England 113 for 0 (Bouchier 62*, Wyatt-Hodge 51*) beat Scotland 109 for 6 (Kathryn Bryce 33, Ecclestone 2-13) by ten wickets
Bell bowled Lorna Jack-Brown, who ended her international career with a three-ball duck. She finishes as the most-capped player in Scotland’s history.
Bouchier and Wyatt-Hodge choose aggression
The peculiarity of England’s day was clear when they left their hotel for this match as Bangladesh were checking out to head home. The 2009 champions had only played two so far while some other teams had completed their group-stage programme.
That included South Africa, who sat top of Group B on Sunday morning, with West Indies level on four points with England but in second with a greater NRR – by 1.055 – but having played a game more.
With everything laid out before England, the calculations at half-time were straightforward. Reach the necessary 110 in 11.5 overs or fewer to wrestle away the top spot from South Africa, and 9.3 overs or fewer to trump West Indies’ NRR. Though they did not manage the latter, Bouchier’s step across and heave over the leg side for four at the end of the tenth over saw England achieve both side quests with the necessary win.
Though Scotland were particularly wayward with their lines, Bouchier and Wyatt-Hodge were brutal. They struck England’s first century opening stand in T20 World Cups since 2012, from just 54 deliveries. They also pocketed the fastest team fifty of this edition in just 4.4 overs, and the largest powerplay at 66 for 0.
Bouchier began the chase with three fours from the first three balls, delivered by left-armer Rachel Slater, on her way to a third career half-century from just 30 deliveries. Wyatt-Hodge’s 17th 50-plus score in T20Is was six balls quicker. Nothing summed up the pair’s understanding of the assignment more than the ten clinical fours they hit in a 16-ball sequence from the start of the fourth over.
Get the calculators out
The winners of England versus West Indies on Tuesday will be guaranteed a spot in the final four of this World Cup. But the losers could still make it through in the event of two extreme scenarios.
Should West Indies make 201 or more and win, England could still sneak in if the margin of defeat is just a single run. Similarly, they could lose in a Super Over and make it through provided they match a West Indies score of 194 or more in the regulation 20 overs.
Both seem highly unlikely given the way the pitch has been playing at Sharjah. But fans of South African cricket know all too well that World Cup heartbreak can take many peculiar forms…
Growing pains for Scotland
It was dispiriting for Scotland to end their first women’s World Cup with three heavy defeats. Callous ones at that, given West Indies, South Africa and England knew they had to match each other’s dominance against the international tournament debutants.
After a promising opener against Bangladesh, the gulf between Scotland and the top tier of women’s cricket has been made abundantly clear over the last seven days. But the tournament as a whole has been a necessary growing pain for a team looking to establish themselves at this level.
There were flashes of promise alongside the expected quality of Kathryn and Sarah Bryce, who ended as the team’s leading run-scorers. Had Olivia Bell held on to a return catch from Bouchier when the batter had just 17, she would have maintained her streak of taking a wicket in every match. That three of their four matches were day games – this was England’s first – was its own unique challenge, with temperatures in Sharjah constantly in the mid to late 30s.
Considering they were granted ODI status in 2022, with professional contracts only introduced in 2023, this can be marked down as another important step in the right direction for Scottish women’s cricket.
Vithushan Ehantharajah is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo
