1st over: England 2-0 (Beaumont 1, Bouchier 0) Fatima Sana takes the new ball, the faint sheen of suncream over her cheeks. A loosener to start with, then on the money, a wide and a single.
Great to see Maia Bouchier standing up for the climate by joining EcoAthletes.
Nida Dar has her arms firmly folded and looks as if she’s wearing three layers under her green jersey. Tammy Beaumont and Maia Bouchier stride on in England’s turquoise ODI shirts. Tammy short and tucked in, Maia tall and tucked out.
England Maia Bouchier, Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight (c), Nat Scivr-Brunt, Alice Capsey, Amy Jones (wk), Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Kate Cross, Lauren Bell.
“The amount of rain we had last night – it was underwater,” says Dominic Cork.He disagrees with Nida Dar’s assessment of the pitch – says there will be some carry. Says he has been watching the Pakistani bowlers in practise, and they are bowling too full.
Floodlights, screaming cross wind.
It looks absolutely freezing. Puffa jackets not suncream. A brisk, brisk, wind. 12 degrees.
“It looks like a slower wicket and outfield,” says Nida Dar. “We take a lot of positives from the T20 series, play to our strengths and Inshallah things will go well. It is very important for us [to win] for qualifying [for the 2025 World Cup] to try and win.”
Heather Knight says she’d have bowled as well. England are holding on to their three spin attack, alongside Kate Cross and Lauren Bell. NSB still not bowling as she recovers from her
Hello! As the T20 series rolls out, so the one-day series rolls in – a three match extravaganza held at Derby, Taunton and Chelmsford. England are clear favourites – Heather Knight hoping England can continue to win “ruthlessly” – after their 3-0 whitewash in the shorter form . Pakistan, though, improved through the T20 series, and if only they’d been able to hold onto their catches in that third game, things might have been a lot more interesting.
England didn’t play a huge amount of ODI cricket last year, but won the series they did play, as they did in New Zealand in the spring. Tammy Beaumont and Kate Cross join the squad for the 50-over games, bringing their vast experience and skill set. The toss follows shortly, play starts at 1pm.