England race to victory over SA

By Stephan Shemilt BBC Sport in Cuttack

Women's World Cup, Super Six, Cuttack (Barabati Stadium):

England 81-3 (9.3 overs) beat South Africa 77 (29.3 overs) by seven wickets

Anya Shrubsole took 5-17 as defending champions England thrashed South Africa by seven wickets to keep their World Cup hopes alive.

With England needing victory to stay in the tournament, Shrubsole bowled 10 overs unchanged to rip through the South Africa top order.

Danielle Wyatt's 3-7 mopped up the tail to dismiss the Proteas for only 77 in Cuttack.

"Looking at the tournament as a whole, England might not have wanted to bat first because of the early morning dew when they won the toss. Let's hope they can do enough against New Zealand to get to the final."

With net run-rate in mind, England lost three wickets - including Sarah Taylor for a third successive duck - in looking to complete a swift chase before being taken home by Lydia Greenway and Arran Brindle with more than 40 overs to spare.

The result lifted England's net run-rate to +1.079, still short of New Zealand (+1.712) and West Indies (+1.187).

Charlotte Edwards's side now need to beat New Zealand in Mumbai on Wednesday, but the other criteria for their passage to the final will be determined by the outcome of the Kiwis' match against West Indies on Monday.

If the Windies win, England will need Australia - who booked their place in the final by beating Sri Lanka - to beat the Caribbean side in their final Super Six game.

A New Zealand victory would mean England need to beat the White Ferns by a margin that takes their net run-rate past that of the Kiwis and the Windies.

That England still have a realistic chance of making the final is largely down to Shrubsole, the tournament's leading wicket-taker.

She followed up fine performances against West Indies and Australia by destroying South Africa for career-best figures and the sixth-best return by any England bowler.

Bowling full and finding in-swing to the right-handers, Shrubsole trapped Yolandi Potgieter, Mignon du Preez and Cri-zelda Brits lbw, with Jenny Gunn holding a sharp catch at mid-wicket to remove Trisha Chetty.

Edwards, her decision to field first vindicated, opted to bowl Shrubsole out and was rewarded when the Somerset seamer struck again, this time clipping the bails of Marizanne Kapp.

With left-arm spinner Holly Colvin having Shandre Fritz held at point and Shrubsole's new-ball partner Katherine Brunt switching ends to pin Chloe Tryon leg before, it was left to Wyatt to wrap up the innings.

The off-spinner had Shabnim Ismail caught behind, Sunette Loubser well taken low by Edwards at mid-off then held Marcia Letsoalo off her own bowling for her best ODI figures.

Anya Shrubsole's figures (5-17) are the sixth best by an England bowler in women's one-day internationals. Only one England bowler has taken more than five in an innings, Jo Chamberlain's 7-8 against Denmark in 1991

Conscious that a swift run-chase would be key to England's chances of reaching the final, Wyatt and Edwards raced after the target, with Wyatt peppering the off-side boundary.

But aggression would prove their downfall, as Edwards slashed Kapp to third man and Wyatt flat-batted Tryon to mid-on.

The situation looked ideal for Taylor to register some confidence-boosting runs after two first-ball ducks.

However, the wicketkeeper, who had been linked with a move to men's cricket before the tournament, again fell without getting off mark, bowled playing across the line to left-armer Tryon.

England had lost three wickets for three runs to slip to 26-3, but experienced duo Greenway and Brindle combined to ensure there were no more alarms.

With Brindle playing some eye-catching cover drives and Greenway looking to hit through the on side, they ensured that England's continued defence of the trophy they won in 2009 will go down to the final round of Super Six matches.

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Gale pays way on Yorkshire trip

Yorkshire captain Andrew Gales is to pay his own way to attend a pre-season training camp in Sri Lanka.

Rather than take a scheduled week off, the 29-year-old left-handed batsman has decided to join six of his colleagues on the trip to Colombo next week.

"I see it as an investment in my career, I felt I'd benefit from some extra sessions outside," said Gale.

He will join fellow first-teamer Jack Brooks and five members of the club's academy in the camp.

Although Yorkshire won promotion by finishing second in Division Two of the County Championship last year, Gale himself had a disappointing season, scoring 481 championship runs at an average of 32.06 and failing to make a century in 18 innings.

"From my point of view, I want to get into the nets in outdoor conditions and start hitting some balls," Gale told the Yorkshire website. 

"The indoor facilities at Headingley are excellent, but nothing beats playing and practising outdoors and we'll be netting from 8.30am right through to early evening.

"It will be pretty intense, but ideal preparation for me and the guys. I will focus on batting against spin and improving my specifics in that area of my game."

The camp has been organised by second team coach Paul Farbrace, a former assistant coach to the Sri Lanka Test side.

"Our batsmen will be able to take their winter indoor sessions to batting on grass wickets in excellent conditions. This was one of the reasons why Andrew Gale wanted to attend," said Farbrace.

"For the bowlers, in particular Jack Brooks who didn't play much cricket during the second half of last season, they will be able to get in the nets and have long sessions getting back to some proper bowling fitness.

"We want Jack [Brooks] to hit the new season fully prepared and become one of our main strike bowlers as we aim for success on all fronts."

Gale, Brooks and their younger colleagues will return home at the end of the month to prepare for Yorkshire's pre-season tour of Barbados, which begins on March 11.

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England set record in opening win

First Twenty20 international, Auckland:

England 214-7 (20 overs) beat New Zealand 174-9 (20 overs) by 40 runs

England hit 15 sixes and beat their record Twenty20 score as they crushed New Zealand by 40 runs in the first Twenty20 international in Auckland.

214-7 v New Zealand, Auckland, 9 Feb 2013 202-6 v S Africa, Johannesburg, 13 Nov 2009 200-6 v India, Durban, 19 Sept 2007 196-5 v Afghanistan, Colombo, 21 Sept 2012 193-7 v West Indies, The Oval, 28 June 2007 England capitalised on short boundaries at Eden Park, with Eoin Morgan striking 46 from 26 balls, Luke Wright 42 from 20 and Jonny Bairstow 38 from 22.

Jos Buttler added 32 from 16 to see England to 214-7 and beat their 202-6 against South Africa in 2009.

Captain Stuart Broad took 4-24 as New Zealand finished on 174-9.

England, having been put in to bat in the first of three internationals, looked on course for a big total from the start.

"England's batsmen made good use of the short and straight boundaries, hitting 15 sixes and 16 fours, although they benefitted from sloppy catching. A target of 215 didn't look impossible but New Zealand's chances receded when the dangerous Brendon McCullum was superbly caught by Eoin Morgan off Finn, who also had the returning Ross Taylor caught on the boundary for 13. Broad's two wickets in the 15th over then ended the home side's hopes."

New Zealand dropped five catches, with former captain Ross Taylor missing two chances on his return to the team, as the hosts struggled to defend the small boundaries.

Alex Hales launched the first six of the innings high over deep midwicket in the second over and when he was stumped off Ronnie Hira for 21, Wright quickly found his range as England hit 21 runs off the spinner's second over.

Michael Lumb had made only three - albeit from just six balls faced - in England's first 50 runs, but he joined in with a swept four and straight six off Hira.

Taylor, back for his first international match since being relieved of the New Zealand captaincy and then sitting out the tour of South Africa, dropped Wright at cover off Nathan McCullum and then let Lumb off when he skied Andrew Ellis to deep midwicket.

Kevin Pietersen 32 Eoin Morgan 30 Luke Wright 29 Paul Collingwood 24

Source: Cricinfo

Wright, who fired four sixes in a belligerent innings, was caught deep on the offside off Ellis before Lumb, on 22, miscued an attempted hook to short fine-leg.

But New Zealand's mistakes in the field continued to cost them. Hira dropped Bairstow on 22, but the most glaring miss was by Mitchell McClenaghan who appeared not to see the ball properly at short third-man when he put down Morgan on 33 off McCullum.

Morgan, having cleared the ropes three times, miscued Hira to give Taylor an unmissable opportunity and Bairstow, who blasted two sixes, found Martin Guptill at long-on off Boult.

But Buttler ensured England surged past 200 with some impressive blows.

9 Feb: 1st T20 - England won by 40 runs

12 Feb: 2nd T20, Hamilton

15 Feb: 3rd T20, Wellington

17 Feb: 1st ODI, Hamilton

20 Feb: 2nd ODI, Napier

23 Feb: 3rd ODI, Auckland

5 March: 1st Test, Dunedin

13 March: 2nd Test, Wellington

21 March: 3rd Test, Auckland

New Zealand lost debutant Hamish Rutherford, son of former Test batsman Ken, to Broad and then their own skipper Brendon McCullum to a superb back-pedalling catch from Morgan off Finn for 10.

Taylor received a warm welcome when he came out to bat but his innings was brief and he was out for 13.

Guptill played with aggression, making 44 from 32, but England, with Broad and Steven Finn (3-39) finding extra bounce, took regular wickets to keep the hosts in check and secure an emphatic victory.

The England skipper, who has expressed concerns about a heel injury, finished with 4-24, his best T20 international figures, while Wright took 2-29 and added a catch.

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Seamer Shrubsole comes of age for England

By Stephan Shemilt BBC Sport in Cuttack If England somehow manage to reach the final of the Women's World Cup, they will owe a huge debt of gratitude to Anya Shrubsole.

Forced to sit out the shock opening defeat by Sri Lanka, the Somerset seamer has since taken 13 wickets in four matches, more than any other bowler in the tournament. 

Match-winning spells against West Indies and South Africa came either side of a high-quality opening burst against Australia, a match in which Shrubsole did not deserve to finish on the losing side.

With an action similar to South African paceman Andre Nel, the right-armer has a knack of homing in on the right-handers' stumps with late in-swing.

Leading wicket-takers at Women's World Cup:

13 - Anya Shrubsole (Eng) 11 - Katherine Brunt (Eng) 10 - Megan Schutt (Aus) 9 - Jhulan Goswami (Ind) The yorker that bowled Jess Cameron in a spell of 3-24 against the Aussies was unplayable, while four of her victims in a career-best 5-17 against South Africa were either lbw or bowled.

"I've started swinging the ball in a bit more than I have before," Shrubsole told BBC Sport.

"It's just about consistently bowling in the right areas, which I've managed to do in the past few games. When you do that, you give yourself the best opportunity to take wickets.

"I'm just looking to bowl as straight as I possibly can to give myself the best chance to take wickets. You only get that from attacking the stumps and I try to do that as much as possible."

The likeable 21-year-old from Bath is adept at dealing with the media and always happy to stop and chat once the cameras and microphones have been put away.

Confident and articulate, Shrubsole is described as the "intellect" of the England squad by batter Lydia Greenway.

While it has been her bowling that has being earning the plaudits in India, perhaps the most revealing insight into Shrubsole's self-belief was her performance with the bat in the two-run defeat by Australia in Mumbai.

Striding to the crease at number 11 with 34 needed, Shrubsole ignored the fact she had not batted in a one-day international since November 2010 to launch a counter-attack that offered England the prospect of an unlikely victory.

Her dance and strike over mid-on from the off-spin of Lisa Sthalehkar demonstrated the quality of a batter who regularly lines up at number three or four for Somerset.

In the end, it was cruel that Shrubsole had to stand at the other end as Holly Colvin was caught behind to give the Aussies a win that pushed England to the brink of elimination.

Age: 21 County: Somerset ODI debut: v South Africa, Aug 2008 ODI record: 14 matches, 19 wickets at 19.89 T20 debut: v South Africa, Aug 2008 T20 record: 23 matches, 30 wickets at 14.76 Her response was to destroy South Africa.

"I'm really happy with the way the ball is coming out for me," added Shrubsole, who is reaping the rewards of work done with Warwickshire bowling coach Graeme Welch.

"When you're bowling like this, you just want to bowl whenever you can. Confidence is high."

Shrubsole, however, has been through some dark times on the way to forming a dangerous new-ball partnership with Katherine Brunt.

Since taking 1-26 on debut at the age of 16 in 2008, Shrubsole has managed to play only 14 ODIs for England because of a horrendous run of injuries.

That year she was named as the most promising young women's player in the country by the Cricket Society and played one match as England won the World Cup in Australia in 2009, only to be ruled out of the World Twenty20 three months later by a back injury.

She missed part of the following summer with a hip problem, was unable to travel to Australia in early 2011 because of a thigh strain and had her English summer of that year ruined by ruptured cruciate knee ligament.

Returning to the international fold after a two-year break in early 2012, Shrubsole played in all of England's matches at the World Twenty20, taking three wickets in a campaign that ended in a final defeat by Australia.

Now, in better physical shape than earlier in her career, she is grasping a long-awaited opportunity to make an impact on the world stage.

"My injury problems are well documented," said Shrubsole. "But it's all about putting in the hard work and I was in a really good place coming to this tournament off the back of the World Twenty20.

"I'm just happy to be out here on the pitch, performing well enough to contribute to England's successes."

Modest words, so it was left to Greenway to extol the virtues of her team-mate.

"She's obviously bowling brilliantly. She and Katherine Brunt have been leading our attack magnificently," said the Kent left-hander.

"Annie's been moving the ball left, right and centre. It's quite pleasing to see how she's been bowling and the amount of wickets she's been picking up."

Edwards goes further, saying Shrubsole has "come of age" in India.

And, with England coach Mark Lane believing she can still improve "another 20%", plenty more can be expected from Shrubsole in this Ashes year and beyond.

For now, though, her primary objective is to reach the World Cup final. No England player deserves it more.

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NZ thrash England to level series

Second Twenty20 international, Hamilton:

New Zealand 192-6 (20 overs) beat England 137 (19.3 overs) by 55 runs

England were outclassed in Hamilton as New Zealand wrapped up a 55-run win to level the three-match Twenty20 international series at 1-1.

Martin Guptill (47) and Hamish Rutherford (40) added 75 for the first wicket after England won the toss.

Captain Brendon McCullum smashed five sixes, making 74 from 38 balls as a late assault lifted the Kiwis to 192-6.

England lost early wickets and despite Jos Buttler's spirited 54, were bowled out for 137 with three balls to spare.

Derek Pringle Former England all-rounder & BBC TMS summariser

"England would have been pretty happy for the first 17 overs of the New Zealand innings, but then gave away 46 runs in the last three. The fielding let them down, it probably cost them eight or nine runs."

The tourists had dominated in all disciplines in the opening game in Auckland, but fell flat on Pancake Day as many of their batsmen looked out of touch, while their bowling and fielding became increasingly scrappy as the Black Caps innings went on.

After Stuart Broad had elected to field first, spinner James Tredwell was handed the new ball for the first time in a Twenty20 international.

But the Kiwi openers made an excellent start, and when Rutherford edged Luke Wright to wicketkeeper Buttler in the ninth over, the perfect platform had been set for McCullum to move up through the gears.

A late assault on the England seamers allowed New Zealand to add 46 in the last three overs, with McCullum clubbing Broad for three sixes in the penultimate over to ensure the England skipper, who had taken 4-24 in Auckland, finished with 0-53 from his four overs.

The England chase began disastrously as Alex Hales was bowled by left-arm seamer Mitchell McClenaghan, who was on a hat-trick in the second over after Wright edged his first ball to Guptill at gully.

9 Feb: 1st T20 - England won by 40 runs

12 Feb: 2nd T20 - New Zealand won by 55 runs

15 Feb: 3rd T20, Wellington

17 Feb: 1st ODI, Hamilton

20 Feb: 2nd ODI, Napier

23 Feb: 3rd ODI, Auckland

5 March: 1st Test, Dunedin

13 March: 2nd Test, Wellington

21 March: 3rd Test, Auckland

Jonny Bairstow perished soon afterwards, and with Michael Lumb struggling for form at the other end before he was bowled for 17, the tourists had only reached 31-3 after the six powerplay overs.

Eoin Morgan was gifted two lives after McCullum missed a stumping chance off his brother Nathan, and Rutherford shelled a straightforward catch on the mid-wicket boundary, but a wretched innings of 13 from 22 balls was ended when Morgan holed out off Ian Butler, who took a miserly 2-9 bowling his four overs straight through.

That wicket left England 47-5 in the 11th over, and it soon became a procession of wickets as Samit Patel was run out ball-watching, and Broad lofted an easy catch to mid-off.

Buttler was the only bright spark in England's batting order, bludgeoning, hoisting and scooping his way to reach his half century from 28 balls before he skied a catch into the covers.

But there was already too much for England to do by then, and New Zealand sealed victory as James Franklin (4-15) bowled Tredwell for a breezy 22 and Jade Dernbach hit his first ball to mid-off.

The last match of the series takes place in Wellington on Friday - while England's women will hope for better fortunes against their New Zealand counterparts in Wednesday's crucial Women's World Cup encounter.

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India's changing attitude to women's cricket

By Stephan Shemilt BBC Sport in Mumbai Think India, think cricket.

Each day in Mumbai every grassy space is occupied by some sort of cricketing contest. Men's cricket, that is.

However, from India women's captain Mithali Raj to children of the slums of Mumbai, there is hope that the country's attitude to the sport is changing.

“If matches are televised on a regular basis I'm sure women's cricket in India will catch up”

Mithali Raj India women's captain While in many ways India has become the game's modern home, it faced accusations of being behind the times during the scheduling controversy that marred the run-up to the Women's World Cup.

Yes, political pressures made it necessary for Pakistan's games to be moved from Mumbai, but the decision to evict the women from the city's biggest stadium, the Wankhede, to accommodate the men's Ranji Trophy final, left a sour taste.

Furthermore, not one of those games that take place in Mumbai's parks appear to involve any women. England are assigned some local youngsters to bowl at their net sessions, but a girl is yet to be spotted.

So, when England trio Holly Colvin, Danielle Wyatt and Tammy Beaumont gave a coaching session to some Mumbai schoolchildren, it came as a surprise that the group who arrived at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) was made up entirely of girls.

That, though, was only part of the story. Helped by Room To Read - an international charity focussing on literacy and gender equality in education - these girls had come from the slums of Mumbai.

"For them, this opportunity is like touching the heavens," said Room To Read's Neelima Naik. "When they knew England were coming here, they practised for three days.

"They said 'we are having England players play with us, they shouldn't feel we are not good enough'.

"They look at the likes of India captain Mithali Raj as a role model and are dreaming of being like her. The entry to CCI could be the first step."

India's best finish in the women's World Cup was as runners-up to Australia in 2005.

However, despite the enthusiasm of an inspirational figure such as Neelima, one cannot help but wonder that, even if these girls possess the talent, Indian attitudes to women and women in sport would hold them back.

As the World Cup began, former India captain Diana Edulji described the Board of Control for Cricket in India's approach to women as an "insult". 

She explained the fee for woman playing in a domestic one-day match was 2,500 Rupees (£30) and only 1,250 Rupees (£15) for a Twenty20.

"It's well known that boys still get more opportunities and support in both sport and education. The culture of India is male dominated," said Neelima.

"It's still a big thing for a girl child to be allowed to go to school. She could instead be cleaning the home, looking after a sibling or earning money.

"But I am seeing a little change of attitude. There are growing opportunities and even the government is trying to support girls' development. The mental make-up is still that the girl has to do housework, but that is changing."

When the group of a dozen or so girls have finished their lesson in cover drives and dancing Gangnam Style from Colvin, Wyatt and Beaumont, two are introduced through Neelima's interpreting.

Mithali Raj has scored 4,499 runs in 143 ODIs

Fifteen-year-old Radha explains that her parents are vegetable vendors. Leena, who is 14, says that her parents are domestic servants. Both are incredibly excited to be asked to speak, but their manners are impeccable.

"Very rarely do we get the chance for cricket because mum feels we should not play," says Radha. When asked about who their hero is, the response is predictable. "Sachin Tendulkar," is proclaimed through wide smiles. What about Raj? "Yes, Mithali," but the answer is not quite as convincing.

Later that afternoon, media gather to put questions to Raj, the undoubted face of women's cricket in India. The second surprise of the day is that at this press conference there are more female journalists than male.

The journalists explain that the Women's World Cup would not really register in India if it was not the host - there is little around Mumbai promoting the tournament, but TV adverts featuring men's spinner Ravichandran Ashwin urge the nation to get behind Raj's team.

They do, however, point out the ramped-up coverage in the newspapers. Broadsheets The Times of India and The Hindu both have half-page spreads devoted to the World Cup, complete with pictures of Raj and team-mate Thirush Kamini. It's unheard of.

"It's a big event, the World Cup attracts a lot of people and media coverage," says Raj.

"People always come up to me to ask about who we are playing and when so that they can follow the performances of the team.

"If matches are televised on a regular basis I'm sure women's cricket in India will catch up."

It's a vision that Neelima shares.

"I hope that one day women cricketers in India are greeted and welcomed everywhere they go," she said. "That we have women's cricket on television and people stay at home to watch.

"That is the dream for all of us."

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England ready for 'semi-final'

By Stephan Shemilt BBC Sport in Mumbai Venue: Brabourne Stadium, MumbaiDate: Wednesday 13 FebruaryStart time: 09:00 GMTCoverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra & via BBC Sport website; live text commentary on BBC Sport website & mobile devices

England vice-captain Jenny Gunn says Wednesday's must-win match against New Zealand is an effective semi-final for the defending World Cup champions.

England must beat the Kiwis and hope Australia defeat West Indies earlier in the day if they are to progress from the Super Sixes to Sunday's final.

"With playing a day-night match, we will know when we go out there what we need to do," Gunn told BBC Sport.

"It's pretty much a semi-final for us, we know we have to go out and win."

Remaining fixtures (13 February):

West Indies v Australia (03:30 GMT)

Sri Lanka v South Africa (03:30 GMT)

England v New Zealand (09:00 GMT)

The only way England can book a final against their old rivals Australia is to draw level on six points with the Windies in the Super Six table and have a better net run-rate than the Caribbean side.

Following their two-run defeat by Australia, England's chances of retaining the trophy they won in 2009 looked to be slim.

But, with their thrashing of South Africa being followed by West Indies' shock win over the Kiwis, points and net run-rate are so tight that any margin of victory for England in Mumbai is likely to take them through provided the Windies are beaten.

"We've done it the tough way round," added Nottinghamshire all-rounder Gunn. "Looking back to last week we didn't think we were going to be in this position.

"To still have a chance of getting to the final shows how well we've done."

England met New Zealand in a warm-up match before the tournament, losing by 13 runs.

In that game, Kiwi skipper Suzie Bates  was dismissed for only 11, but, since then, her 307 runs have made her the most prolific batter in the competition.

"She'll look to go hard early on, so she's a key wicket up front," added 26-year-old Gunn. "Sophie Devine can also hit a long ball in the middle so we'll be looking to calm her down.

"We know they will come hard at us. We've been playing them for years and know that it will be a tough battle, one that we all relish. We can't wait to get out there on the park and do our jobs."

New Zealand can also reach the final with victory at the Brabourne Stadium, but the Black Caps also require West Indies to be beaten at the MIG.

In Wednesday's other Super Six match, South Africa and Sri Lanka meet in Cuttack, a game between the two sides that have already been eliminated.

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