Published: Jul 23, 2017, 04:21 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 23, 2017, 04:31 PM (IST)
Five minutes before the India vs England final ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 clash went underway, the oldest living international cricketer Eileen Ash (née Whelan) rang the Lord’s bell. 105-year-old Eileen had played 7 Tests for England on either side of World War 2. Eileen, born in North London, had made her debut for England in 1937 as a specialist bowler. She claimed 10 wickets from 3 Tests that summer. After being out of scene for 12 years, she was back touring New Zealand and Australia for 4 Tests. In 2011, she became the first female Test player to reach her 100th birthday and, in the same year, was awarded Honorary Life Membership by MCC. As of now, no international cricketer has lived this long.
The other England Women cricketers to ring the Lord’s bell are Clare Connor, Charlotte Edwards and Claire Taylor. As for the match, England Women opted to bat. They were off to a blistering start from Tammy Beaumont and Laura Winfield. However, the spinners got the better of the batters and halted England’s run. Rajeshwari Gayakwad started it by bowling Winfield. Then Poonam Yadav claimed two wickets in succession: Jhulan Goswami caught Beaumont at deep mid-wicket while Heather Knight was trapped in front of the wickets — a decision India Women got in their favour after Mithali Raj reviewed.
If India go on to win the World Cup they will become the fourth team to join the list of champions after Australia, England and New Zealand.
