Australia are putting up a mighty defence, the heat at Sharjah has proven to be game changing and England have found themselves in an unlikely Group of Death
Is the UAE the spinner’s paradise we were all led to believe? Five of the top 10 leading wicket-takers in the tournament so far are seamers – including Australia’s Megan Schutt (eight wickets) and Annabel Sutherland (seven). When Australia v India came down to the wire on Sunday, with India needing 14 runs from the final over, it was Sutherland who the stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath turned to. The all-rounder was the embodiment of composure, giving away only five runs (while taking two wickets) as Australia held firm.
England have thrown the kitchen sink at their four-pronged spinner strategy on the basis that “they all do something a bit different”, but one thing they have not done (so far) is take many wickets. The one concern coming out of their 10-wicket thrashing of Scotland on Sunday was their inability to take a single Scottish wicket in the powerplay. England might have three wins from three matches so far, but a lack of penetration will make life tough in higher-stakes games.
Talk that the infamous “gap” between Australia and the rest is narrowing seems to have been premature. In 2018 and 2020, they actually lost one of their group-stage matches; this time around, there has barely been a wobble in their perfect 4/4 record. Even during their standoff against India on Sunday – which Australia won by a mere nine runs – the momentum never quite swung against the reigning champs.
Australia’s one concern is the foot injury which the captain Alyssa Healy sustained while batting against Pakistan. Despite Cricket Australia refusing to rule her out of the rest of the tournament – a statement issued on Sunday said she would “continue to be assessed over the coming days” – she was last seen hobbling out of the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in a moon boot. The calling-card of this Australia side has been squad depth – if Healy is ruled unfit for finals, they may just need it.
Who would be a bowler? The answer, apparently, is most people – if they were playing their cricket in the UAE. Long boundaries and a low, slow pitch at Sharjah has made batting in this tournament very tricky indeed: the average first-innings total is just 122 (compared to an overall average of 140 at all grounds over the past two years). In last year’s World Cup, 57 sixes were struck; so far this tournament, we have only seen 25. England, who have played all their matches at Sharjah so far, have comfortably won all three of them but have cleared the boundary rope just once.
It’s all a bit retro – 10 years ago, in the pre-professional era, England went an entire T20 World Cup without scoring a single six – but in 2024, the concern is casual viewers who prefer their T20 cricket explosive rather than gritty might have already turned their TVs off.
When the men played their World Cup in the UAE in 2021, there were complaints that winning the toss was tantamount to winning the game, due to the increased difficulties of gripping the ball as dew descended. Surprisingly – perhaps because this tournament is being played several weeks earlier than the men’s one was – dew is yet to play a role. The win percentage is pretty evenly split between teams who choose to bat first (45%) and teams who opt to bowl (55%).
England’s initial training was done in rainy Loughborough, allowing their bowlers to practise gripping a sopping wet ball. But it was actually the two weeks immediately pre-tournament in a heat-acclimatisation camp which have proved critical. “I wouldn’t have played like that if I hadn’t been in Abu Dhabi for two weeks,” Maia Bouchier said of her match-winning 62 not out from 34 balls against Scotland, scored in 40 degree heat at Sharjah. Meanwhile one unnamed Scotland player apparently vomited into her own arm mid-innings against Bangladesh, suggesting that this tournament is proving to be as much a physical endurance test as it is a test of cricketing skills.
Group A (containing Australia, India and New Zealand) was termed the Group of Death as soon as the draw became known, so it was unsurprising that qualification came down to New Zealand’s clash against Pakistan on Monday. In a strange twist, India were left having to cheer on Pakistan, after earlier losses to New Zealand and Australia put them on the verge of elimination.
The real shock has been Group B, initially felt to be relatively straightforward for England. Not so. England have enjoyed three solid wins, against Bangladesh, South Africa and Scotland – but still need to beat West Indies in Group B’s final game on Tuesday to guarantee a semi-final spot. It could be a nervy affair.
