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I dont think that this england team needs to compete alongside the men to give them "credibility". It has been a pleasure to see an english side dominate a sport as this side is doing at the moment, long may it continue

good luck to you - and watch out for the dutch !!!!!

Fewer overs...sorry

Credibility? Please. Cricket is a minor sport to start with, there are only 8 nations that play it to a recognised standard. A women's version of a predominantly mens', minority sport is even more niche.

I'm not over-enamoured by this cricket format, but I hope we (ie England) win the trophy. I also think ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ should give Karen Rolton a big, congratulatory "bye-bye" at the end of this tournament - from all English fans and (I am sure) players.

Visibility of the distaff side of the T20 WC is so pathetic that most cricket lovers aren't even aware it is taking place. Is it, really? What about tv coverage, who all are participating, teams and players names, schedule, draw, venues etc. There is only a vague impression that women's final is on the same day as men's. No details are known. This simply is monstrous. Why should a world cup event be so unnoticeable is beyond me.
Hope some details come to light, soon.

'For us this will be a massive opportunity to showcase our talent and being alongside the men means both being given the credibility and an opportunity to win fans.'
Credibility! My foot! It makes you invisible.

Womens cricket has come a long way in the last 10 years - with England leading the way. Hopefully the standard from the other nations will improve and whilst the game is unlikely to rival the mens game (in terms of media coverage and public support) the sport is certainly credible (in England) following the success of the 50 over WC. I wonder how the womans game is recieved in the cricket powerhouses of India, Australia and South Africa?

As another poster mentioned, the heading should read, "More competitive, more positive, fewer (not less) overs."

As an aside, Supermarket Tesco has bowed to pressure from those lobbying for the use of proper English and have altered checkout signs reading "ten items or less" in the interests of being grammatically correct.

From now on, signs in new stores are to say "up to 10 items" after a long running argument with those who have objected to the use of the word "less" in that context.

Many have argued that the signs ought to read "ten items or fewer" instead of "ten items or less". Their argument is that the word 'fewer' should be used when it refers to quantities that can be counted. 'Less', they say, should refer to quantities that cannot be counted.

Supermarket, of course, in my previous post, should have been typed with a small "s" but I was unable to alter the letter after posting.

The new(-ish) form of words in respect if Tesco comes from a suggestion by the Plain English Campaign.

"There is a debate about whether the word should be 'less' or 'fewer'," a campaign spokesman said. "Saying 'up to ten items' is easy to understand and avoids any debate."

Guidance from Oxford University Press says: "Less means 'not as much'. Fewer means 'not as many'. This can be tricky when referring to quantities. For example, we say less than six weeks, not fewer than six weeks, because we are not referring to six individual weeks, but to a single period of time lasting six weeks."

Good luck in the tournament - if you girls play the same way that you did in Australia then you should win it and I look forward to watching you girls in action.

Well, the comments in respect of grammar must have worked as the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ has, in the last few minutes, changed the heading for the blog. Surely though, the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ should check blog submissions prior to inclusion on one of its sites.

Lohengrin please keep on topic, this isn't the forum to prattle on about the vagueries of the English language. Stick to the cricket.

Good luck girls, here's hoping for a world cup win and greater recognition of the women's game.

p.s. I dare say my English is far from correct but so long as my message is understood does it really matter?

Blimey, Lohengrin. "Less is more" (G. Orwell) - Work that one out, preferably not here.

Congratulations to England on beating the Ferns so convincingly in the first warm-up - but what was Satterthwaite doing batting at #9? - Another convincing win against the Stars today would be welcome, always nice to beat Australia, even in a warm-up.

Lohengrin - you really need to get out more...

Ok, bear with me as this is my opening over in blogging. Can anyone tell me why the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ appears to constantly move the link to TMS commentary. I admit that I'm not the sharpest chip in the virtual world, but I have to search for the link every time. Is there a consistent shortcut??

Issekthejug (post no 4)- given your clearly negative view of cricket in general and women's cricket in particular, what are you doing on this forum? I can think of very few teams in this country (men or women) who have MORE credibilty than our women's team. Go for it girls and make us all proud of you (again!).

Shortfatleg, Provided you're in UK, you can always get TMS om bbc - radio 5 sports extra when the match is being played in UK. Just go to radio 5 & click through. If you're not in UK (like me) - you're sentenced to live text! :)

Just four runs, huh! At least it was only a warm-up - but that's twice running, Sydney & Taunton. I've got a feeling Rolton's Southern Stars are going to take some stopping. They're sore! - And finally, we'll be the ones to stop 'em, right? Right!

Good luck v Goswami, Raj & co on Thursday.

Good luck ladies, nice to see an English team full of Sussex players doing so well.........Just need Matty Prior and Yards back in the mens side and we'll be laughing!

To everyone who's negative about the womens game, have you ever watched it? Might be a bit slower but with no less skill and passion than the mens version, so why not get behind the team rather than put the game down?!

Agree with the positive comments above. The team has already earned its credibility. Best of luck to you.

As usual there is at least one contributor (eg Issekthejug above) who has a pop at women's cricket. Credibility isn't just measured by the number of countries playing a particular sport. Snooker has credibility despite being dominated by UK players because it's players play to the highest standard of sportsmanship. Football meanwhile is played worldwide yet consistently offers up disgraceful behaviour and abuse of officals - incredible one might say.

For England this will be even harder to win than the World Cup because in 20-20 one player thrashing about for a few overs can change the whole match. Any of the top 4 could win it. Good luck Lottie and the team.

By 10 wickets against Goswami & co! - Woohoo! That's all I can think of saying, so I'll say it again. Woohoo!

Woohoo - yep, as I sit hear listening to the men there is a reasonable chance the men will score less in 20 overs than Lottie & Squirt managed in 15 !! Okay the Women aren't playing South Africa men but they were playing one of the top 4 teams in the tourny, one that has a real chance of winning it.

Well played - couldn't ask for any better start.

Issekthejug, I'm confused as to how cricket is a minority sport. It is probably the major sport in India, do you happen to know the number of people that live in that country? By my count you have just called a sport worshipped by 1/6th of the world's population in one country alone as a minority one. That's a pretty stupid statement. If all sports had the same standards of sportsmanship as cricket the world would be a better place. Also why bother commenting if it is such a minor sport?
The Women's T20 Cup should have far more coverage, I'd rather watch them play the game at the moment than the men, if we have to put up with this ADHD version of a cricket game let's watch the gender that actually have a chance of doing great things.

Anyone out there definately (and I mean definately) know the start time for the England v Sri Lanka game on Sunday ?

Reason being that the Somerset County Cricket website and the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ website think its 16:00 (BST) whilst the official World Twenty20 website ( is showing 12:00 (BST).

Okay, most people will go for both games but it seems a bit bonkers that the information isn't consistent.

LB,

cricinfo has it down as 12.00 (local), 11.00 (GMT).



Whether or not that makes it definite - no clue. - They're also forecasting rain in Taunton.

FJH,

...... and just to add to the confusion the ECB website ( shows a 16:00 start time.

The Met Office is showing a sunny day save for the odd rogue shower and a warm day. Weather is like start times, different websites mean different information !

re numbers 9, 10, 12....
Mr Lovegreen, get a life!!

This is about cricket, not a debate about the misuse of the English language!!

Come on ladies, time for a glorious double!!

hey LB,

Now I can tell you it FINISHED at about 19.45 my time, which I think is 18.45 your time. (lol)

On a more serious note, although we won by 71 runs in the end, that string of single figure scores beginning with Morgan, running until Atkins came in will need to be looked at. Good job we had C. Taylor to prop the innings up - and then Guha to take 2/4 off 4!

(And what was Atkins doing batting at #9 anyway? Looking at today's team on paper, I'd have had her at 4 & Morgan at 5. I'm sure Edwards had her reasons; just that I'd like to know them.)

Anyway, Pakistan next. I wonder if the various sites can agree as to when it starts.

I agree with you FleetJackHobbs - it surpised me that Atkins was not in much higher up the order. The middle order is looking a bit suspect at the moment; time to give Ebony a go I think. However, a great bowling performance by the looks of things - would have loved to have seen it on TV, but that's another story.....

To be really honest I thought the West Indies batted better against the Oz attack than we did against the SL attack - and not just because Dottin blasted 5 fours off the 2nd over. 135 against the Oz attack really was worth watching.
However both the WI and England seemed to lose their way. Tails was absolute class - provided a superb example of how to bat, using all her experience and didn't panic. Some of the other batsmen either panicked or forgot that dobbing a single and giving Tails the strike might be the better option. Credit to the SL attack, of course, they bowled really well.
I think Shaggy (that's Atkins) was held back to give some of the others a chance. Shaw and Marsh had no option but to just slog given it was late when they came in but No 4, 5 and 6, whoever they are, are going to have to improve. Just for the sake of time in the middle it might not be the dafted idea to send Squirt (Sarah), Lottie and Tails in at about 6,7,8 against Pakistan. Start with Ebony and Shaggy, then Beth and Lyd etc. Definately need to bat first against Pakistan if Lottie wins the toss.
What really stood out was England in the field. They really are world class in the field. Jenny Gunn took 2 great catches, one a blinder as well as a superb run out. Strangely, given 20-20 is usually batting dominated, it might well be our fielding and bowling that wins it.

Well... not that I know anything about T20 cricket, but I confess I was expecting to see Rainford-Brent opening - maybe with Atkins, as LB says (above). The impression I have of Rainford-Brent is that she is a free-hitting batter, who maybe "free-hits" once too often for her own good. With Atkins at the other end to calm her down every now & then, she could secure her place at #1 in T20. - That would mean the rest of the batters moving down one, which would go some way towards strengthening the middle order: S.C. Taylor, Edwards, S.J. Taylor - and then Morgan.

With our semi-final place secured, the opportunity for "last experiments" is today, against Pakistan. However, I think it's essential to win v Pakistan, if only on the grounds that winning teams like to stay in the wining groove. So - 1. Select the team to thrash Pakistan first. 2. Experiment with "new" players who would profit from the experience of a game that counts for points.

I haven't yet said, so let me say it here. The player I feel most sorry for is Anya Shrubsole. With the experience of a major tour behind her, and on her own ground, it must be incredibly frustrating to be injured.

Oh! - And congratulations to Charlotte Edwards on her recent honour.

Semi-finals aren't usually the place to experiment so I guess the team is more or less settled in Laney's mind. That said Nunny (cheekbone permitting) would be a bit sparky on an oval pitch and it would be quite nice to see some short stuff. The Aussies bat all the way down and our bowling and fielding has been red hot - very interesting contest that.

Has our middle/lower order got the hang of 20-20 yet (to be fair there aren't that many 20-20 games to play, unlike the men)?

8 different countries in the 20-20 Semis - what odds could one have got on that ?

Final: NZ for sure. Eng/Oz to close to call (oh and the minor final, probably SA v SL).

Great win yesterday, and a fantastic atmosphere here at the County Ground in Taunton. Thanks again from the youngsters of Otterhampton and the PfS staff for the Q & A session last Wednesday. All the best for the semi, and I'm sure, the final