Daily Mail - 04.03.2020

75

Daily Mail, Wednesday, March 4, 2020^

Cricket

SKY LEADING BBC IN TUG-OF-WAR FOR FLINTOFF

SKY BEATING BBC IN TUG-OF-WAR FOR FLINTOFF

ThE BBC are battling Sky Sports to secure
Andrew Flintoff as the face of their
hundred television coverage.
The former England all-rounder has
largely kept his distance from cricket
since his retirement 10 years ago,
resisting many offers to join the massed
ranks of ex-England players in the
commentary box.
Flintoff has instead focused on building a
new career in entertainment, starring in
shows such as Top Gear and A League of
Their Own, but with the controversial
hundred competition to be aimed at a
younger audience, his services are more
in demand than ever this summer.
The BBC and Sky are both understood
to have made a pitch, with the

satellite network leading the race

because they have the rights to

more matches and an established,

award-winning cricket broadcast team.

Sportsmail columnists Nasser hussain

and David Lloyd will lead Sky’s coverage,

but they are also looking for new faces.

The BBC will televise live cricket for the

first time in 21 years this summer, having

also won the rights to two England

Twenty20 games, but with just 10

hundred matches in their portfolio, they

are understood to be struggling to fill

their team. Radio 1 DJ Greg James is

believed to have turned down an

approach, with former England cricketer

and Sky pundit Isa Guha their only

confirmed signing to date.

The ECB confirmed yesterday that the

hundred’s £600,000 prize pot will be split

equally between the men’s and women’s

competitions, despite the fact the

women will play fewer matches. It is in

an indication of the governing body’s

commitment to levelling up the men’s

and women’s games.

‘This is a great announcement for

women’s sport,’ said England captain

heather Knight. ‘Women’s professional

cricket is on an exciting journey and,

while there is still a way to go to realise

gender parity, this is a significant step in

the right direction.’

Meanwhile, Natalie Sciver has criticised

the ICC’s failure to provide a reserve day

for tomorrow’s Twenty20 World Cup

semi-finals as rain looks set to scupper

England’s attempt to become double

world champions.

India v England and South Africa v

Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground

are under threat.

If no result is possible, the winners of

Group A and B will go through to

Sunday’s final at the MCG — sending

England and hosts Australia tumbling out.

‘In Australia you don’t expect it to rain,

but it is towards the end of the summer

so you have to be prepared,’ said Sciver.

EXCLUSIVE

By MATT HUGHES

Chief Sports Reporter

WORLD’S

BEST BATTER

WORLD’S

BEST BOWLER

VS

I’m backIng England

to comE out on top

If raIn stays away!

NASSER

HUSSAIN’S

VERdICT

T

he FIRST thing

england’s women

should do ahead

o f t o m o r r o w ’ s

Twenty20 World

Cup semi-final against

India is get their shoes on

a n d d o w h a t e v e r t h e

opposite is of a rain dance.

Yesterday’s wash- out here

between South Africa and West

Indies was a big result because it

means the South Africans top

Group B ahead of an england

side who will now be eliminated

if bad weather gets in the way

of their semi-final in Sydney

tomorrow — because India have

a superior group record.

There is no reserve day for the

semi-finals. So if no play is

possible — and a 10-over game is

t h e m i n i m u m p e r m i t t e d i n

knockouts — the two group

winners go through and england

will pay the price for their slow

start to the tournament.

england do not often lose to

South Africa but that opening

defeat — when they were having

a poor run of form and had

missed out on the final of the

tri- series with Australia and

India — could prove very costly.

They can only hope it does not

come to that because, since then,

england have been excellent,

with Nat Sciver and heather

Knight outstanding. They bat

particularly well together, rotat-

ing the strike and running hard

— and are both in superb nick.

Knight has had a new lease of life

out here after the disappoint-

ment of last summer’s Ashes.

I hope england stick to the

make-up of the side they fielded

in their last group game against

West Indies, when they brought

in an extra bowler, Mady Villiers,

and left out their extra batter

Lauren Winfield. There’s nothing

wrong in both Tammy Beaumont

and Winfield playing, but having

them at six and seven — and

they have been as low as seven

and eight when Katherine Brunt

has been promoted in the line-up

— is a waste because they can

only face a handful of deliveries

there, whereas an extra bowler

can have four overs if required.

It made more sense to promote

B e a u m o n t t o o p e n e r, e v e n

though she didn’t come off in the

last game, and move Amy Jones

to the middle order, where

she looked far more fluent

against West Indies.

england will now play in the

first semi-final and that may

suit them because the grounds-

man could leave a bit of mois-

ture in the SCG pitch to stop it

deteriorating too quickly with

two games being played on the

same surface in the same day.

If that pitch is slow and low,

it will suit India, particularly

Poonam Yadav, who bowls lobs

with lots of variation that are

difficult to pick and get away.

england need to go right back in

their crease to play her rather

than charge at the ball.

And India are very strong at

the top of the order, where

16-year- old Shafali Verma —

whose performance in this tour-

nament have lifted her to No 1

in the T20 world batting

rankings — shows no fear

and tees off from the start.

S h e b a t s a b i t l i k e

Virender Sehwag did and is

the biggest reason India

have the best record in the

tournament in the power-

play. Anya Shrubsole swing-

ing it in to Verma may cramp

her up and be the best option.

But england’s spinners have

been excellent, too, particularly

Sophie ecclestone. She is now

the top -ranked T20 bowler,

replacing Australia’s Megan

Schutt — who had been No 1

since March 2018. ecclestone has

taken eight wickets here, second

only to Yadav.

england will prefer to play India

now even though the other group

runners-up, Australia, will be

without the injured ellyse Perry

for the rest of the World Cup.

If there is a bit of grass on the

SCG pitch, my gut feeling is

england will win, but if it’s slow

and low, watch out for India —

and keep fingers firmly crossed

the rain stays away!

T20 World Cup semi-final

IndIa v England – Tomorrow, 4am

li Ve on sky sporTs and 5 Ve spor li Ts exTra

shafali Verma

BECAME India’s

youngest T20

player at 15.

Now 16, she has

this World Cup’s

best strike

rate, of 161

getty iMages

ThE spinner, 20,

has 50 wickets in

34 internationals.

Took 3/7 against

West Indies to

seal semi spot

getty iMages

sophie

eCClesTone

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