Edwards ton gives England third place

A brilliant counter attacking century from Charlotte Edwards ensured that England sealed the third place in the ICC Women's World Cup 2013 after beating New Zealand by four wickets at the Brabourne stadium Mumbai on Friday (February 15).

England was indebted to Edwards, who slammed her eighth One-Day International century to equal the record set by Australia's Karen Rolton. Scoring her second century in the tournament, Edwards (106 off 121 balls) shared a crucial shared fourth-wicket stand of 58 with Arran Brindle to guide England to 222 for six.

Chasing 221, England lost Danielle Wyatt, the opener, early. Undeterred by the loss, Edwards and Sarah Taylor added 78 for the second wicket. Lea Tahuhu and Sian Ruck, the new-ball bowlers, kept it tight initially but two expensive overs from Nicola Browne saw Edwards and Taylor pick off the boundaries as England inched closer to 50. In the 15th over, Edwards hoisted a Lucy Doolan delivery through mid-wicket that raced past the boundary and took Edwards past the 5000-mark in One-Day Internationals.

New Zealand finally managed a breakthrough when Doolan lured Taylor with a juicy full toss that was hit straight to Katie Perkins at mid-wicket. Soon after, Edwards, joined by Lydia Greenway, brought up her 39th ODI half century from 60 balls, laced with nine boundaries. A steadying knock of 31 from 47 balls from Greenway, followed by a brisk 33-ball 27 from Arran Brindle, took some pressure off Edwards who remained unbeaten. With 22 required from 48 balls, Doolan and Tahuhu tried to make a brief comeback for New Zealand picking three quick wickets, but Laura Marsh, who came in at No. 7, took England home with 19 balls to spare.

Earlier, after being put in to bat, Satterthwaite's fluent 85 off 95 balls was the cornerstone of New Zealand's innings. New Zealand got off to a steady start with Suzie Bates and Frances Mackay adding 42 for the first wicket. Bates, the New Zealand captain, extended her dream run with the bat as she became the leading run-getter of the tournament, amassing 407 runs from seven matches. Just as it appeared that Bates and Mackay has set themselves for the long haul, a top edged shot saw Bates hole out a simple catch to Lydia Greenway at backward point.

Mackay, who replaced Morna Nielsen in the playing XI, was the next to depart as Arran Brindle resorted to swing to bowl her out. Thereafter, some timely bowling changes and tight spells ensured England kept a check on the scoring rate. Once the openers were back in the hut, Amy Satterthwaite played the role of an accumulator as she brought up her eighth One-Day International half-century, from 57 balls, with a lofted drive off Danielle Hazell.

Along the way, New Zealand lost Sara McGlashan and the hard-hitting Sophie Devine as Satterthwaite put up a lone fight at the other end. Devine paid the price of trying to sneak in a hasty single when Satterthwaite smacked a straight drive only to see a diving Brindle divert the ball onto the stumps. Three overs later, Sara McGlashan popped an easy return catch to Holly Colvin. Satterthwaite then found an able foil in Katie Perkins, as the duo added 59 runs for the fifth wicket before Hazell dismissed Perkins when she attempted a reverse sweep.

Colvin struck twice in the 46th over as she dismissed Rachel Priest and Satterthwaite but missed out on a hat-trick when Lucy Doolan worked the hat-trick ball off for a leg bye. Nicola Browne and Doolan made the most of Danielle Wyatt and Brindle's loose deliveries to put up an entertaining 36-run stand off just 18 balls for the eighth wicket.

England missed the services of Anya Shrubsole, as Jenny Gunn shared the new ball with Katherine Brunt, who remained wicketless. But Colvin stepped up to return with figures of 3 for 31. Hazell replaced Shrubsole, who is yet to recover from a side strain sustained the previous game against New Zealand.