The group stages of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia came to an end with a rained out final day, but there was plenty of entertaining action preceding that in what has been one of the most competitive editions of the event.
India and South Africa were the table-toppers, to the surprise of many, as last edition’s finalists Australia and England were beaten in their respective openers. The four teams have now advanced to the semi-finals, which will take place as a double-header on Thursday.
Also Read: The moments of T20 World Cup group stage
Before the knock-out stage begins, there were several takeaways for women’s cricket as a whole from the 18 (and a half) matches Down Under. These were learning that could well impact the immediate future of the game.
From India’s unbeaten streak courtesy a collective team effort to the spin-heavy attack of England and the uncertainty around West Indies and New Zealand teams, new trends an interesting talking points emerged from the group games.
But perhaps one of the biggest talking points from the group stages was the level of fielding and the resultant dropped catches.
In a tournament that has seen both extremely high scores (South Africa’s record 195/3 against Thailand) to shock low totals (New Zealand being skittled for 91 by Bangladesh), the standard of fielding often marred the cricket on display.
The 18 (and a half) matches yielded as many as 50 recorded dropped catches. That is an average of almost 3 dropped catches per match.
And it wasn’t as if the spills and misfields were limited to the lower-ranked teams, the dropped catches malaise spread across teams, with the top players missing sitters too. The drops were not always tough skiers and well-struck shots, but included return catches and some sitters inside the circle.
There was the agonising drop from Taniya Bhatia than denied Poonam Yadav a hat-trick against Australia and the two extra lives that New Zealand gifted eventual Player of the Match Shafali Verma in a close four-run loss.
Heather Knight was dropped four times in one innings of 62 against Pakistan while Ellyse Perry, whose World Cup was cruelly cut short by hamstring injury, had two catches dropped off her bowling in two different matches. The Group B table would have looked a lot different if Lauren Winfield had had not dropped Mignon du Preez, whose blistering cameo saw England lose their opener to South Africa.
In short, the fielding standards were not up to the mark as expected.
It should be noted, there were some sensational takes as well on field, from Laura Wolvaardt’s full-length dive to the steady hands of Indian keeper Bhatia. But fielding is still an area where there is a lot of room for more improvement.
Dropped catches per team
| Teams | Dropped catches |
|---|---|
| Australia | 4 |
| Bangladesh | 7 |
| England | 5 |
| India | 7 |
| New Zealand | 4 |
| Pakistan | 7 |
| South Africa | 4 |
| Sri Lanka | 8 |
| Thailand | 3 |
| West Indies | 1 |
Of course, the teams should not be judged in harsh light given the women’s game is still in the developmental phase in many countries. One of the reasons why teams like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were missing chances could be the fact that some of the matches were under lights and they don’t have a lot of experience playing at night.
Even in other big teams, especially India, there are players who need more time for the transition to the level required in the shortest format and then there are others who have great skill with bat or ball, but are hidden in the field.
However, fielding is a crucial aspect of cricket and it is not wrong to want a higher standard from these ever-evolving players.
Catches win matches is an old adage, and with the semi-finals up next, a dropped catch could well be the difference between a place in the final and a plane ticket back home.
All the data is courtesy scorecards on Cricbuzz
