England ease to victory over West Indies thanks to Heather Knight and Natalie Sciver in last World Cup group game

Knight's side had already secured a place in the semi-finals following victory over New Zealand on Wednesday, while West Indies had been eliminated on the back of four defeats

Saturday 15 July 2017 14:28 EDT
Comments
Sciver finished with three wickets
Sciver finished with three wickets (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

England coasted to a 92-run win over West Indies in their last group match of the Women's World Cup at Bristol, where captain Heather Knight hit a half-century and Natalie Sciver finished with three wickets.

Knight's side had already secured a place in the semi-finals following victory over New Zealand on Wednesday, while West Indies had been eliminated on the back of four defeats.

Despite a resolute 67 from their skipper, England, who were put into bat, only just managed to push their total past 200.

An unbroken eighth-wicket stand of 48 from Jenny Gunn (31 not out) and Laura Marsh (24 not out) saw the hosts through to 220 for seven.

West Indies, though, never really looked like closing in on their modest victory target after struggling to 73 for four, captain Stafanie Taylor out for a 12-ball duck.

Sciver had scored a second century of the tournament against New Zealand, which included a between-the-legs 'Nat-meg' shot.

While the Surrey player could not produce a repeat performance on Saturday - lasting only two balls before being bowled without troubling the scorers - Sciver delivered with the ball, taking three wickets for just three runs in her four-over spell.

Heather Knight impressed with the bat
Heather Knight impressed with the bat (Getty)

England recovered from losing their opening match of the tournament against India to finish top of the table and are now set to play South Africa back at Bristol on Tuesday.

India will contest the other semi-final against Australia at Derby following their win over New Zealand.

Earlier, England opener Lauren Winfield could only manage 11 before she went in the 10th over, caught at deep square leg to give 16-year-old left-arm seamer Qiana Joseph a first one-day international wicket.

Wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor was dismissed for nought, the second wicket to fall after sending a thick edge off Deandra Dottin to Hayley Matthews with only 54 on the scoreboard.

Tammy Beaumont made a resolute 42 as she helped rebuild the England innings alongside Knight.

However, spinner Afy Fletcher then removed both Beaumont and Sciver in the space of three balls to put England at 91 for four, with Fran Wilson out for five following a review.

Afy Fletcher bagged a vital wicket
Afy Fletcher bagged a vital wicket (Getty)

Knight was eventually bowled by Matthews, having struck five boundaries in her 13th one-day international half-century, with Katherine Brunt adding 14 before Gunn and Marsh helped put on a few late runs to boost England's total.

Fletcher finished with three wickets for 33 runs from her 10 overs.

In reply, West Indies soon found themselves two wickets down in the 13th over with less than 40 on the board after opener Kycia Knight was run out for 17 and Taylor trapped leg-before by Marsh.

Matthews then went the same way to Alex Hartley for 29.

Chedean Nation was out for 23 as Sciver started a fine spell which also saw her snare wicketkeeper Merissa Aguilleira lbw just two balls later and then also Fletcher on three - the ball was missing leg stump but West Indies had no reviews left.

Sciver's four-over spell ended with three wickets for just three runs, and one maiden.

Akeira Peters fell lbw to Brunt for a duck with West Indies then 100 for eight in the 37th over as the run-rate edged into double figures.

Anisa Mohammed was lbw to Anya Shrubsole for 14, while Kyshona Knight finished not out on 12 as West Indies ended 128 for nine.

Having recovered from the disappointment of a 35-run loss to India at Derby on June 24 to record five straight wins, Knight feels her squad have the needed momentum as they target a place in the final at Lord's.

"We wanted to put in a really professional performance and there was that carrot of finishing top of the group to stay here in Bristol," Knight told Sky Sports.

"I knew the surface wasn't great, with a very dry wicket and lots of turn for the spinners, so I knew it was going to be hard work, but we managed to get a couple of partnerships together and then a little flurry of runs at the end.

"That character is really nice to see, in this tournament we have found our way out of sticky situations.

"We can now stay in Bristol and plan for the next few days ahead of the semi-final."

West Indies skipper Taylor did not ask for a review at her dismissal, with replays showing the ball was in fact heading down leg side.

Afterwards, she was at least able to see the funny side, adding with a smile: "I was happy to trust my partner (Hayley Matthews), but when I went upstairs and had a look I wanted to kill her."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in