Lamb in for Dean as England bowl; Pakistan leave out Muneeba, Amin

By Chris On Mar 24, 2022

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Nahida Khan and Aiman Anwer came in for Pakistan while the fresh wicket at Hagley Oval prompted England to leave out Charlie Dean

Toss England chose to bowl vs Pakistan

England have won the toss and chosen to bowl first in their World Cup clash with Pakistan in Christchurch.

England have made one tactical change, selecting batting allrounder Emma Lamb for just her second ODI and third international match in place of offspinner Charlie Dean, who has impressed in this tournament, taking a crucial 4 for 23 in a victory over India and two wickets as England squeezed home against New Zealand.

Lamb was called up for her only other ODI during the recent Ashes series, making a two-ball duck in a brief audition as England looked for an option to replace out-of-form opener Lauren Winfield-Hill. Lamb was also not out for nought on her international debut, a T20I against New Zealand at Chelmsford last September, which England won.

Knight described the selection decision as “tricky” and driven by the Hagley Oval pitch, which was showing a little bit more live grass than the ones they’ve played on so far.

“Charlie’s done absolutely nothing wrong, she’s been outstanding for us, a real wicket-taker,” Knight told the host broadcaster. “It’s just purely the pitch and obviously if we want to accelerate the game a little bit, we wanted the extra batter in there.”

Pakistan made two changes, bringing in Nahida Khan to open the batting alongside Sidra Ameen and leaving out Muneeba Ali, while opting for an extra seamer with Aiman Anwer instead of left-arm spinner Anam Amin.

“We would have bowled as well,” Bismah Maroof, their captain, said. “Of course we want a win to take momentum forward so we’re looking forward to the match today.”

England, the defending champions, are treating the match as another must-win clash, while Pakistan were buoyed by their eight-wicket victory over West Indies earlier this week to break an 18-match losing streak at Women’s World Cups stretching over 13 years.

England have won their last two matches after teetering on the brink of elimination with defeats in their opening three. They can only afford to lose one of their remaining two group games – they play Bangladesh on Saturday – if the results of other matches go their way. England have a superior net run rate than mid-table rivals New Zealand and West Indies, which could help if it comes into play.

England 1 Tammy Beaumont, 2 Danni Wyatt, 3 Heather Knight (capt), 4 Nat Sciver, 5 Amy Jones (wk), 6 Sophia Dunkley, 7 Emma Lamb, 8 Katherine Brunt, 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 10 Kate Cross, 11 Anya Shrubsole

Pakistan 1 Sidra Ameen, 2 Nahida Khan, 3 Bismah Maroof (capt), 4 Omaima Sohail, 5 Nida Dar, 6 Aliya Riaz, 7 Fatima Sana, 8 Sidra Nawaz (wk), 9 Diana Baig, 10 Nashra Sandu, 11 Aiman Anwer

Valkerie Baynes is a general editor at ESPNcricinfo

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