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England on course for reaching semifinals after thumping Pakistan by nine wickets

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Veteran Pacer Katherine Brunt and left-arm Sophie Ecclestone shared six wickets between themselves while Danni Wyatt scored an unbeaten 76 as defending champions England thumped Pakistan by nine wickets at the Hagley Oval to keep themselves on course for reaching the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.

England now need a win over World Cup debutants Bangladesh on Sunday to secure a spot in the semifinals and continue their turnaround after losing their first three games.

After bowling out Pakistan for just 105 in 41.3 overs, England completed the chase inside 20 overs to go above India in the points table and gain a huge boost to their net run rate.

Brunt got the early wicket, including dismissing Nahida Khan on the first ball, to peg Pakistan back while Ecclestone came later to clean up the lower-order. Sidra Ameen and Sidra Nawaz were the only two batters for Pakistan who put up scores of 20+ as the rest of the batting order had no answer to the questions posed by England bowlers.

Pakistan were also hampered by poor running between the wickets as Omaima Sohail and Bismah Maroof were run out as Pakistan stumbled to 33/3. Ameen (32) and Nida Dar (4) combined to help Pakistan make a small recovery. But Brunt trapped Dar lbw in the 23rd over and then clean bowled Ameen shortly after to ensure England held the upper hand in the match. Nawaz and Aliya Riaz stitched a short 21-run partnership for the sixth wicket before Heather Knight brought herself on and scalped the latter off her second ball.

Ecclestone got her first wicket of the game when Fatima Sana’s attempted slog sweep caught the edge into the hands of Amy Jones. Nawaz had no answer to Kate Cross’ brilliant nip-backer and was back in the hut for 23. Pakistan managed to get past the 100-run mark before Ecclestone cleaned up the tail as Pakistan were 105 all out.

In chasing 106, Wyatt set the tone by smacking three consecutive boundaries against Fatima Sana in the third over. There was some reason to cheer for Pakistan as Diana Baig trapped Tammy Beaumont in front of the stumps in the very next over. But it turned out to be the only reason for celebration for Pakistan as Wyatt and Knight finished the chase without any hiccups.

Wyatt then got to her fifty in the 14th over, her first in Women’s ODI World Cups. Pakistan had a chance to dismiss Wyatt but Nida Dar misjudged the catch to give the England opener a reprieve. Dar was made to pay for it as Wyatt smashed her for two consecutive boundaries to bring up her second-highest ODI score. Fittingly, it was Wyatt who hit the winning runs as England got home with nine wickets in hand.

Brief Scores: England 107/1 in 19.2 overs (Danni Wyatt 76 not out, Heather Knight 24 not out; Diana Baig 1/14) beat Pakistan 105 all out in 41.3 overs (Sidra Ameen 32, Sidra Nawaz 23; Katherine Brunt 3/17, Sophie Ecclestone 3/18) by nine wickets.

International

CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources

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New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”

“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.

Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.

Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.

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It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027

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India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.

The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.

This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).

It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.

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‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global

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New Delhi, Dec 16: Coach Sumit Bhatia is all pumped up for the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-19, 2025. Bhatia, who holds a distinct record of being the only head coach to have won the Asian Championship twice, believes that this historical step is an indication of the realisation of the dream to take the sport to the international level and help it gain global recognition.

Having been honoured with the best coach award by the Delhi government, Bhatia has been a part of various Indian teams’ success, including the 2016 and 2023 Asian Kho Kho Championship victories, and has trained players like Nasreen Shaikh and Sarika Sudhakar Kale. Both of them have been Arjuna Awardees.

Nasreen, who is also a part of the World Cup camp, is the only player who has played in two Asian Championships and won the gold. The coach-student duo is now gearing up for the global event.

Sharing how the journey of Kho Kho World Cup’s inception, the coach said, “We organised an international camp here before COVID happened, in 2020. Coaches and players from 16 countries came here and we gave them training. Now they will be coming here for the World Cup but this campaign started in that camp”.

He further said, “Around 30-35 countries were willing to play the tournament but we picked the best 20 teams for both men and women. Some countries have single teams while some have double teams but a total of 24 countries will be participating in the tournament. It was our dream to take Kho Kho to the international level and now we can see that our dream is getting fulfilled.”

He also lauded the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League and shared how the franchise-based model has helped the players and coaches gain recognition, while also bringing forward grassroot talent.

“When the Ultimate Kho Kho league started, I also joined Telegu Yodhas as their head coach and we also played the final. Players have gotten exposure through the league and it’s not just financial. Earlier we used to hesitate while admitting being a Kho Kho coach but today our players introduce us as their coach,” said Bhatia.

He added, “The league got so much coverage that wherever we go, the players are approached for autographs. So the platform of the league started a new world for both coaches and players and now not just India but the entire world knows us. Earlier we used to tell people about our game but now they know what is Kho Kho and Ultimate Kho Kho league and are also waiting for the third season.”

Bhatia also discussed the impact of sports science on Kho Kho and lauded the newly introduced technology and said, “We have benefitted a lot from it. Sometimes we don’t understand why a player is not performing well. But with the introduction of sports science, we now know about the details of the problem.

“For example, a player might be facing issues with his left leg while sitting and so, it gives us an opportunity to work on that weakness… Sports science has helped us in identifying the accuracy and weakness of a player. So it’s very beneficial for us.”

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