Charlotte Edwards has revealed that changing England’s fortunes will not be resolved quickly after the Women’s Cricket World Cup semi-final defeat to South Africa.
England’s dreams of 50-over glory were dashed by Guwahati’s 125-run thrashing, with three opening batsmen for ducks dismissed.
This was a decisive end to England’s first tournament under Edwards, who took over in April following a 16-0 Ashes defeat to Australia.
“If we get to the semifinals, we’re one step closer to making the finals,” Edwards said. “I’m proud of what the team achieved, but it’s disappointing that we didn’t play our best cricket today and that’s something we have to reflect on.”
“I went into this role knowing that it wasn’t going to change overnight,” she continued. “There were some really positive things to come out of this trip and we performed better under pressure.
“Overall, we are progressing and that is the most important thing. But in the end it is our results that will decide. “Today we will be eliminated from the World Cup at the semi-final stage, when everyone had hoped to reach the final.
“I’m a winner. I don’t like to lose, but by the same token, I knew what I was taking on in this role and I knew it wasn’t going to be a quick fix. So I’m hungry to go home and work with these players over the winter.”
South African captain Laura Wolvaardt produced a masterclass to put her team on course for victory, hitting 169 off 143 balls, including 20 fours and four sixes, with 319-7 in 50 overs.
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Highlights from England’s loss to South Africa in the semi-finals of the Women’s Cricket World Cup.
England’s pursuit of the mammoth goal began in disastrous fashion when Amy Jones and Heather Knight were dismissed in the first over and Tammy Beaumont was fell by Ayabonga Kaka on the first ball of the second over as part of five fours in the Marizanne Cup.
Half-centuries from Nat Silver-Brunt (64) and Alice Capsey (50) provided some resistance, but the chances of a successful chase were slim and England gave their all for 194 matches.
“I thought both of our players performed really well on the big stage,” Edwards added. “Marisanne Cupp and Laura Wolvaardt – just because someone gets 169 with five fours doesn’t mean they’re going to be on the winning side over and over again.
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Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain analyzes England’s performance and questions how the team can show further development from their young players and address their weaknesses.
“Wahlwaard’s batting was great and the cup was great too. It wasn’t for us today. We had some good batting and it’s hard to restrict a man for 169 on a good wicket.”
Captain Silver-Brant echoed Edwards’ opinion that progress had been made and vowed that England would come back even stronger after the defeat.
“We’ve come a long way since the summer. We’re certainly a different team and we’ve learned a lot about ourselves,” Siver-Brandt reflected.
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England captain Nat Silver-Brant reacts to the dramatic end to the World Cup, with South Africa’s decisive victory.
“This is going to hurt, but we’ve made a lot of progress in a short period of time and over time we’ll be able to take what we’ve learned and move forward.
“It’s really exciting what we can do, but we have to be at our best to beat the best teams. Hopefully we can come back even stronger next time.”
What’s next?
The other Women’s Cricket World Cup semi-final will be played on Thursday, with Australia taking on co-hosts India in Navi Mumbai (live on Sky Sports Cricket from 9am, first pitch at 9.30am).
The winner will face South Africa in Sunday’s final, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Cricket from 9am (first pitch at 9.30am). Stream cricket, soccer, golf and more now with no contract.
