England opt to bat in search of semi-finals spot; Shrubsole rested, Dean returns

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Bangladesh bring in Shamima Sultana for Murshida Khatun in the last day of the 2022 ODI World Cup’s league stage

Toss England Women chose to bat vs Bangladesh Women

Defending champions England opted to bat against debutants Bangladesh in windy Wellington as they look to seal the third semi-finals spot of the 2022 ODI World Cup.
In what is the last league-stage fixture for both teams, and the first-ever ODI between them, England rested Anya Shrubsole and left out Emma Lamb. Freya Davies, who didn’t feature in any other games in this World Cup, and Charlie Dean were slotted in. Bangladesh, who are out of contention for a place in the knockouts, made one change to the XI that gave favourites Australia an almighty scare on Friday: Murshida Khatun made way for opener Shamima Sultana.

England captain Heather Knight anchored her decision to set a target on the look of the Basin Reserve pitch, which was used for the low-scoring Australia vs Bangladesh match, too. The surface is expected to be slower and produce less bounce than it did on Friday, but Knight backed her attack, especially the spinners, to defend the target. The exclusion of the premier England quick Shrubsole, she said, was down to workload management.

Bangladesh, too, wanted to bat first. Their captain, Nigar Sultana, hoped her spin attack is able to put up as good a performance as it did against Australia. They are looking to end their maiden World Cup campaign on a high with a second win in the tournament.

England batter Tammy Beaumont said on match eve that the side’s batting line-up is wary of the threat Bangladesh’s spinners carry. She, however, was confident of weathering them and the blustery conditions in Wellington to edge past West Indies and India in the race to booking the third knockouts berth.

Sunday is the last day of the league stage of this World Cup and will decide the final two semi-finalists of the tournament. India play South Africa, who have already qualified for the knockouts, in the second game of the double-header later in the day, in Christchurch.

Bangladesh: Sharmin Akhter, Shamima Sultana, Fargana Hoque, Nigar Sultana (wk/capt), Rumana Ahmed, Ritu Moni, Lata Mondal, Salma Khatun, Fahima Khatun, Nahida Akter, Jahanara Alam

England: Tammy Beaumont, Danielle Wyatt, Heather Knight (capt), Natalie Sciver, Amy Jones (wk), Sophia Dunkley, Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Kate Cross, Charlotte Dean, Freya Davies

Annesha Ghosh is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @ghosh_annesha

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