England hold nerve for most significant win of Edwards era

Although there have been challenges along the way, it is starting to feel like England has come a long way.

A poor West Indies were easily swept aside in the wake of Charlotte Edwards’ appointment as head coach earlier this year, but it failed to persuade supporters and the media that much had changed since the Ashes scandal.

There have been issues at the World Cup, most notably the batting collapses in close encounters with Bangladesh and Pakistan, and those concerns were resolved when they were later overshadowed by India.

With only two group games left, England secured their most significant victory of the Edwards/Nat Sciver-Brunt era with a four-run victory over India at Indore in front of a deafening, intimidating home crowd.

They had previously gained a reputation for buckling under pressure.

Consider the T20 World Cup in October, where West Indies infamously wiped out everyone after one catch.

See also Amy Jones’ lost count of the number of balls in the second Ashes one-day international in Melbourne’s chase of 181.

No, this wasn’t a knockout, and there will still be challenges. However, with Smriti Mandhana and Smriti Mandhana both scoring beautifully in 88 balls, India was on the verge of losing.

England had another chance to seize it, and her soft dismissal creaked the door open.

England needed to beat Australia on Wednesday, which looked close to unbeatable, followed by New Zealand, who would be the strong favorites. They will now face Australia in the semis.

However, they did need the victory to demonstrate to themselves that they could win such a game.

England had to overcome one of the most formidable partnerships, Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur, after removing Pratika Rawal and Harleen Deol early.

Their 125-person partnership was a masterclass, with Mandhana and Harmanpreet combining skill and finesse.

The left-handed opener, who had a big lead in the off-side, was bowled too wide, but India and England’s other opponents have fared worse.

Mandhana was exceptional when he played the ball lately and sat deep in the crease while Deepti Sharma and Harmanpreet led the way for the world’s number one bowler.

Although India let their own errors into the end, England deserves praise for how they ended the game because victory was never guaranteed until the hosts needed nine in the final ball.

However, England’s body language did not decrease from the previous year, which is a notable change. They persevered until the last ball, working together and fighting until the fielding fumbles did not creep in.

Ecclestone and Deepti squared off against Sophia Dunkley, who had slog-swept them both. The crowd behind Dunkley roared for it to be put down as the ball hung high in the air for what seemed like an entire generation.

Although it was a straightforward chance, England has recently fallen behind in similar catches. In addition to securing earlier high-stakes victories, Alice Capsey and Emma Lamb also held on to defeat Mandhana and Harmanpreet.

In contrast to the challenging, turning ones in Guwahati and Colombo, England’s batters must have been relieved to be presented with a flat surface in Indore.

Their match-winning 288 was changed when Heather Knight’s sparkling 109, which came from just 86 balls, lit up their century. When Mandhana and Harmanpreet were unable to stop, England’s former skipper kicked on.

Although Edwards will be reluctant to switch to a winning team, the batting line-up has still got to be addressed.

Even though the openers negotiated the new ball and added 73 for the first wicket, Tammy Beaumont appears out of sorts when Jones scores a fifty at the top of the order to seal the first wicket.

Before being bowled in an attempt to sweep Deepti, she scratched her way to 22 from 43 balls, but Knight and Sciver-Brunt kept the ship steady as they do so frequently.

Dunkley, Lamb, and Capsey’s middle order received a platform that they could use to accelerate, something they had not been able to do in the previous three games, where they had to use their platform to rescue dangerous situations.

But this time, they were unable to fire. They have allowed 103 runs in 103 innings overall, with an average of 8.58 and a 55 strike-rate.

England were relieved that their opponents had taken three wickets for eight runs when India were leading the field in a far greater mess than they had been when they had taken the lead.