England in Super Six in cricket world cup

England’s women going into the second stage of the cricket world cup in Mumbai, India.

Charlotte Edwards is captain of an England team now apparently recovered from a slow start to the tournament to lead group A going into the Super Six stage.

England’s defence of their 2009 World Cup title started badly, with a shock defeat on 1 February to Sri Lanka, the lowest ranked team in the tournament.

With star player Sarah Taylor out of the match with a hamstring injury, England played well below their best, and were unable to defend their total of 238-8 against Sri Lanka’s batters.

Despite a close contest, the defending champions were beaten by one wicket, the first time they have ever lost to Sri Lanka in any form of the game.

The result followed a loss to New Zealand in England’s final warm-up match and with just 48 hours before their next match, England needed to recover quickly to avoid being knocked out during the group stage.

Back on the field on 3 February, England turned their fortunes around with an emphatic victory over hosts India, with a record-breaking century from captain Edwards boosting the team to a 32-run win.

Edwards’ score of 109 saw her overtake Australia’s Belinda Clark as the all-time leading run-scorer in women’s one day internationals.

England played the West Indies in their final group match on 5 February.

The West Indies won the toss, and surprisingly chose to bat first in conditions favouring bowlers. England took full advantage of the decision, bowling their opponents out for 101 on their way to a six wicket win.

England pace bowler Anya Shrubsole told the BBC that the team were confident ahead of their next match.

“There are always some things you can improve on, but we’ll head into the Super Six with some confidence. We’re gaining momentum now after some good wins.”

The top three teams from both groups now carry their points forward to the Super Six where they will each play each other.

The top two teams then advance to the final on 17 February.

Following their loss to Sri Lanka on 5 February, host nation India are out of the tournament.

The group B loser was Pakistan, who failed to win a match.

England will face group B winners Australia on 8 February, and are scheduled to play South Africa on 9 February and New Zealand on 13 February.