Heather Knight celebrated a “very special” milestone as England secured their first women’s Test victory in a decade, by a remarkable 286 runs against South Africa in Bloemfontein.
However, the achievement was somewhat overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the fact that, despite the Decision Review System (DRS) not being in operation, a South African player was given out in the final innings after an umpires’ review, sparking a collapse.
With South Africa still in contention on 17 for two, Annerie Dercksen was sent back to the dressing room after the umpires chose to look at a catch by Tammy Beaumont, even though there was no DRS for the game.
Dercksen looked to have bat-padded a delivery from Lauren Bell, but the initial on-field decision was not out, and it was only altered following intervention from the fourth umpire.
Former England bowler Alex Hartley said on BBC’s Test Match Special: “The umpire never raised her finger. It can’t have been a DRS call because there is no DRS.”
There was no clear check as to whether the ball had glanced off the bat onto the pad before looping to Beaumont because of the lack of Ultra Edge technology. After that call, which seemingly went against procedure, South Africa crumbled and were all out for only 64 runs.
It was not the only debatable incident in the match either. Beaumont was struck on the pad on the morning of the first day, the umpire’s finger was unmoved, and that was that. Laura Wolvaardt was trapped lbw by Sophie Ecclestone and immediately pointed towards her bat, a clear suggestion that in her mind the ball had glanced off the woodwork onto the pads. Had DRS been in use, those calls would likely have been reviewed.
Before a ball had been bowled, there were questions raised over what value Cricket South Africa placed on the standalone women’s Test. Of the 21 international matches in South Africa this year, it was the only one without DRS, which has become a key part of international cricket, and Knight questioned the significance of the cost-cutting decision.
‘Probably a sign of the status of the game that we didn’t have it, which is frustrating’
“I think it’s a real shame [that there wasn’t DRS], you come to expect it as a player now,” she said. “There’s always money, but especially in Test cricket, where wickets are at such a premium, it’s a really important thing to have, and probably a sign of the status of this game that we didn’t have it, which is a bit frustrating.”
At least the frustration of a draw was avoided. Women’s Test cricket has long been associated with the inevitability of the draw, not helped in part by the pitches and matches being played over only four days, but as South Africa capitulated in the evening session of day three, the visitors claimed victory with a day to spare.
“First Test win in a decade is a pretty important thing, and my first Test win as captain as well, so I loved the graft over the last three days that let us go into this position this afternoon and really finish the game off in some style,” Knight said.
“[It’s] really pleasing, I think it’s really satisfying now, the girls in there are absolutely buzzing. I think because of the graft that we put in to be able to put ourselves in the position to do what we did today, really has made it very special.”
For England, it was the perfect way to prepare for their next red-ball match, an Ashes Test at the 90,000-seater Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Maia Bouchier scored a century on debut, Nat Sciver-Brunt proved yet again why she is one of the best in the world with a fluent 128, and Knight rediscovered her batting form with 90 in the second innings as conditions became more difficult.
The young seam attack looked threatening throughout and Bell took eight wickets in the match. But yet again the sport has been let down by the circumstances surrounding it.
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