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3rd over: Bangladesh 21-0 (Jhelik 3, Supta 16) Amy Jones delivers an excellent take as Bell sends down a leg-side wide to Jhelik – she’s still trying to get her line right against the left-hander. Supta welcomes a half-volley with a drive through the covers for four, and the next ball is flicked to the fine-leg rope. Another boundary follows moments later when Bell goes too wide outside off, with Supta guiding it past the slip cordon. A very tidy over for Bangladesh.
2nd over: Bangladesh 7-0 (Jhelik 2, Supta 4) Here’s a completely different challenge: from the tall right-arm quick to the shorter left-arm spinner. Smith closes her tight stump-to-stump opening over with a vicious in-ducker to the right-hander.
1st over: Bangladesh 5-0 (Jhelik 1, Supta 4) Jhelik clips Bell’s opening delivery for a single, bringing Sharmin Akhter Supta on strike. Bell finds a touch of outswing and beats Supta’s attempted cover drive … and then a chance at slip! Bell finds the outside edge and Heather Knight flies low to her left but the ball beats her and runs to the rope … it’s not clear if it carried to the former England captain. A probing first over from the right-arm quick.
Plenty of empty seats at Guwahati, I’m sad to report. Lauren Bell has the new ball for England and is up against the left-handed Rubya Haider Jhelik. Let’s play!
Nigar Sultana, Bangladesh’s captain, says her side wanted to bat first. They’ve only faced England once before in this format, at the last World Cup: Bangladesh fell to a 100-run defeat, with Sophie Ecclestone taking three for 15 off 10 (!) overs.
The teams
England are unchanged but Bangladesh have opted for a couple: the all-rounder Ritu Moni and left-arm spinner Sanjida Akter Maghla are in.
England: Amy Jones (wk), Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Sophia Dunkley, Emma Lamb, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell
Bangladesh: Rubya Haider Jhelik, Sharmin Akhter Supta, Nigar Sultana Joty (c) (wk), Sobhana Mostary, Ritu Moni, Shorna Akhter, Fahima Khatun, Nahida Akter, Rabeya Khan, Marufa Akter, Sanjida Akter Maghla
England win the toss and choose to field
If it ain’t broke … Nat Sciver-Brunt calls it right and England will bowl first again.
Preamble
It took just 34.5 overs for England to arrive at this World Cup, South Africa stunned in a 10-wicket shellacking. After the misery of the Ashes and defeat at home to India in the summer, this was a required dose of joy for the 2017 world champions.
Linsey Smith’s drifting left-arm spin was key in dismantling the South African top order while Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones strolled through the chase. Funnily enough, such dominance can often lead to less clarity; we still need a glimpse of the rest of the batting lineup to really know where England sit among the contenders.
Bangladesh will look to provide that proper test having opened their campaign with a seven-wicket win over Pakistan. Marufa Akhter, a 20-year-old quick, set that one up with two wickets in the opening over – I’m looking forward to seeing what she can come up with against Beaumont and Jones.
Kick-off is at 10.30am BST – drop me a line with all your various thoughts, queries, musings on life. Cheers!
