“There are concerns still” and “more questions than answers” over England following their 3-2 T20I series defeat to India, according to Sky Sports’ Charles Dagnall.
England won two of the last three matches under stand-in skipper Tammy Beaumont, including a last-ball thriller in the final dead rubber on Saturday at Edgbaston, after a groin injury to captain Nat Sciver-Brunt.
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt missed the final three T20s against India after suffering a groin injury in the second game
Pressed for his ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ from England’s series defeat, Dagnall named Sciver-Brunt as one of the latter – along with the out-of-form Alice Capsey – with Beaumont impressing in her absence, while he hailed seamer success stories Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer.
“I think when you look at the series overall, I think more questions are raised than answers,” Dagnall said. “I think there are concerns still.
“I actually think, in a bizarre way, Nat Sciver-Brunt has been a loser in all this. I look at her captaincy on the field, I think it looks panicked. I think it looks a little muddled.
“I was worried about this when she took over from Heather Knight at times, like the [2022] Commonwealth Games or the second part of the match against the West Indies [2024 T20 World Cup]. I don’t know if tactically she’s as savvy as Tammy Beaumont has been – she’s been good [as stand-in captain], I think she’s one of the winners.
Highlights from the fifth T20I match between England women and India women.
“She was one of those players who was outside of the T20 squad, whereas now I think she is in the conversation to be in the starting XI moving forward.
“Sciver-Brunt needs time, granted, but then again she’s also played a hell of a lot of cricket.
“I also think Alice Capsey at the moment is in a bit of no-man’s land. What is her best position? And her fielding has been a question mark for her. England’s fielding generally is a big area of concern.”
Alice Capsey endured a difficult series, being dismissed for three single-figure scores in her four innings
Dagnall: Filer and Dean have to play
In praising Bell and Filler – both of whom were rested for England’s five-wicket win in the final T20I ahead of the three-match ODI series – Dagnall urged England to play fast bowler Filer every game going forward, with a 50-over World Cup in India and Sri Lanka later this year, and a T20 World Cup on home soil next summer.
“I think there’s been some really good things, particularly the bowling of Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer – they have been superb,” Dagnall said
Charlie Dean and Lauren Filer must be England first-teamers, according to Sky Sports’ Charles Dagnall
“Filer has got to play, for me. I think she has to play all formats, all competitions for England; she has a point of difference with her extra pace.
“Charlie Dean is another. She has got to be one of the first names on the team sheet. She has great cricket nous, she’s a very clever bowler and her three disciplines are excellent.”
‘England will hold their hands up over mistakes’
England seamer Kate Cross, part of Sky Sports’ broadcast team for the fifth T20I:
“England had a tough series, but we’ve spoken a lot about the pressure moments and how we cope with them – it felt like we shouldn’t have let it get down to the last ball [at Edgbaston] – and we overcame that and won.
England sealed a dramatic win over India on the last ball at Edgbaston in the fifth women’s T20I.
“The more times that you overcome those moments and come out on the right side, you’re going to get better at them and you’re going to think clearer in them.
“From an England point of view, we didn’t perform as well as well as we could have done in the series, even the games that we’ve won.
“I don’t think they underestimated India, but I don’t think the performance levels from the England team were high enough to compete with India at their best.
“[Head coach] Charlotte Edwards came in three months ago now for four months, so it’s still early days.
Following her side’s T20 series defeat to India, Charlotte Edwards says that England ‘haven’t been smart’ and admits her side ‘has got to be better’.
“I saw Tammy Beaumont’s quote about this team is in transition. I don’t think the team is because the group of players is generally the same, but it’s in transition in terms of playing under Lottie [Edwards].
“It’s obviously been disappointing. The team will hold their hands up and know that they’ve made mistakes, and made the same mistakes in a few games back to back, but they want to be judged in a year’s time when it gets to a home T20 World Cup next year – which England will be under pressure to win.”
England vs India schedule
All times UK and Ireland; all live on Sky Sports
T20 international series
One-day international series
- First ODI: Wednesday July 16 (1pm) – Southampton
- Second ODI: Saturday July 19 (11am) – Lord’s
- Third ODI: Tuesday July 22 (1pm) – Chester-le-Street
Watch the first women’s one-day international between England and India, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 12.30pm on Wednesday (first ball at 1pm) or stream without a contract.
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