‘They can have no complaints’ – Nasser Hussain, coach Lisa Keightley react to England’s third loss

TOURNAMENT FIXTURES | GROUP STAGE STANDINGS

Monday’s three-wicket defeat to South Africa in Mount Maunganui means that England are still without a point at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022, one of just two teams yet to register a win, along with Pakistan.

And head coach Lisa Keightley and her side are now in a knockout-style situation, with no further slip-ups possible if they want a chance of reaching the semi-finals.

The top four teams at the conclusion of the Group Stage will qualify for the semis, with each team playing seven matches. And with England still having eight points up for grabs, there is still a chance for them to sneak into the knockout stages.

Four wins and eight points were enough for South Africa to reach the final four back in the 2017 tournament, and it could well be enough for England in New Zealand if other results go their way. But they will need to get the ball rolling with a win against India in a huge match at the Bay Oval on Wednesday.

“Played three and lost three, all close games, they’ve got a lot of work to do,” former England men’s captain Nasser Hussain told Sanjana Ganesan on ICC’s Digital Daily following the match against South Africa.

“They can have no complaints, they’re not playing their best cricket.

“England have got India next and that game for both sides is massive. There are so many good teams in the tournament, but that’s a massive game on Wednesday.

“India are playing well, batters Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana were phenomenal the other day, so there are no easy games.”

England have just one day’s rest before that match against India, a repeat of the 2017 final and one that will have huge implications on the eventual semi-final line-up this time around.

And coach Keightley says it’s going to be a case of her players resting up and looking to add some sharpness.

“To be totally honest, I think training will be quite light – we’ll top up players that need to top up and the bowlers will probably need a rest to go again,” the England boss said. “Batters will get in and have another good session and go out and try and get a bit of momentum and runs on the board.

“Obviously we all believe you know, we're trying hard to get those wins. And once we win a close one, we’ll get a bit of momentum and finish strong.

“We’ve just got to dust ourselves off, come back out and play the way we want to play.

“We’re trying really hard, we're doing all the right things off the park, we just need to put it together when we get to match.”

South Africa were excellent in Monday's match, but England didn’t help themselves, with a number of catches going down in a haphazard fielding display.

“Fielding has been poor again,” Hussain said. “Laura Wolvaardt is a world-class player, you can’t give her one chance let alone two or three.

“I’ve seen them in practice the last couple of days, they’ve hit practice hard. But it is, for want of a better word, like a virus. They drop a catch early, it spreads through the team, they are nervy, they look nervy in the field

“I think they bowled too short too. If you look at all the best sides in the competition they’ve bowled a fuller length. Look at Kapp, she bowled full with the new ball and full at the death. England were too short.”

Fortune hasn’t been on the side of the defending champions either, with all three defeats coming by small margins and magical moments going against them on a few occasions.

Deandra Dottin’s catch in the loss to West Indies was one of the moments of the tournament so far.

And England also suffered a fluke of a dismissal against South Africa when Nat Sciver managed to get a highly unusual double-edge to flip a catch to slip.

“You could play that shot a thousand times and it will never end up in the hands of slip,” Hussain said. “It just shows you exactly where England are.”

“It was freakish in the last game when (Lauren) Winfield-Hill smashes it and Dottin flies through the air and catches it. This game arguably the best player just pulls it off the back of the bat straight to slip. It was either that or an incredible cunning plan from South Africa.”

If England are able to turn their campaign around and beat India then they will head to another huge match against tournament hosts New Zealand in Auckland on Sunday knowing that a win would put them back in the mix for qualification.

And Keightley’s side finish with matches against Bangladesh and Pakistan, two of the three lowest-ranked sides at the tournament on the ICC ODI Team Rankings.

Four wins from four and a big swing in net run rate could yet save England. But they’ll need to sharpen up, and soon, because one more loss will bring their title defence to a definitive end.

England's Remaining Tournament Fixtures

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