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Chamari Atapattu – full name, somewhat confusingly, Atapattumudiyanselage Chamari Jayangani, so that she appears on scorecards with the one name she doesn’t appear to use – has played an innings.
If anyone else had bothered to help her, Sri Lanka would have won. At the same time, if anyone else had bothered to help her, it would have undermined the sheer solo magnificence of her knock.
Context is a great deal. In scoring 60 runs and losing nine wickets, Atapattu’s team-mates embiggened her 178 not out enormously (there were also 19 extras). It was a God damned shame that Australia couldn’t have delivered something similar for even greater embiggenment. Instead, they chased down their target for the loss of two wickets, the spoilsports.
Having watched the highlights of her innings, Atapattu is not averse to a mow. You put the ball in front of her, she will mow it. She will mow it mightily. Cow corner didn’t know what had hit it. (It was a cricket ball. Many times.)
Nice to see the site covering the ladies’ game. Even though Australia and India seem even more absurdly dominant in this format than in the men’s game.
Women’s cricket, Balladeer, not the ladies’ game.
I’m not sure that India is such a hot women’s team; England women under performed in that match against them.
Although India’s recent run of results shows significant improvement of late; until recently it was Aus, NZ and England that dominated the women’s game for decades. West Indies seemed to break through a few years ago; India now seems to be on the up also.
More competition is surely a good thing.
Ged, Daisy, Charley “The Gent” and Mrs Malloy will be there on finals day; hopefully cheering on the England Women.
Last time England Women played in a final at Lord’s, Daisy and I were there:
http://ianlouisharris.com/2009/06/21/england-women-v-new-zealand-women-and-pakistan-v-sri-lanka-icc-world-twenty20-finals-day-lords-21-june-2009/
God that was a glorious knock. Intelligently agricultural.
Some proper sixes in there. Those highlights are quite impressive, just wish they had slipped a few more shots into the package – it was really entertaining!