Defending champions England will exit the women's ICC World Twenty20 following the completion of the group stages after today's loss to the West Indies in their second match of the tournament.
West Indies won today’s group match by two runs - West Indies 122 for eight, England 120 for nine - meaning England can't advance to the next stage despite still having a group match to play against South Africa on Sunday.
England captain Charlotte Edwards won the toss and elected to field in their second match of the ICC World Twenty20.
England displayed some clinical fielding and precision bowling with Laura Marsh taking the first three wickets, ending with match figures of three for 17. Youngster, Anya Shrubsole stepped up to claim the wicket of the record-breaking Deandra Dottin, who was out for a golden duck, through a catch from Jenny Gunn at long-on, to leave West Indies on 62 for 4.
Wickets then fell as Marsh caught Stacy-Ann King, who went for 17 before Gunn came to the crease to see off Shanel Daley, caught by Beth Morgan at long off. One ball later Britney Cooper was bowled by Gunn, who was later involved in the run-out of West Indies captain Meissa Aguilleira in the final over. West Indies finished 122 for 8.
The crowd were treated to another nail biting performance from England, as they chased what seemed to be an achievable target. Sarah Taylor and Charlotte Edwards got the ball rolling at the top of the order by contributing 33 and 31 respectively.
Sadly for England the middle order could not continue to keep up the scoring and suffered a collapse with Beth Morgan being bowled and Jenny Gunn getting trapped leg before, both by Dottin. They were closely followed by Claire Taylor, who was caught by Pamela Lavine, to leave England on 5-57. The lower order batters faced the tough task of pulling back the match, needing 31 off the last three overs and then taking it right to the wire needing four off the last ball, which saw Katherine Brunt run-out .
England - with the exception of Lydia Greenway who finished on 26 not out - were dismissed through a combination of tight fielding and accurate bowling from the West Indies.
Charlotte Edwards said: “We’re bitterly disappointed, I’ve got a very sad changing room down there but we’re going to have to pick ourselves up, go back home and work really hard ahead of the series against New Zealand this summer.
“A lot of credit has to go to the West Indies, I thought they bowled really well in periods and some loose shots means the pressure builds up in Twenty20 and time runs out in the end."
Head Coach, Mark Lane, said: “We’ve played some brilliant cricket over the last two years, but we’ve come across a bit of a stumbling block over here in the West Indies.
“The standard of women’s cricket has really kicked on over the last twelve months.”
The loss for England means they will not progress any further in ICC Women’s World Twenty20. The will play their final group match of the tournament on Sunday May 9 against South Africa, at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts.
