Heather Knight survives three on-field dismissals to finish unbeaten on 79 in an eventful innings to help England to a four-wicket win against Bangladesh at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
WATCH MORE: Women’s World Cup: England edge past Bangladesh by four wickets – reaction
ICC Women’s World Cup, Guwahati
Bangladesh 178 (49.4 overs): Sobhana 60 (108); Ecclestone 3-24
England 182-6 (46.1 overs): Knight 79* (111); Fahima 3-16
England won by four wickets
Heather Knight’s unbeaten 79 led England to an unconvincing four-wicket win over Bangladesh to maintain their winning start to the Women’s World Cup in Guwahati.
Chasing just 179 to win on a tricky pitch, England slumped to 78-5 and 103-6 as their familiar woes against spin continued to surface.
But a patient, unbroken stand of 79 between Knight and Charlie Dean, who made 27, saw England reach their target in the 47th over.
Seamer Marufa Akter removed openers Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont early with swinging deliveries, before the turning point came in the 15th over when former captain Knight was given a reprieve on 13.
Knight drilled the ball to Shorna Akter at extra cover, but the third umpire deemed that the fielder had dragged the ball along the turf as she dived forward, with this coming after Knight had also overturned a caught behind and an lbw.
From there on, she was gritty and disciplined in her first innings back from a hamstring injury as England edged a nerve-wracking contest which would have been one of the tournament’s all-time upsets.
Fahima Khatun was the instigator of England’s middle-order wobble with 3-16, leading an admirable bowling and fielding performance after their batters had similarly struggled.
England’s spinners unsurprisingly dominated, taking nine wickets between them as Bangladesh were bowled out for 178 in 49.4 overs.
Sophie Ecclestone starred with 3-24 while Charlie Dean, Linsey Smith and Alice Capsey took two wickets apiece.
There was stubborn resistance from Sobhana Mostary, who made 60 from 108 balls, before Rabeya Khan provided some late and valuable momentum with an unbeaten 43 from 27.
England came into the tournament with a point to prove after the Ashes and series defeats against India in the summer, and one of their biggest struggles in recent times has been to perform under pressure.
It looked like that trend was continuing in the most shocking of twists, with Beaumont and Jones undone by swing before some soft dismissals followed.
Nat Sciver-Brunt softly hit a full toss to mid-wicket having looked in good touch for 32, Sophia Dunkley was trapped on the crease to be pinned lbw for nought and Emma Lamb chipped Fahima to mid-off for one.
But Knight absorbed all of the pressure, having survived the three scares – and the catch that was not given had clearly aggrieved the Bangladesh fielders with captain Nigar Sultana Joty seen in conversation with the on-field umpires.
Knight used all of her experience, playing in her 151st one-day international, and refused to panic. She had 15 from her first 50 balls, and her 86-ball fifty was the second slowest of her England career.
Once she had settled in unfamiliar conditions, she swept effectively and used her feet to nullify the spin, and found mature support in both Dean and Alice Capsey, who made 20 before she was pinned lbw by a beautiful turning delivery from Sanjida Akther Maghla.
Dean’s simple gameplan of rotating the strike with Knight was exactly what England needed with little run-rate pressure, and was a lesson in discipline to the top order.
Though the batting was a struggle, England proved once again that they have one of the most well-rounded bowling attacks to compete in these conditions.
Guwahati has proven to be a happy hunting ground for England’s spin quartet – having also taken seven wickets against South Africa – and though they travel to Colombo, Indore and Visakhapatnam for the remaining group stage matches, it could be useful should they return to the venue for one of the semi-finals.
There was 2.7 degrees of spin on average throughout the game – the most of any game in the tournament to date.
Smith, Ecclestone, Dean and Capsey all conceded fewer than four runs per over but were under no pressure from Bangladesh’s batters until Rabeya’s unlikely cameo which included six fours and the innings’ only six, which almost became a match-winning knock.
Bangladesh started positively, reaching 23-0 from four overs, but the dismissals of opener Rubya Haider Jhilik and captain Nigar Sultana Joty saw them stall completely and trudge to 31-2 by the end of the first powerplay with Smith dominating again.
What followed was a bizarre passage of play, with 23 runs scored in 11.1 overs from Sobhana and Ritu Moni, who made five from 36 balls, as they lacked the experience and game awareness to rotate the strike efficiently as Knight subsequently managed.
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt: “We did what we needed to do to get over line. Before the tournament we spoke as a group that not everything is going to be easy and we will need some resilience in our skills. It could have looked a bit better but we are really happy.
“The calmness they [Knight and Dean] both showed in a high pressure situation was brilliant. We would have liked to have done it with a few less wickets down but that is the way it went in the end.”
Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana Joty: “It was an incredible game, especially with the way my girls fought until the last ball.
“We were maybe 20 or 30 runs short on that wicket. Should Rabeya have batted higher?
“I wanted the batters to play until the last ball because we could have got 10 or 12 runs more. They are very young and sometimes not making the decisions and we wanted to give them knowledge to capitalise in the middle.”
Heather Knight finishes unbeaten on 79 as England hold on to secure a four-wicket victory against a spirited Bangladesh side in a nervy encounter in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
MATCH REPORT: Knight helps England avoid scare against Bangladesh
One Direction’s stylist, Lou Teasdale has opened up about the tragic death of Liam Payne and how she rejects losing touch with the late dad-of-one.
The hair and make-up artist has admitted that she “wasn’t surprised” he was struggling as the one-year anniversary of the singer’s tragic death nears.
Lou started by explaining that she worked on X Factor and that was how she met the band. She then said she left the show to tour with One Direction for five years. When asked if she was still in touch with them, she alluded to Liam’s death: “Yeah, especially with last year and what happened.”
READ MORE: Lou Teasdale addresses feud with Caroline Flack’s mum – ‘A lot of fingers get pointed’READ MORE: Louis Tomlinson heartbreakingly reflects on Liam Payne’s ‘unjust and frustrating’ death
“We are like a family,” she told Paul Brunson on his podcast, We Need To Talk. But she admitted she had lost touch with Liam before he died, because, by the time he died, “everyone always worried” about him and how “lost” he was.
“I do wish I kept in touch with him more because he would always reach out and try and chat. And he was always quite lost and everyone always worried about him.”
She later said Liam’s death and the events she felt led up to it reminded her of the death of Caroline Flack. Whilst Liam died after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina, Caroline committed suicide.
But, Lou felt that the lack of protection Liam had and the negative narrative painted about him online affected him, like it did with the former X Factor host.
“It reminded me of the Caroline situation,” Lou started. “Liam in One Direction was really well protected. You know, the boys would go and do an interview and it would get edited to make them look good. That’s how TV interviews for pop bands worked.
“And since then, social media has become ruthless. What people want to watch, unfortunately, has turned so toxic. Um, and everyone forgets that there’s a human being when they’re sharing this stuff. You know, he was an empathetic person.”
Lou also said she was “not surprised he was struggling” near the end because of way hatred online was affecting his mental health. “Unfortunately, it’s a part of being in the public eye. And there’s not really any sort of regulation to protect them from it.
“And so, they just become very, very vulnerable. and their mental health spiralling and spiralling and there’s not really anybody who can help it.”
This year also marks the 15th anniversary of One Direction, as well as one year since Liam’s death. Ahead of the anniversary, his bandmate Louis Tomlinson revealed what he thought about Liam.
“He was just a very misunderstood person, I think, from a public perspective. If there is ever any judgment on his character, I think nine times out of 10, you can reflect on that, and the reflection is that he was someone who just wanted to be liked.”
Louis also spoke about how difficult it was to lose Liam. “It was really, really, impossibly difficult for me to deal with losing Liam. Naively, I thought that because at this point, I’m relatively well versed in grief for my age, that it might soften the blow. [That was] super-naive. It’s very different. I’ve never lost a friend before.”
One Direction’s stylist, Lou Teasdale has opened up about the tragic death of Liam Payne and how she rejects losing touch with the late dad-of-one.
The hair and make-up artist has admitted that she “wasn’t surprised” he was struggling as the one-year anniversary of the singer’s tragic death nears.
Lou started by explaining that she worked on X Factor and that was how she met the band. She then said she left the show to tour with One Direction for five years. When asked if she was still in touch with them, she alluded to Liam’s death: “Yeah, especially with last year and what happened.”
READ MORE: Lou Teasdale addresses feud with Caroline Flack’s mum – ‘A lot of fingers get pointed’READ MORE: Louis Tomlinson heartbreakingly reflects on Liam Payne’s ‘unjust and frustrating’ death
“We are like a family,” she told Paul Brunson on his podcast, We Need To Talk. But she admitted she had lost touch with Liam before he died, because, by the time he died, “everyone always worried” about him and how “lost” he was.
“I do wish I kept in touch with him more because he would always reach out and try and chat. And he was always quite lost and everyone always worried about him.”
She later said Liam’s death and the events she felt led up to it reminded her of the death of Caroline Flack. Whilst Liam died after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina, Caroline committed suicide.
But, Lou felt that the lack of protection Liam had and the negative narrative painted about him online affected him, like it did with the former X Factor host.
“It reminded me of the Caroline situation,” Lou started. “Liam in One Direction was really well protected. You know, the boys would go and do an interview and it would get edited to make them look good. That’s how TV interviews for pop bands worked.
“And since then, social media has become ruthless. What people want to watch, unfortunately, has turned so toxic. Um, and everyone forgets that there’s a human being when they’re sharing this stuff. You know, he was an empathetic person.”
Lou also said she was “not surprised he was struggling” near the end because of way hatred online was affecting his mental health. “Unfortunately, it’s a part of being in the public eye. And there’s not really any sort of regulation to protect them from it.
“And so, they just become very, very vulnerable. and their mental health spiralling and spiralling and there’s not really anybody who can help it.”
This year also marks the 15th anniversary of One Direction, as well as one year since Liam’s death. Ahead of the anniversary, his bandmate Louis Tomlinson revealed what he thought about Liam.
“He was just a very misunderstood person, I think, from a public perspective. If there is ever any judgment on his character, I think nine times out of 10, you can reflect on that, and the reflection is that he was someone who just wanted to be liked.”
Louis also spoke about how difficult it was to lose Liam. “It was really, really, impossibly difficult for me to deal with losing Liam. Naively, I thought that because at this point, I’m relatively well versed in grief for my age, that it might soften the blow. [That was] super-naive. It’s very different. I’ve never lost a friend before.”
Christmas plans for King Charles’ royal homes have been revealed – and they include a historic first.
While the monarch and his family nearly always spent the festive season at Sandringham, big plans have been announced for his official residences of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. And in a historic first, it has been revealed that the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace will become a Christmas pop-up shop from November 14, where shoppers can stock up on products from the Royal Collection Trust. Meanwhile, at Windsor Castle, visitors there will be treated to the sight of a 20-foot-high Nordmann fir tree grown in Windsor Great Park in St George’s Hall, which will be decked with thousands of lights and ornaments.
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And a 16-foot tree will also adorn the Crimson Drawing Room, which is only open during the winter months – while special tiny decorations repurposed from vintage necklaces will be added to the ornate Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, which Queen Camilla showed First Lady Melania Trump during the US state visit.
While in north of the border at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, two 12-foot high Christmas trees will decorate the Throne Room, while a 15-foot-high Nordmann fir tree will take centre stage in the Great Gallery.
Other decorations will include garlands, berries, and winter foliage on the Great Stair and the Royal Dining Room, first used by Queen Victoria, being adorned with a silver service, sugared fruits and seasonal foliage.
Although the royals nearly always spend Christmas at Sandringham, the King’s exact plans for the festive season have not yet been revealed.
However, last year, he hosted his biggest gathering of royals in years, which included the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children George, Charlotte and Louis.
When it comes to this year, two royals who have been tipped to miss out on the celebrations yet again are Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Fergie. It comes after Charles has signalled the pair will not be welcome at the traditional celebrations.
Sources close to Charles said he wanted to keep them at arm’s length after it recently emerged the duchess had kept in contact with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein after publicly denouncing him in 2011.
Andrew stayed away last Christmas after his links to an alleged Chinese spy, Yang Tengbo, emerged. The source told the Sunday Times: “You can’t sack someone from being your brother. But this year, if the duke and duchess were both to be as honourable [as last year], it would be very much for the best.”
The decision is being supported by the Prince of Wales, who is understood to be frustrated and concerned by the Yorks’ behaviour causing long-term reputational risk to the royals.
The King has also made clear that he would prefer them to take an “out of sight, out of mind” approach for any future family occasions that the Yorks attend.