A century of understated brilliance from the captain Heather Knight inspired England to a series-clinching victory at Derby
6th over: New Zealand 24-1 (Down 6, Green 0) Two singles from the Shrubsole over and a big run out.
That’s comical. Not so much for the running: Bates flicks to midwicket, sets off where there’s no run, rightly gets sent back, and turns for her ground. But for the dive, which happens in slow motion. She does the full production, then just... stops. No momentum. Like a penguin realising it’s on gravel rather than ice. The ground is too dry. And the dive may not have even been necessary. The throw is high from Sciver to Jones, and Bates probably would have got home while upright, or lunging. But instead she hits the ground hard, stops almost dead, and even in real time her bat is moving towards the line in slow motion. It falls short.
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