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England Women Vs India Women 2021 Series Preview: Test Cricket Makes a Comeback

Jun 15, 2021 | Previews and Reviews, Women's Cricket

England Women Vs India Women 2021 Series Preview.

It is a huge year for India Women—Test cricket makes a comeback after seven years, last playing against South Africa in 2014. India is scheduled for one Test against England as well as two Tests in Australia later this year, including a Day-Night Test.

Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut, Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, and Poonam Yadav return from that game 7 years ago.

England, on the other hand, have played multiple Ashes series with one Test match each (2013, 2013-14, 2015, 2017-18, 2019). Amy Jones, Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight, Georgia Elwiss, Natalie Sciver, Katherine Brunt, Anya Shrubsole, and Sophie Ecclestone return from their last Test.

While the Test match is in the forefront now, do not forget the limited overs. The build up to the 2022 Women’s ODI World Cup is about to begin.

Also Read: Need For Change In Women’s Cricket: Hoping Against Hope, India Vs South Africa Women Series Review, England Vs New Zealand Women Series Review

When And Where?

Test

  1. Only Test: June 16th-19th, Bristol

ODIs

  1. 1st ODI: June 27th, Bristol
  2. 2nd ODI: June 30th, Taunton
  3. 3rd ODI: July 3rd, Worcester

T20Is

  1. 1st T20I: July 9th, Northampton
  2. 2nd T20I: July 11th, Hove
  3. 3rd T20I: July 15th, Chelmsford

Test Match Preview

In The News

The used pitch has been under the scanner, especially with captain Heather Knight’s disappointment palpable on not been provided a fresh pitch. This women’s Test match was not given enough attention, with a Gloucestershire vs Sussex T20 Blast game held last week.

Meanwhile, both the India men’s & women’s arrived together on June 3rd in Southampton and had been in quarantine since.

Test captain Mithali Raj has put her support behind multi-format series for women’s cricket like the Ashes, with a points system distributed across the three formats. India’s vice-captain Kaur is in a positive mindset with regards to this Test match despite lack of match practice, especially after receiving some words of advice with a conversation with Ajinkya Rahane.

Return for coach Ramesh Powar in this series as well.

Head-To-Head, Previous Matches, & Records

India have won their past three encounters (England 2006, England 2014, South Africa 2014) and they have a golden opportunity in this series. If they win this Test match, they will break the record for most consecutive Test wins in women’s cricket.

Long-term records do not mean much, but England has only won against India (1995) in 13 meetings. On the other hand, India have won two, both in England.

In fact, India in Tests are unbeaten in England —2 wins, 6 draws.

My Starting XIs

England Women

  1. Lauren Winfield-Hill, 2. Tammy Beaumont, 3. Heather Knight*, 4. Georgia Elwiss, 5. Natalie Sciver, 6. Amy Jones (WK), 7. Fran Wilson, 8. Kate Cross, 9. Anya Shrubsole, 10. Katherine Brunt, 11. Sophie Ecclestone

12. Emily Arlott, 13. Sophia Dunkley, 14. Tash Farrant, 15. Mady Villiers

*Captain

Note: Dunkley made her debut. No Fran Wilson in the actual game.

India Women – Test Squad

  1. Smriti Mandhana, 2. Jemimah Rodrigues, 3. Punam Raut, 4. Mithali Raj*, 5. Harmanpreet Kaur, 6. Deepti Sharma, 7. Taniya Bhatia (WK), 8. Jhulan Goswami, 9. Shikha Pandey, 10. Arundhati Reddy, 11. Poonam Yadav

12. Ekta Bisht, 13. Priya Punia, 14. Sneh Rana, 15. Indrani Roy (WK), 16. Shafali Verma, 17. Pooja Vastrakar, 18. Radha Yadav

*Note: Sneh Rana, Shafali Verma, Pooja Vastrakar actually made the XI at the expense of Yadav, Jemimah, and Reddy.

T20s Only: 19. Simran Bahadur, 20. Harleen Deol, 21. Richa Ghosh

England Women Vs India Women 2021 – Team Previews

India Women

  • Shikha Pandey’s omission in the South Africa series caught the public by surprise as she has been one of India’s most dependable bowlers in recent times. Expect the fast bowling trio – Pandey, experienced Jhulan Goswami, and Arundhati Reddy to make the ball talk during the Test series.
  • Mithali Raj debuted more than 22 years and has played a total of just 10 Test matches. She holds a stellar record in the limited opportunities—best of 214, 1-100, 4 50s, average of 51.00. Highest ODI run-scorer in women’s cricket, watch out for Raj in the ODI series in her final season as the 2022 World Cup will be her swansong.
  • The Young Brigade—Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, Radha Yadav, Pooja Vastrakar, and Simran Bahadur—have immense potential. Although Shafali Verma is in the Test squad, it is unlikely she will get a break at the top with Mandhana-Raut-Jemimah-Mithali-Priya in front. A certainty in the T20Is, the explosive opener should receive her ODI debut in this series.

England Women

  • Tammy Beaumont was on another planet during the New Zealand series, with 231 runs in the ODIs (best of 88*) & 102 runs in the T20Is. 4 fifties in 6 innings. A class apart. She would be itching to convert to triple figures, and this Test match would be an ideal opportunity if she continues her form.
  • Lookout for the Shrubsole-Brunt combination. Katherine Brunt’s experience came to the fore with a player of the match performance in the 3rd T20I against NZ, England’s last match before this series. Anya Shrubsole’s name was etched in legends with an iconic performance in the close 2017 ODI World Cup final, coincidentally against India.
  • Knight-Sciver are key to this English middle order. Although they only have 7 and 5 Test caps to their names respectively, they are the senior pros in this lineup, having represented England in over 150 games each across formats. Knight has a Test century (157), while Sciver’s best is 88. Across formats, Knight has 3 centuries and 27 fifties, while Nat Sciver has 3 hundreds and 24 fifties to go along with her 118 wickets.

Prediction

Home side England have the upper-hand in the Tests, although India will fight it out. The limited overs series should be much more competitive. I am especially excited for the ODI seriesrepeat of the 2017 ODI World Cup finals (also held in the same country).

  • Predictions
    • Test: England 1-0
    • ODI: India 2-1
    • T20I: England 2-1

The Hunch

My gut feeling says that Punam Raut is going to be the key player in this tour. She had an outstanding series against South Africa, providing India the little bit of stability during the series.

Her stats in that series speak for herself: 1-100, 2-50s, 263 runs, and a tremendous average of 87.66.

Hoping her form continues.

England WomenIndia Women
Player of the Series/MVPNatalie SciverPunam Raut
Most RunsTammy BeaumontPunam Raut
Most WicketsKatherine BruntShikha Pandey
Emerging PlayerSophie DunkleyHarleen Deol
Surprise PackageAmy Jones Arundhati Reddy

What are your predictions about the England Women Vs India Women 2021 series? Let us know in the COMMENTS section below!

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COPYRIGHT @Nitesh Mathur, aka Nit-X, 06/15/2021; Email at bcd@brokencricketdreams.com

Nitesh Mathur

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