English women’s fitness questioned

The England boss laid the blame for a five-run semi-final defeat on an inability to hit boundaries or turn ones into twos as they failed to chase down a target of 133. 

“We lost by five runs or a boundary. so there is nothing between these two teams,” he said. “But we are not fit enough. They outran us on twos and we have to toughen up a little bit and get a lot fitter.”

England looked in a decent position to reel in Australia’s score when Tammy Beaumont was going strong at 89-1 early in the 14th over. With captain Charlotte Edwards (31), the pair had added 67 before the skipper holed out to Meg Lanning off Kristen Beams at extra cover. 

But it was the loss of Beaumont for a top score of 32, in the 14th over, that ripped the momentum from a chase which petered out as Australia’s bowlers turned the screw.

In addition to working on their running between the wickets, England might well ponder that a better effort in the field would have narrowed the gap between the sides. Victory saw Australia reach their fourth final in the last four tournaments.