'England face questions after bump back down to earth'

BBC News

17 hours ago

The first half of 2025 has been a whirlwind for England's women. It started with a demolishing at the hands of Australia, which resulted in an upheaval in leadership, before the new era under Charlotte Edwards and Nat Sciver-Brunt inflicted a similarly dominant thrashing on West Indies. But that win came with the warning not to get carried away, considering the weak opposition, and to expect a much tougher examination once India arrived for five T20s and three one-day internationals. That warning has been delivered immediately as the tourists have taken a 2-0 lead, with the opportunity to seal the T20 series at The Oval on Friday. Of course, adjusting to new leadership will always take some time to bed in, and this could be seen as a good thing for England to be tested by high-quality opposition before the autumn's World Cup in India - something they did not have before the fateful series against Australia. However, these two defeats felt all too familiar - and England have barely competed in either. Under pressure, catches have gone down, bowling plans have become muddled and the batting has not fired, particularly struggling against spin. England, Sciver-Brunt and Edwards have had a sharp bump back down to earth.
Top-dorder scrutiny - time for change?
England are without former captain Heather Knight, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, and she will almost certainly slot straight back into the middle order because they are crying out for her stability and calmness when things are not going to plan. There is a particular concern around the opening partnership. Danni Wyatt-Hodge has scored one run in her past four T20 innings, and 87 runs in her past eight - with 52 coming from one knock in Australia. The opening stand has passed 50 just once in eight matches, averaging less than 15, and England have been 9-2 chasing 211 at Trent Bridge and 2-2 chasing 182 at Bristol before slumping to 113 all out and 157-7. There have been fine knocks from Sciver-Brunt and Tammy Beaumont, making a half-century each, with the latter an option to move up the order if Edwards wants to go in a different direction at the top."She'll certainly be vulnerable. I'd probably assess where Danni's at - sometimes if a player's going really badly, they need to be taken away from the spotlight and given that break to reset," said Knight on Sky Sports after the second defeat. "Tammy's done brilliantly today, one nice spark in the England innings and her natural spot is opening the batting, so that is an option there. "Paige Scholfield is someone who might come in, she can bat at the top of the order, but I think her best position is probably in the middle. She's had a brilliant 12-18 months in that attacking role."
'Full confidence in our players'
Sciver-Brunt understandably did not comment on whether there would be any changes in the immediate aftermath of the Bristol defeat, saying she had "full confidence" in all the players.She also highlighted England's significant improvement in the powerplay, where they restricted India to 35-3, but India's counter-attack appeared to catch the bowlers off guard and they deviated from their plans. In the powerplay 33% of their deliveries were on a good line and length at a run-rate of 4.2, but that dipped to 15% in the middle overs as India added 103-1 and 11% in the final four overs as Amanjot Kaur and Richa Ghosh took the game away from England. Lauren Bell was one of few England players to come away from the Ashes with credit and has continued that form this summer, taking 2-17 at Bristol as she now leads the attack with much-improved maturity and consistency. She executed her slower-ball plan effectively, setting the field accordingly and forcing India's batters to adjust to her.But India have been smart, and England have not responded quickly enough. Linsey Smith, who starred against West Indies with her left-arm spin, has been clearly targeted with 0-41 from three overs at Trent Bridge and 0-37 off three at Bristol. It is unfamiliar territory for England, who are so dominant at home - prior to the Windies series, they had won 79.3% of their completed white-ball games at home since 2020. They should not be written off after just two matches against a side that are turning into genuine World Cup contenders, particularly on home turf, and it is not yet crunch time for England or Edwards in terms of whether they can turn this around. But the new coach is said by those around her to be ruthless, and unafraid to make tough decisions if best for the team. This is England's first challenge under her leadership, and how Edwards responds to it will reveal just how much has really changed in the set-up which was previously accused of cosiness and complacency.