigil came to an end, with England at 6/166 and in dire need of inspiration. They got it from Alice Capsey and Charlie Dean, who managed a stand of 61 from 52 balls by picking up singles and whacking boundaries when available. England finished on 9/244, which looked at least 40 short.

Bell began the fightback with a superb away-swinger to Litchfield which took the off-stump. Voll then attempted an ambitious slog-sweep to Smith and played on; although the choreography owed more perhaps to Olympic diving than strokeplay. When Perry hit a leading edge back to Smith, Australia was suddenly 3/24 and in a whole universe of trouble. Sutherland at no.5 has not troubled the scorers thus far in the tournament. Tonight was a spendid opportunity to rectify the omission. She hit a couple of boundaries and settled down to her work. She lost Mooney at 68, brilliantly caught by Sciver-Brunt off Ecclestone, and English hopes rose again.

And, as the evening progressed, a sense of fatalism crept in. Gardner prefers to play back to the spinners; while Sutherland prefers to advance out of her crease and go downtown. But they varied their work sufficiently so that the bowlers could not predict their footwork in advance. The fifty partnership arrived, then the hundred; and thereafter Gardner began to express herself more forcibly. She passed fifty at a run a ball, and proceeded to her century in just 22 more deliveries. She then played out the rest of the over, giving Sutherland a chance to make a hundred of her own. The attempted six skied to Knight at long-off, who put down a difficult running catch. The next ball she could manage only a single, and Gardner finished the contest with another driven boundary.

Crisis? What crisis? the pair appeared to be saying. They put on 180 for the fifth wicket, unbeaten, in 148 balls. They won in a canter with almost ten overs to spare, and without Healy, who was coming off successive centuries. They did have slightly the better of conditions, to be sure. Yet the gulf which separates Australia from the field is opening up again. South Africa awaits on Saturday night; but already they cannot finish lower than second. And England have some hard thinking to do.

Those who thought the World Cup would be a three-way between India, Australia and England must now reconsider. After their opening embarrassment against the English South Africa has won five games in a row, each more menacing than the last. Their match against Pakistan last night was an embarrassment to the latter. To lose by 150 runs in a Duckworth-Lewis 20-over contest cannot be papered over. Wolvaardt, Luus and Kapp hit the ball anywhere they pleased; and Nadine de Klerk , relishing the chance to come in and tee off, managed 41 from 16 deliveries. She presumably wanted to show that her heroics against India were no fluke. There were eleven sixes in their innings of 9/312. From 40 overs, mind. Persistent rain reduced the chase to twenty overs, from which Pakistan managed 7/93. Marizanne Kapp took three early wickets and it was all over. de Klerk’s bustling medium-pacers were not even required.

Unusually for tropical Colombo, the match the previous night also contrived a result. The hosts finally managed a hard-fought win over Bangla Desh, in bizarre circumstances. Athapaththu returned to form with a run-a-ball 46, and Perera was the star with an excellent 85. Yet the Bangla leg-spinners Shorna and Rabeya kept taking wickets. After 35.3 overs Sri Lanka had reached 8/182. What followed was more Test match than white-ball. Prabodhani managed 8 from 37; Madara 9 from 42. The innings ended eight balls early. What was the point? some were heard to ask. Ian Bishop from the commentary box suggested that in the event these few extra runs gleaned from a wilderness of dot balls might well prove crucial. He was right. After three early wickets Sharmin and Joty had the run-chase well in hand until the former was forced to retire hurt. Joty continued with Shorna and at 3/176 the game as as good as over.

Five overs to get 27, with seven wickets in hand? But the Sri Lankan captain took a hand. Like many a skipper before her, she seems to undervalue her own off-breaks. Returning to the fray she had Joty caught by Silva and triggered a horrible collapse. Bangla Desh fell eight runs short, with but one wicket left. Sharmin had been obliged to return to the crease as five wickets fell in the last nine balls. Once again the Bengali women had seen victory snatched from their grasp. And, as Bishop had remarked, sometimes those precious few runs eked out at the end of an innings make all the difference.

England have been, as recounted previously, absurdly fortunate thus far. Last night they earned their place in the playoffs in a gritty, hard-fought contest against India at Indore. Nat Sciver-Brunt won the toss and decided to bat on a newly-laid strip. One can never really tell, but it looked a 300 pitch. They played cautiously and within themselves for the bulk of the innings, anchored by Heather Knight’s excellent century. In the 39th over they had reached 2/211, and 300 looked to be a bare minimum from there. They reckoned without Deepti Sharma. The wily all-rounder relishes bowling at the pointy end. Where she excels is in outwitting the batsman. You’re going across the crease? I will follow you. Coming down? I’ll pitch shorter and flatter. She took 4/51 from her ten as England’s batting subsided ungracefully.

All except for Charlie Dean. Her unbeaten 19 (from 13) doesn’t sound much; but the Pride of Burton-on-Trent kept her head, and took 11 from the final over. It turned out to be the difference. 8/288 was a good score, but considerably less than had looked likely earlier on. Much of the credit goes to the Indian fielding, which was mostly exceptional. Lauren Bell removed Pratika early; and Harleen Deol fell leg before to Dean at the end of the power play, leaving the hosts at 2/42. Thereafter it was Mandhana and Harmanpreet scoring at will. The required run rate remained steady at a run a ball or thereabouts, and England could do nothing but persist.

And persist they did. The persevering captain removed Harmanpreet for a run-a-ball 70. Mandhana and Sharma proceeded to 234 and the game looked safe in India’s keeping. Sciver-Brunt kept shuffling her bowlers, and Smith picked up Mandhana for 88, caught in the outfield by Capsey. It had been a superb innings until then, but there was no need for such a rash hoick. Deepti and Ghosh were still together with five overs to go, and a mere 36 to get. Then Sciver-Brunt induced an indiscretion from Ghosh. The next over was Eccleston’s last, and Sharma, on 50, decided on a wild swipe into the outfield. Sophia Dunkley has had a dreadful time of it of late, but she held the catch.

With 27 needed from the last three the match was still open. Two of the last three were to be bowled by Linsey Smith’s slow left-arm. She bowled a full length and a tight line, and Amanjot and Rana could do little. Nine runs from Bell’s final over (the 49th) were insufficient; and the innings ended with a futile boundary which left England victors by four runs. This time, luck had nothing to do with it. England fought hard with the metaphysical wind blowing in their faces, and triumphed. India now face a virtual eliminator against New Zealand, who – inexplicably – are still in it with one win from five matches. The Sri Lankan monsoon has played hob with the points table. Australia and England are still unbeaten; and South Africa after their opening embarrassment against Bangla Desh have four wins on the trot. The final place is still to be determined.

Joty won the toss and decided to bat. At once a greater sense of urgency seemed to animate the women at the crease. They were helped by an untidy efort in the field from Australia. Six catches went down: mostly very difficult ones, but still. Many other strokes just eluded grasping hands. Jhelik prospered, hitting out brightly. At 1/73 in the 18th over things were looking up. But the Australian bowling tightened its grip, and the flow of runs dried up. The crucial spell was from Alana King, whose ten-over spell produced 2/18. The pitch had been pronounced ideal for batting; but King extracted considerable turn from the somnolent surface, as did Wareham later on.

The innings finished at 9/198, which was considerably more than Australia had counted on with the steady fall of wickets. But Sobhana Mostary kept her head amid the carnage, and found an ideal partner in Farhia Trisna at no.11. She made only one run off four balls, but her frenetic running between wickets allowed Mostary to pick up twos where only ones looked likely. She was left unbeaten on an excellent 66, and their partnership of 33 off 25 was the second highest of the innings. For Australia, Sutherland, King, Wareham and Gardner all picked up two wickets, and Schutt removed the opener Pinky in a tidy five-over spell. The third top score was Ms Extras, with 28. With the Bangla spin attack being their strength, Australia had work to do.

Or so it seemed. The camera kept cutting to Ellyse Perry in her pads, gloves and helmet, assiduously practising strokeplay; but she was not needed. Neither was anybody else. Healy and Litchfield polished off the runs without fuss, and in a mere 25 overs. The pitch had settled down, certainly, and batting had become easier than before. Both batsmen used their feet to excellent effect against the spinners, and they treated the gentle mediums with disdain. Healy offered but the one chance, and Litchfield none at all. The latter finished on 84; and the Aussie captain, shrugging off a day to forget behind the stumps, blitzed her way to her second century in a row. We hope the Bangla women are not too disheartened by this horror show. Rather should they concentrate on their three previous matches, in which they beat Pakistan, and gave both England and South Africa an almighty scare. Tonight it all went pear-shaped for them. Australia face England and South Africa in their final games, secure in the knowledge that they have already qualified for the semi-finals.

Bangla Desh won the toss and Joty decided to bat. From the outset South Africa kept things quiet enough. And there seemed no disposition for haste from the batsmen. After forty overs they had meandered to 2/150. One wondered what the plan was. Joty had shown some signs of life with a comparatively lively 32. She fell next ball to Mlaba, and Shorna Akter strode to the middle. This teenage leg-spinner is not so much a breath of fresh air as a sprightly hurricane, and she set about the bowling with all the enthusiasm of a kitten with a new toy. At the other end Sharmin Akter seemed lost in a daydream. When she wandered out of her crease and failed to make it back in time it was almost a relief for the spectators. She had made a careful 50 from 75; but urgency was now required.

When Ritu Moni emerged at an unaccustomed no.8, a wonder of change came over the game. Their partnership lasted 18 balls and produced 37. Shorna completed a brilliant unbeaten 51 from 35, including three sixes. Until tonight, apparently the entire history of Bangla Desh women’s cricket had seen just twenty sixes. There are now 23, and Shorna has four of them. She hits hard and often, mostly straight down the ground. The Bangla Plan A seemed to be to compile a careful 200 and hope. As it was, South Africa now face a target of 233. They have successfully chased far more than that; but against the spin quintuplet this will not be the walk in the park Wolvaardt might have hoped for.

The Proteas’ crest fell with Nahida’s first delivery to Tasmin Brits, who hit a carrom ball straight back to the bowler. Wolvaardt and Bosch set about the task and were cruising at 1/58 before the captain was run out. A clatter of wickets fell and suddenly the Proteas were staring defeat in the face at 5/78. Thereafter Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon and Nadine de Klerk pushed on, holding their nerve, and secured a narrow win. The eventual margin was three wickets, with three deliveries in hand. The Bangla women had in truth let victory slip through their fingers with a number of missed chances. South Africa heaved a huge sigh of relief. The only consolation for the defeated was the reflection that nobody will take them lightly in the future.

Slow and steady was also the watchword for Sri Lanka, facing New Zealand at Colombo. Although 0/52 from the power play was, if anything, rather quicker than that. This they owed to their star player Athapaththu. Thereafter progress slowed, as the home side preferred to keep wickets in hand. They lost both openers, but not before posting a century opening stand. At forty overs the score was 2/178. Somebody would have to get a move on; but with eight wickets in the shed a variety of auditions were possible. The jackpot was rung by Nilakshi Silva, who electrified the ground with a whirlwind half-century. Her unbeaten 55 occupied just 28 balls, and meant that Sri Lanka finished with a challenging total of 6/258.

Silva swung repeatedly across the line, sweeping or pulling the ball off her stumps and hitting with tremendous power. For the White Ferns it was a fielding performance to forget. Missed stumpings, missed catches, missed reviews: all told a tale of dismal woe. They have been horribly out of form thus far, and will need to play at their best to climb the mountain against the local spin battery. The good news is that the pitch has been newly relaid and looks excellent for batting. The bad news was the weather, which closed in with tropical rapidity and prevented any more play. New Zealand are now on the brink. Sri Lanka, with just two draws and two losses, are probably out of the reckoning.

More rain saved England’s bacon last night. Fatima Sana won the toss and sent England in; and she was unstoppable, taking 4/27. Only Charlie Dean was able to play any sort of innings and managed 33 between rain breaks. 7/79 off 25 eventually became 133/9 off 31. Pakistan’s innings began promisingly, but the return of the monsoon put an end to Pakistan’s hopes. England have had the devil’s own luck this tournament. They still lead the points table on NRR, but ought to have been well-beaten last night.

Healy won the toss and inserted the Indians on an awfully flat-looking wicket. Both sides have experienced major stutters with the bat thus far. Today there was none of that. India took on Australia’s bowling and pillaged to their hearts’ content. Had it not been for Annabelle Sutherland India might have made 400. Pratika and Mandhana began with an opening stand of 155 at better than a run a ball. Thereafter the rest of the side chipped in with useful runs. But no-one made a century, and this ultimately was the difference. Sutherland’s changes of pace – she has three different slower deliveries – flummoxed the Indians at crucial moments. Her 5/40 saved the women in yellow from an impossible chase. In the end India were bowled out a trifle early for 330.

The shenanigans at New Delhi notwithstanding, everything would have to go right in such a massive run-chase. The power play produced eighty-odd without loss. Healy lost Litchfield for an excellent 40, but Perry provided excellent support until she had to retire hurt. Then Mooney and Sutherland fell cheaply and the home crowd’s spirits swelled in admiration. But Healy was unstoppable. Tonight she shook off her want of concentration and waited for the ball to come to her. She put on 95 with Gardner and victory beckoned. But by the end she was exhausted, and chipped a low catch to Rana. By then she had made 142 from 107, and the end seemed plain sailing.

Appearances were deceptive. India fought hard, and fielded as though their lives depended on it. Much of the home team’s recovery depended on Shree Charani, whose quickish left-arm orthodox halted Australia in their tracks. Her ten overs produced a priceless 3/41, and she dragged India to within a gasp of victory. Charani’s secret is that she spins the ball hard, producing both turn and drift. But the return of Perry at no.8 turned the tide in Australia’s favour. She and Garth calmly picked off the runs; Perry concluding proceedings an over early with a straight-driven six.

This was surely the match of the tournament thus far. Both teams produced their best efforts. Because only the best would do.

India and South Africa played out a familiar script at Visakhapatnam. After the power-play India were flying at 0/55. An hour and a bit later they were 6/102. The pitches at the World Cup are ideally suited for left-arm orthodox spinners. South Africa has Chloe Tryon and Nonkululeko Mlaba, who shared five tidy wickets between them. Want of purpose and impatience saw the women in blue make another mess of their batting. Richa Gosh was however hiding down the order at no.8, and she applied herself to the task at hand with relish. She was given able assistance by Amanjot Kaur and Sneh Rana. But the match turned when South Africa’s bowling and fielding fell to bits. What had been a low-scoring match suddenly wasn’t. 98 were scored from the last ten overs, mostly from Gosh, who fell just short of a brilliant century. 251 all out looked about par, all things considered. But it ought to have been far less than that.

South Africa seemed determined to follow India’s example. They lost their top five wickets inside 20 overs and the game looked done and dusted. Wolvaardt kept her head and made a patient 70. With Chloe Tryon she managed 61 for the sixth wicket. The game turned on Wolvaardt’s dismissal. Nadine de Klerk had experienced the horrors with the ball, losing both line and length piteously. But there was nothing tentative about her innings. She put on 69 in ten overs with Tryon. On the latter’s departure, the eighth wicket saw 41 in three overs. Khakha contributed one of these runs. de Klerk was unstoppable. Eight fours and five sixes out of 84no from 54 saw the Proteas unexpectedly home with seven balls to spare.

We appear to be seeing a pattern here. Perhaps batting really does get easier in the latter stages. This is an older paradigm for one-day cricket: caution until the 40th over, then party time. Perhaps teams might consider not throwing most of their wickets away early on?

Tonight it appeared New Zealand had absorbed the lesson at Guwahati. Suzie Bates got off to a flyer but managed to run herself out. Plimmer and Kerr got themselves out, unable to negotiate the fivefold spin attack. At 3/38 off 11 overs, and without the luxury of dynamite hitters down the order, the situation cried out for caution. Which was exactly what Devine and Halliday employed. Between them they batted for more than 30 overs. They laboured, but both managed sixties. Devine’s struggles in the stifling humidity were piteous; but, exhausted as she was, she managed a couple of late sixes before departing. Aside from Green, none of the others troubled the scorers overmuch, but the eventual tally of 9/227 was far better than earlier proceedings had promised. The pick of the bowlers was the youthful and fearless Rabeya Khan, whose 3/30 was no less than she deserved.

A bridge too far for the Tigresses? And so it was. The three seamers Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair and Lea Tahuhu reduced them to 6/33 after 14 overs and the rest was anticlimactic. Fahima and Rabeya prolonged the resistance without threatening an upset, and the White Ferns were on the board at last. England meanwhile took on Sri Lanka and made somewhat heavy weather of their innings. All except for Nat Sciver-Brunt, whose run-a-ball 117 was easily the standout performance. Beaumont and Knight made useful runs, and the rest came and went, mesmerised somewhat by Ranaweera’s left-arm orthodox offerings. She took 3/33 from her ten. The other bowlers also contributed well.

But the occasion was Sciver-Brunt’s. She also took two handy wickets as Sri Lanka subsided for 164, devastated by Ecclestone’s incisions. 4/17 is impressive enough from ten overs; but these were all top-order players. England leads the table, following India’s shock defeat. Tonight India takes on Australia. The winner will qualify. The loser may also; but not without palpitations.

Fatima Sana won the toss and sent the Australians in on a slow, turning wicket. The Experts called this decision into question, since the pitch is expected to deteriorate during the evening. Yet she was vindicated in the short term. Australia began brightly, but Healy continued her distressing pattern of losing patience, and lofted a wayward drive to Diana at mid-wicket. Litchfield experienced an adrenaline rush and hit an atempted swipe straight up in the air. The Australians kept chasing the ball, and the Pakistan spin trio of Sadia, Shamim and Nashra cashed in. They bowled brilliantly, with subtle changes of flight and length, and some sharp spin, and 6/98 from their combined thirty overs was no more than their due.

Perry alone was not really to blame for her dismissal. She advanced down the track to drive Nashra and found the ball exploding off the surface like an adrenaline-soaked firecracker. Sidra whipped the bails off in a trice and Perry was on her way. Sidra Nawaz is certainly the form wicket-keeper in world cricket. She stood up to all the bowlers and did not miss a trick until the final over. Halfway through the 22nd over Australia found themselves hanging over the precipice at 7/76. On pitches like these you must wait for the ball to come to you. The only one who did was Beth Mooney. Amid the carnage she held her nerve and refused to panic. Like many a player before in this tournament her unheard cry must have been for someone to consider staying with me out here?

Kim Garth knuckled down and defended stoutly until a wide from Diana found her momentarily out of her ground. Though completely unsighted Sidra pouched the ball and swept off the bails. At 8/115 Australia was still in a whole world of trouble. Alana King strode to the centre wicket and proceeded to play herself in. At one stage she played out a maiden from one of the spinners; but for the most part she turned the strike over without taking needless risks. And Mooney batted on, delighted to have found such a stalwart companion. The score rose steadily, without fuss. When Mooney brought up her latest and best hundred the crowd erupted in jubilation. Then King took over proceedings. She is a noted belter through bovine corner, but had restrained herself admirably until the final two overs, which went for 34; most of them to King’s ferocious smiting.

Australia probably needs to stop doing this. It is tempting fate to dig yourself into such a cavernous hole and have to excavate your way to safety. And they must be kicking themselves for omitting Molineux, for reasons which escape us. This is assuredly a pitch ideal for her left-arm orthodox bowling. Nevertheless, Mooney (109 from 114) and King (51 no from 49) deserve all the praise showered upon them. Their ninth-wicket stand produced an improbable 106 from 16 overs.

Could Pakistan recover from this reversal of fortune? No, they could not. Kim Garth and Megan Schutt took five wickets in the power play and the match was over. Unless of course they had a Beth Mooney. Sidra Amin has been Pakistan’s only form batsman, and she held the Australians off for a while. But there was to be no second miracle. When Sidra fell to Gardner the last hope was extinguished. All out for 114 left Pakistan at the bottom of the table. Australia, briefly, are on top.