ICC Women World Cup ~ India to play Aussies in Semis ~the long gap between matches

Spanish ace Garbine Muguruza  denied Venus Williams a fairytale sixth Wimbledon crown to claim a watershed second grand slam title. In a high-quality final, Muguruza defeated 37-year-old Williams 7-5 6-0 to add a Wimbledon trophy to her 2016 French Open title.

When Roger Federer and his growing family embarked on a new tennis season in 2017 after his six-month injury layoff, the big goal was winning Wimbledon. It has been that sort of tour-de-force season for Federer, the 35-year-old Swiss maestro who might not yet have regained the No. 1 ranking but is firmly atop the sport on every surface except clay.  Tonight, he won his eighth Wimbledon singles championship and 19^th  Grand Slam singles title by defeating Marin Cilic in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. The victory, his first at Wimbledon since 2012, made Federer the oldest man to win at the All England Club in the Open era, which began in 1968. It also broke Federer’s tie with William Renshaw and Pete Sampras, who each won Wimbledon seven times.

Down under, troubled NRL star Greg Inglis has revealed seeing a therapist up to four times a day as he continues his battle against depression. Speaking on television for the first time since checking into a mental health clinic in May, Inglis admitted he struggled being away from his South Sydney teammates following a season-ending knee injury. He said some of his frustrations spilled into his home life, but only opted to speak up in the week leading into the Anzac Test between Australia and New Zealand.

Despite being injured, Inglis had spent the week in camp.   Wallabies prop Scott Sio is adamant the Brumbies can end Australian rugby's Kiwi nightmare in the Super Rugby finals despite a New Zealand clean sweep of trans-Tasman matches. Australian teams lost all 25 games this year against Kiwi foes, a first since Super Rugby kicked off in 1996. Even the Japanese Sunwolves snared a Kiwi scalp - embarrassing the Blues 48-21 in Tokyo. The Brumbies lost the last game of the regular season against the Chiefs 28-10 in Hamilton on Saturday afternoon, but will get a shot at Kiwi redemption in a quarterfinal at Canberra Stadium next weekend.

~ but all that had to take a back seat as NZ crumbled out of the tournament not making to the Semi final stage in ICC Women WC 2017; yet, the response and the methodical writing in Kiwi press is all to be praised as it reflects a fairer reality and no emotional outbursts when the team is not doing well !! – here is something read in NZ Herald.

Sloppy fielding, wayward bowling and deficient batting - particularly against the spin of Rajeshwari Gayakwad - saw New Zealand outplayed when it mattered most. If ever a match-winner was demanded, this was the fixture. On paper the New Zealand side was full of them; in reality India produced four.

Prolific captain Mithali Raj made her sixth ODI century with 109 off 123 balls. She was backed by Harmanpreet Kaur (60 from 90) and Veda Krishnamurthy (70 from 45). Krishnamurthy's innings was arguably the most instrumental. India were 154 for four when she came to the wicket in the 37th over. The platform set by Raj and Kaur's 132-run third-wicket stand could have been dismantled.  Her innings even included 28 runs from seven balls between Lea Tahuhu's 46th over and captain Suzie Bates' 47th. Gayakwad, a left-arm orthodox spinner, mopped up the puddle of New Zealand resistance. She took five wickets for 15 from 7.3 overs. Amy Satterthwaite top scored with 26.

The White Ferns brimmed with the sort of professional talent which is in demand on the global Twenty20 franchise stage, yet they were beaten by Australia, England and India in the 50-over campaign's key contests. New Zealand's semi-final chances became a mirage as their potential outweighed their application. An abandoned match against South Africa stymied their momentum, but the hammerings of Sri Lanka, the West Indies and Pakistan revealed the batting pedigrees of Bates and Satterthwaite (Sri Lanka), Rachel Priest (West Indies) and Sophie Devine (Pakistan) in comfortable chases. They wavered when knock-out cricket loomed. "We were nowhere near as good as we needed to be," Bates said at the post-match interview on Sky Television.

New Zealand Cricket has offered unprecedented backing to the White Ferns as part of November's mea culpa for a sustained neglect of the women's game. The incumbents failed to repay that faith in England as the sport's global gender equity gap narrows. The White Ferns flew business-class to the event; every match has been broadcast - either on television or live-streamed - for the first time; prize money has risen from US$200,000 to US$2 million with the winner to receive US$660,000. By comparison, the men's Champions Trophy kitty totalled US$4.5 million.  A significant income stream is also taking shape for New Zealand women's cricketers, at least compared to the past.

Last August's three-year memorandum of understanding between NZC and the New Zealand Cricket Players' Association saw 15 women awarded annual contracts ranging from $20,000 to $34,000 with match fees - $400 for ODIs and $300 for T20Is - and an annual $2500 superannuation payment. Top players are contracted to the flourishing Australian and English T20 leagues, and receive endorsement deals.

Statistically   186 Runs  win here is the  biggest win when batting first in the Women's World Cup. Overall, there have been only three other instances when India have won by a bigger margin when batting first in women's ODIs. They had beaten Ireland by a 249-run margin in an ODI in May this year, which is their biggest margin of victory.

Rajeshwari Gayakwad's figures  5/15 in this match is the best in WC for India eclipsing Ekta Bisht’s 5/18  against Pakistan.      Our Captian  Mithali Raj has 7 50+ scores,  the most by any captain in the tournament. She went past Suzie Bates' and Belinda Clark's tally of six with her 109 in this match.  Veda Krishnamurthy played like Virender Sehwag or Kapil dev striking 70 off 45 balls ~ strike rate of 155.55 !  India has been at Semi finals stage thrice earlier.

A tournament as big as this perhaps is controlled by extraneous circumstances – may be media coverage or the magnitude of Wimbledon – nothing explains the schedule.  The 1^st Semi final is to be played  only on 18^th when England meets South Africa, the 2^nd Semis would be played again at Derby on 20^th July with India meeting Australia again ~ and if India can beat Aussies, they would play at Lords in the finals on July 23, 2017.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

16^th July 2017.