More than any other arena on earth, The Gabba is where illusions are pitilessly exposed. Michael Kasprowicz was once asked, after a two-day Shield victory, how much he enjoyed bowling there. You think it’s easy? he asked, with mounting incredulity. The pitch is fast and true, with minimal seam movement. If you can’t really play, then it is here that you will be found out. Australia made what seemed to be a strategic error in team selection, once it became clear that the captain was not quite ready and ought not to be risked as yet. And so they picked an all-seam attack. It is far from clear that five seamers can do what four cannot. Michael Neser was chosen, on grounds of local knowledge. This was more or less justified when he picked up Crawley to an awful off-side hoick. For the most part Neser bowled with Carey up to the stumps, at a brisk fast-medium. This was probably not what England expected. And they did not seem unduly fussed about it either.

Brendan Doggett was also selected, having taken five wickets in Perth, and was therefore deemed too valuable to be omitted. Yet his bowling offered nothing of substance on this pitch. Neither did Green, although he was as ever chosen primarily for his batting. Yet this meant that Lyon was squeezed out. The justification was obvious. If youse blokes are only going to bat for thirty-something overs we may as well not pick a spinner at all. And yet. What if England decides to bat properly? Where will you be then? In the event, many of the visiting batsmen did just that. Crawley – coming off a pair as he was – batted with verve and panache, looking for runs at every opportunity. By the time he essayed his suicidal swipe at Neser he had reached a brilliant 76. He may be forgiven this indiscretion, having dug his side out of a substantial crevasse caused by the genius of Mitchell Starc, who today went past the mercurial Akram as the highest wicket-taker among left-arm quicks.

Starc began as he left off in Perth. Surely no bowler – not even the sublime SF Barnes – has ever struck more often in the opening over of a Test match. No blame whatever attaches to Ben Duckett, whose golden duck was nothing more than the result of a perfect delivery to a left-handed opener. He had to play it, and it swung away late and took the edge to Labuschagne. Ollie Pope by contrast was very much to blame for wafting outside off with a diagonal bat and playing on. With England at 2/5 a subdued Root marched to the middle. This time it was a very different Joe Root. He eschewed the diagonal bat and quietly accumulated runs as only he knows how. Those 13,000 Test runs were no accident. By lunch, with England on 2/98, the visitors were on top.

After Crawley’s departure Brook made his usual breathless entrance. This writer opines that Harry Brook is a batsman of erratic genius. But if he wants to go down in history as a flat-track bully then he’s going the right way about it. Not long ago he made a triple hundred in Pakistan. I saw some of it while on holiday. He has every stroke in the book and quite a few that aren’t. After a run-a-ball 31 he wafted at Starc’s away-cutter and was caught in the cordon. This was not what his team wanted or needed, and his fellow Yorkshireman at the other end must have given a rueful sigh. The breathless run-rate slowed to a crawl. Ben Stokes takes his cricket seriously, and played himself in with care until he set off for an incautious run and was thrown out by Inglis’ matchless athleticism. Jamie Smith came and went in the evening dew when Boland moved one in off the seam and scattered his stumps.

Will Jacks came out at number 8, being the replacement for Wood, whose fetlock failed to come up in time. It was a timid selection. Jacks is a useful off-spinner, though not anywhere near Bashir’s class. He will find bowling hereabouts a severe trial. Yet he is a proper batsman; and he settled in to try to give Root the support he needed. He made his way to 19 against Green and Doggett before Smith decreed that the time for more Starc was at hand. As so many have done before him, Jacks wafted well outside off-stump and nicked behind. Root, on 98, would have been unamused. Yet his well-earned hundred came up with a leg-side boundary. The Barmy Army went berserk, as well they might.

Thereafter things began to move with alacrity. Atkinson skied Starc over the keeper’s head. Both Carey and Labuschagne sprinted after it, each oblivious to the other. A fearful collision seemed imminent. Surely the ball was out of reach? And yet two things feared and hoped for both occurred. The two Australians crashed into each other; but Carey pouched the ball anyway for Starc’s fifth wicket. Carey once turned out for the GWS Giants in Australian football. Their loss was Australia’s gain. I doubt he ever took a mark under such torrid circumstances. Then Carse, who really ought to have known better, wafted well outside his off-stump and the now-weary Starc had six wickets.

Yet full oft the tail of the scorpion is deadly to behold. Archer began to throw the bat around; and Smith, sensing a declaration, pushed the field well back. Delighted with this decision Archer and Root swung hard and often. By the end of play they batted with circumspection. Despite this the last-wicket stand had reached 66 from seven and a bit overs. By stumps England was 9/325, and could feel well satisfied with their day’s work. Tomorrow is another day. Going by what we saw from the old ball – Starc’s unearthly genius excepted – they may well struggle with the pink ball. A sobering thought for England is that their best swing bowler is about to turn out for the Sydney Thunder. Reece Topley would have been a handy inclusion here. Inexplicably he appears to have been banished from their thoughts.

Like most cricket fans, I assumed that Day 2 would see a general quietening. The pitch would settle down; batsmen would play more carefully, and what passes for normality in the modern game would re-establish itself. And before lunch that is exactly what happened. Lyon and Doggett defended capably without ever suggesting a big partnership. Eventually the last wicket fell, and England’s second innings got underway. As usual (!) Starc excelled himself in his opening over and removed Crawley for a pair. It was a caught-and-bowled: off-balance, with no warning whatsoever; but somehow Starc tumbled to one side away from his trajectory and hauled the ball in. When he finally retires from cricket, perhaps Circus Oz might wish to grant him an audition.

But thereafter Duckett and Pope played within themselves until lunch time. What unfolded in the afternoon session made yesterday’s riotousness seem almost tame. The primary incision was made by the redoubtable Boland. He had endured the torments of the damned on Day 1. His opening three-over spell had cost 15 in this innings. What to do? Why not bowl seventh-stump line and make the ball seam a little either way? Surely that will bring control to the innings. He can scarcely have expected the flower of England’s batting to go chasing the ball well outside off; but that is exactly what they did. In no time at all he had three wickets for nothing much. The ever-alert Smith brought back Starc as soon as the fun began, and he removed Root and Stokes to loose strokes from both. Root will be mortified by the video repeat of his dismissal. A man with 13,000 Test runs should not be waving an angled bat outside off to Mitchell Starc. The ball cannoned off the inside edge and took the stumps.

Smith kept shuffling his seamers. Doggett got into the act with a couple. And with England seven down for nothing much, it was time for the lower order to do something. Atkinson and Carse are capable batsmen, especially the former. In less than six overs they put on fifty. Here at least the despised Bazball made sense. With the innings in ruins, counterattack was the best and indeed only viable strategy. Having gone so far they might well have reined themselves in and cashed in for a long innings. But as with yesterday England’s plan seemed to be to get the home side in as quick as possible. When an early tea was taken, Australia need 205 to win the match. It will be the highest innings score so far. But it should be possible.

And it was. An injury to Khawaja caused Travis Head to put up his hand to open. The first few overs were tight enough. Thereafter it was a brutal massacre. Even by Head’s eccentric standards this was something well out of the ordinary. His 123 occupied just 83 deliveries. Bazball? Nope. He bats as did Lord Botham: block the good ones; whack the bad ones. He began with circumspection, but soon opened out into a riotous flower of fours and sixes. England lost their heads entirely. The pitch map tells its own guilty story. They sprayed the ball everywhere: especially short. There is a theory that Head is vulnerable to short balls on his body. That’s as maybe, but possibly Perth’s even, predictable bounce is not the place to try it out. By the close Head was smashing forehand volleys more suitable to Wimbledon’s centre court.

The supporting cast did their job. By the time Wetherald was out to Carse the opening stand had produced 75. In the 12th over. Labuschagne joined the South Australian and the pair hopped into as dismal a collection of half-volleys and poorly-conceived short deliveries as was ever seen in a Test match. He eventually fell to Carse, and Labuschagne finished things off, though acting skipper Smith was left to hit the winning run. After three innings more redolent of T20 cricket than Test matches, Australia ran up 2/205 in a tick over twenty-eight overs.

The fault, as the sages of the commentary box pointed out, lies with the batting. The bowlers get no rest when all 20 wickets fall in 68 overs. Trying to whack the good balls repeatedly generally leads to disaster when the fielding side keep their heads. A two-day Test match? One doubts the Authorities will mind overmuch. It was an adrenaline-filled spectacle seen by a combined hundred thousand spectators. And most would have gone home happy and exalted. The Barmy Army not so much. And so on to Brisbane.

Only 72 overs were bowled yesterday in 390 minutes. And yet the spectators could be said to have got their money’s worth, with 19 wickets and almost 300 runs. It was amphetamine-laced fare to be sure. And yet the obloquy heaped on the batsmen was largely undeserved. The bowling was mostly magnificent, and batting was an excruciating business. None could survive for long, and neither did they. A deal of nonsense had been uttered beforehand. England will bowl Bodyline? There was hardly a bouncer bowled all day. As the Windies in their pomp had shown, you don’t need more than chin music as a fleeting reminder. The ball that flies off a length is far more perilous.

Another delusional comment from The Sages was that having won the toss Stokes would choose to bowl  with his five-man pace attack. The pride of county Durham knew better. We do not know how this pitch will play. If it turns out docile, then we will bat first and make 400 plus. If it is sprightly – as it transpired, it really was – then we will have a thrash, get a few, and put them in early. England batted and lost Crawley in Starc’s first over. It was an over for the ages. Starc at 35 is in the form of his life. Nobody likes facing left-arm pace. And everyone knows about his roaring inswinging yorkers. Yet the ball did not swing much for anyone. There was just enough seam movement to take the ball from the middle to the edge. His 7/58 was a magnificent piece of bowling, even though there had been contributory negligence from his adversaries.

For the rest of the attack, little remains to be said. Boland’s day began and ended in a hideous nightmare. This most metronomic of bowlers lost his line and length, and was hammered all over the park in runs the home side could ill afford. Brendan Doggett by contrast was lively and menacing, and was rewarded with a pair of wickets. Green’s single over went for ten runs, but he picked up Ollie Pope. Lyon bowled just two overs. When England were bowled out in 33 overs, the howls of derision could be heard as far afield as Fremantle. Yet there was method in their madness. England batted as though it was white ball cricket. Brook’s 52 was the day’s top score. Pope’s 46 and Smith’s 33 were useful contributions. None looked as though they were there for the long haul. Given that Australia caught practically everything, they were not.

As it happened, England’s 172 looks like a good score now. Jake Weatherald collapsed over himself and was trapped leg before by Archer on his second ball. Weatherald is the form opener in the Sheffield Shield, but this was verily a baptism by fire on the big stage. Archer, Wood and Carse are fast bowlers. Atkinson and Stokes are medium-fast. All bowled superbly, and there was to be no respite anywhere, or at any time. To add to Australia’s discombobulation, Khawaja was caught napping off the field and was unable to open, so Labuschagne was forced to go in first in his place. He and Smith decided to ride out the storm. Between them they faced 15 overs for 26 runs. Both succumbed anyway. With Australia reeling at 4/31 Head and Green decided that the English approach had been correct after all.

Their stand of 45 off 71 was restrained enough, but it reflected the underlying truth that sooner or later there will be a delivery with your name on it, so make hay while you can. Carey made a run-a-ball 26 in his customary fashion. But the destroyer of the evening session was the visiting captain himself. Stokes has bowled just six overs. He has 5/23. Poor batting, brilliant bowling. Nobody seems to be able to explain adequately Stokes’ genius for picking up wickets. He has 230 of them in Tests, so it cannot be a fluke. What he does is go hell-for-leather at the stumps. If he gets hit for four it doesn’t worry him. It is the all-rounder’s privilege. He varies everything: his pace, angle of delivery, seam movement, even swing if there is any. Australia’s tail had no answers.

Australia resumes today on a piteous 9/123. And nobody knows what will happen. If the pitch remains capricious, it could be all over by stumps. If it flattens out, then batting will get easier, and a fourth-innings mammoth chase is a viable prospect. Or possibly the old WACA menace of opening crevasses might manifest, though that has not been seen for many a year. But honours on Day One are firmly with England. They came with a plan and executed it to the letter. A sobering thought for Australia is that yes, Archer and/or Wood might indeed break down and strain a fetlock. Waiting in the wings is Josh Tongue: England’s leading wicket-taker in the recent series against India. It will be a summer of scorching pace. More later….

The final of the World Cup was won by India in what looked to be an easy victory, but really wasn’t. Batting first on a docile wicket, the home side fell just shy of 300. Would this be enough? India had chased down Australia’s 338 in the semi-final, after all. Their innings was a team effort, led by Shafali Verma, who was only playing because of the injury to Pratika Rawal. Overjoyed to be given a second chance at 50-over cricket, she managed 87 from 78, with two sixes and seven fours. Her partnership with Mandhana at the top was worth 104 at a run a ball. Yet South Africa had not come all this way just to throw in the towel. The fielders flung themselves around the sward, and the bowlers did not give an inch. Wickets fell at intervals, and it was only when Deepti Sharma and Richa Gosh came together that the innings regained impetus. Deepti came in at no.5 and managed a run-a-ball 58, while Richa muscled the ball around the park for a belligerent 34.

Special mention should go to Ayabonga Khaka, whose first three overs had cost 29. She had been trying too hard to swing the ball where none was available. Her later spells of six overs produced 3/29. She adjusted her length and tried to bowl stump to stump. Nonkululeko Mlaba also put the brakes on with ten tight overs for the wicket of the Indian captain. In reply South Africa left nothing to chance. Could their gallant captain back up after her devastating assault in the semi-final? Indeed she could. Wolvaardt completed another century, and at 6/220 from 41 the visitors were still well in it. Alas, she lost her wicket to Sharma’s deceitful off-breaks, and the innings folded thereafter.

South Africa did everything possible to win this match, and can hold their heads high in the bitterness of defeat. Amanjot and Radha’s overs were put to the sword, and Harmanpreet was forced to dig deeper than she might have expected. The seventh bowler called upon was Shafali herself. After her exhilarating innings she was probably still walking on air; and her seven overs contrived 2/36. She was named Player of the Match, and with some justice.

But the real architect of victory was Deepti Sharma, later named Player of the Series, and rightly so. A hard-hitting fifty, and five wickets? She could hardly have done more. Overall, she added 215 belligerent runs to her 22 wickets, and more than once turned the tide in favour of victory. Her bowling is not characterised by either severe turn, or teasing flight. Where she excels in outfoxing the batsman at the other end. Better than any other player in women’s cricket, she understands that placing the ball where the batsman least wants or expects it is the key. The other crucial factor was India’s depth. This has always been the secret of Australia’s dominance of the summer game. And what a replacement Shafali Verma turned out to be!

India’s steel was also hardened by their ongoing near-death experiences. They lost three matches in a row and almost didn’t qualify. Yet when it really mattered, they turned up the heat and triumphed. For those unconvinced of the value of sport, we offer the following observation. India has never been exactly famous for its feminist credentials, although the same might also be said of many other nations. But the grandstands were filled – especially during the two finals – with Indian families. Men, women and children all watching, exalted, as the women in blue stormed to victory. One imagines that India’s women will walk taller hereafter.

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.