ICC WWC 2017 Final, England v India - Who Said What

After a series of thrilling games, it all boiled down to the most befitting end to the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. In the match that went down to the penultimate over, England Women beat India Women by 9 runs. Team India were in firm command of the game for the major part of the proceedings. However, they ended up succumbing to the pressure towards the fag end of the game.

From a stage of being safe at 191/3, the team bundled out for 219. Needless to say, the dream run or the fairy tale story of the Mithali Raj-led side ended with a heart wrenching defeat. On the other hand, for the hosts, England, it was about reinstating their authority in the world of Women’s cricket. In the match, England Women had won the toss and opted to bat first.

A timely fifty from Natalie Sciver and crucial cameos from Sarah Taylor and Katherine Brunt helped the English ladies post 228/7 on the board. In response, India Women were led firmly by an 86 from opener Punam Raut and a fifty from Harmanpreet Kaur. However, the middle order let them down and they finished with 219/10 in 48.4 overs. Here is what the players said after the game:

India Women Skipper Mithali Raj:

Indian skipper Mithali Raj was seen disappointed near the boundary ropes. However, she maintained that she is very proud of the way her girls played. She also remarked that she might not play any more World Cups. Also, she lauded Jhulan Goswami for having an illustrious career.

It wasn’t easy for England but credit to them for holding their nerve. They did well in those crunch moments which turned the game. I want to tell my girls that I am very proud of them. They didn’t make it easy for any of the teams. I would also like to thank the crowds for coming up in large numbers to support women’s cricket. Jhulan is a class bowler, she has shown it a number of times. The batting was a little inexperienced and they couldn’t hold their nerve in the end overs. I am sure this experience will help the batters. I do see myself playing for a couple of years but I don’t see myself playing another world cup. Jhulan has had an excellent career, very long and inspirational for young cricketers. I am sure people at home would now look up to women cricketers.

England Women skipper Heather Knight

English skipper Heather Knight had a bad day at work with the bat. But she was overly joyed by the end result for sure. She credited the Indian team for doing well in the tournament. She also thanked the crowds for turning up in huge numbers and showing their constant support.

I can’t stop smiling at the moment. We’ve won those tight games which is something we’ve worked on in the last 18 months. We’ve worked on situations where the heat is on us and look to come up on top. They were batting brilliantly, credit to them, they’ve had a great tournament. But we knew that if we stayed on till the end and brought the rate up over 5 or 6, we would be in the game. A huge thank you to the crowds as well for coming up in large numbers and supporting up. Women’s cricket keeps growing from strength to strength and all teams have shown that. The tournament has been outstanding, England is a perfect place to be hosting this tournament given the stage at which we are now.

Player of the Match – Anya Shrubsole

Pacer Anya Shrubsole was the Player of the Match for her herculean efforts. Her spell emerged out to be the difference between the two sides on the day. She bagged 6/46 in the 9.4 overs that she bowled. She expressed her happiness at the never say die spirit of her team.

I am at loss of words at the moment. An amazing performance from everyone, we could have easily given up. We know the pressure that comes with the world cup finals with and that came to help us today. The crowd have been absolutely amazing. I haven’t played at a game earlier where you cannot hear anyone on the field. We always knew that the team has shown a lot of fight, we were at a stage where we could have been out as well, but this team knows how to fight.

Player of the Tournament – Tammy Beaumont

English opener Tammy Beaumont was named the Player of the tournament for her incredible show in the tournament. She lauded the efforts of the entire team. She had special mentions for Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole. She also credited the Indian batters for the way they dominated the major part of the game.

After the first three games, I had to be reminded that I have been doing well over the last one year. So many of the girls stood up and it has been a real team performance right through the tournament. Lauren got us off to a pretty good start but we didn’t quite do ourselves any favours with the middle order collapse. The bowlers, Shrubsole and Brunt, then stepped up. In my head defending the total was never in doubt. But credit to the way the Indians batted. We came to Lord’s in April, a lot of hard work went into our preparations and it is a great moment.

The entire English side jumped in joy after the win. It was indeed a thorough team effort that saw them get over the line throughout the tournament. They had some or the other player stepping up and taking responsibilities in every game. Here is how the players reacted after the win:

Fran Wilson

Credit to this team. Everyone was amazing. I don’t know, it’s just past experiences, knowing there were 20000 people behind, out there 11 girls and the support staff. Thanks everyone for coming today. I cannot imagine life after the World Cup win

Lauren Winfield

Proper team performance got us over the line. We had plans, we stuck to it. Every time we got wickets, we said let’s stick to it. Sounds amazing.

Sarah Taylor

Quite a comeback. Bit of a fight in there. It’s been a roller-coaster year for most of the team. I got back to training to see how it goes (after my break).

England Women Coach Robinson

India played really well. It’s always about getting that one wicket, and then you get two and three. Slower bowlers were always going to be hard to get away. This team has a lot of heart and courage. Incredibly mapped by ICC (this tournament).

Alex Hartley

Cannot believe it. This is what we have been working for. For me, it was just another cricket game. Shrubsole, well, what a hero!