🏏ICC Women's T20I WC 2024: Group B - Match 20: EngW vs WIW 🏏 - Page 46

News brief: These teams will be facing each other for the first time in T20Is. England are coming into this match after a gap of five days, having last played against South Africa on Monday.

Scotland are out of the semi-final race. The Group B table has three teams - England, West Indies and South Africa - still in contention for the semi-final, with England having the lowest net run rate among them. England will be looking to improve their NRR with a big win.

"There was a little bit of illness at one point but I think hopefully everyone will be available," England captain Heather Knight said of player availability ahead of the match.

This will also be Scotland wicketkeeper-batter Lorna Jack-Brown's last international match.

Happy retirement life to Lorna Jack-Brown

Player to watch: Danni Wyatt-Hodge has been solid at top of the order for England. Chasing a tricky target of 125 on a slow Sharjah pitch, with left-arm spinners bowling from both ends, she dropped anchor after the early loss of Maia Bouchier and stitched a 64-run stand with Nat Sciver-Brunt. She finished with 43 in as many balls, which followed her Player-of-the-Match performance of 41 against Bangladesh.

Batters to watch(Recent stats)

Danni Wyatt-Hodge, ENG-W

7 M • 273 Runs • 39 Avg • 131.88 SR

Alice Capsey, ENG-W

8 M • 158 Runs • 26.33 Avg • 110.48 SR

Kathryn Bryce, SCO-W

7 M • 220 Runs • 55 Avg • 106.79 SR

Priyanaz Chatterji, SCO-W

10 M • 123 Runs • 17.57 Avg • 100 SR

Bowlers to watch(Recent stats)

Sophie Ecclestone, ENG-W

8 M • 11 Wkts • 5.86 Econ • 15.81 SR

Sarah Glenn, ENG-W

7 M • 10 Wkts • 4.7 Econ • 14.8 SR

Kathryn Bryce, SCO-W

7 M • 10 Wkts • 5.38 Econ • 14.4 SR

Olivia Bell, SCO-W

5 M • 8 Wkts • 6.16 Econ • 14.25 SR

Thank you, Raji, for tagging me.

It will be an interesting match.

Scotland's chances of progressing to the next round may have come to an end, but with the qualification for the next World Cup in line, there is enough for them to ensure that they don't end their T20 World Cup campaign without a win. Their last chance to get points on the table is up against their neighbours, England.

Even though the two teams have never played each other previously, there is ample County Championship experience in the Scottish side, and would a secret or two about some of the individual players in the opposition.

On paper, the two teams are as separated as possible, but with Group B likely to tussle it out on a Net Run Rate scenario, the Katheryn Bryce-led side would like to make the campaign as difficult as possible for England. The conditions in Sharjah especially has been conducive for teams batting first. Not that it should make much of a difference for Sunday's afternoon clash, but Scotland would want as much going their way as possible in what is expected to be a one-sided affair.

What to expect: Extremely hot playing conditions, a slow pitch, few boundaries and lots of running in the middle

Team News:

England: Given their winning start, England may look to continue with the same combination

Scotland: Having lost the first three games, Scotland might look to tinker around a bit with their starting lineup

It is Scotland against the Auld Enemy, England. A nascent rendition of a historic sporting rivalry, but if Scotland can snatch away England's moment in the Middle Eastern sun, this will end up having the needle that makes this rivalry so riveting across so many sports. Hop on, this should be enthralling!

Scotland arrive as the ultimate underdogs, 0-3 at their debut Women's T20 World Cup; England as overwhelming favourites, having made the semi-final on all occasions bar one and having won it in 2009. But therein lies Scotland's greatest opportunity. To stun England. To grab a win that will be beyond their wildest dreams and some. Without the pressure of expectation, and with the romanticism of this (if they succeed) potentially being one of the greatest stories this sport has seen. Ever.

And, given the history between these two nations, not just on the sporting front, nothing will please Scotland more than stopping England - their neighbours and one of the pre-tournament favourites - cold on their march to global T20I domination.

1pm Scotland versus England. A sporting rivalry dating centuries and steeped in tradition. Scotland-England, in fact, was the first-ever official international (Association) football game in 1872. Rugby battles, going as far back as 1871, are also the stuff of legend, with the grudge nature of these fixtures a common theme.

The cricketing equivalent has not been as fierce, frequent or fractious. But today, that Scotland-England sporting catalogue will gain a novel chapter: a women's T20I between these countries. And on the grandest T20I stage of them all.