Now or never for England as defending champions face must-win match against India

MATCH CENTRE | STANDINGS

• Match 13: England Women v India Women
• Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
• Wednesday 16 March, 14:00 Local Time

England’s Cricket World Cup title defence is hanging by a thread, with Heather Knight and her team likely needing four wins from their remaining four games in the group stage to stand a chance of securing a semi-final spot.

And the first of those wins needs to come against an in-form India at the Bay Oval on Wednesday.

The huge match in Mount Maunganui is a repeat of the 2017 World Cup Final, which England of course won. But the head-to-head record since that day at Lord’s suggests an evenly-matched encounter awaits, with England winning the most recent ODI series between the sides 2-1 in home conditions last summer, but India winning on their own turf in the two series before that, also taking both 2-1.

One school of thought is that the pressure of being defending Champions is weighing heavily on England’s shoulders. But coach Lisa Keightley doesn’t feel that pressure is the issue for her side.

“We just for some reason haven’t clicked and we’re finding it really hard to do so,” she said after the loss to South Africa last time out.

“I don’t feel any more pressure than what the players feel, and I’m no more disappointed than the players. We came into this World Cup wanting to play better than we have, and we haven’t. It’s been frustrating. Frustrating for myself and the coaching staff and frustrating for the players.

“But we’ll keep fighting and we’ll keep training hard in between and talking to the players, and it’d be great to come out bounce back against India and put the pressure on them.”

India, who are ranked a spot below England at fourth in the ICC Women’s ODI Rankings, have served up a mixed bag at the tournament so far.

A comfortable win over neighbours Pakistan first up got points on the board, but that was followed by a sub-standard showing against the tournament hosts New Zealand in a 62-run loss.

Yet the team, led by veteran Mithali Raj, bounced back in style against West Indies last time out, scoring big in the first innings thanks to centuries from Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur to set up a 155-run win.

And a third win of the tournament against England would put India within touching distance of qualifying for the semi-finals as they go in search of the nation’s first-ever Women’s Cricket World Cup title.

THE TEAMS

**India Squad:**Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur (vc), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav

England Squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Tash Farrant, Amy Jones, Emma Lamb, Nat Sciver (vc), Anya Shrubsole, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Danni Wyatt. Travelling Reserves: Lauren Bell, Mady Villiers

CWC22 DREAM11 FANTASY WATCH

Captaincy Pick – Smriti Mandhana

India’s opener is developing into one of the top batters in the game, averaging over 40 in both Test and ODI cricket. The 25-year-old got her tournament off to a typically classy start with a half-century against Pakistan, and she went bigger still with an outstanding 123 at the top of the order to set up the win over West Indies last time out.

Must have – Natalie Sciver

So often considered a generational talent in English cricket, Natalie Sciver’s international record has been good but not as great as her potential could see her reach. But her outstanding century in the loss to Australia hinted that she’s at the top of her game at precisely the right moment for England, and she’s unlikely to get as unlucky again as she did with her dismissal against the Proteas.

KEY PLAYERS

Tammy Beaumont: The England opener always seems to save herself for the big occasion, so expect to see the 30-year-old score plenty of runs in New Zealand. Beaumont topped the scoring charts at the 2017 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup with a whopping 410 runs and looked to be in good touch during the Ashes series against Australia.

Jhulan Goswami: The veteran quick might be nudging closer to her 40th birthday, but Goswami still remains one of the most consistent seamers in women's cricket and her record in 50-over cricket supports this. Goswami picked up 10 wickets at the last ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in 2017 and remains one of the most feared bowlers in the game.

THE VENUE

This game is the penultimate of seven matches held at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui over the course of the tournament.

The 10,000-seater stadium has hosted international fixtures since 2014, nine years after it was officially opened in Blake Park, and was the scene for India’s win over Pakistan at the start of the tournament and England's loss to South Africa on Monday.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

All eight teams at the tournament will play each other across seven rounds in a league format.

The top four teams in the standings after the conclusion of the Group Stage will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be held in the final week of March.

LATER FIXTURES

England’s remaining tournament fixtures:

16 March v India
20 March v New Zealand
24 March v Pakistan
27 March v Bangladesh

India’s remaining tournament fixtures:

16 March v England
19 March v Australia
22 March v Bangladesh
27 March v South Africa