MUMBAI - England rode captain Charlotte Edwards unbeaten century to beat New Zealand by four wickets and finish third in the ICC Women's World Cup at the Brabourne Stadium on Friday.
Chasing a modest 221 for victory, Edwards played a captain's knock, scoring an unbeaten 106 off 121 deliveries with the help of 15 fours to take England to 222 in 47 overs. Apart from Edwards, Lydia Greensway (31), wicket-keeper Sarah Taylor (28) and Arran Brindle (27) also made useful contributions with the bat to guide England home.
Off-spinner Lucy Doolan was the most successful bowler for New Zealand scalping three wickets for 50 runs, while pacer Sian Ruck picked up two wickets for 20 runs. Earlier sent into bat, Amy Satterthwaite struck a fluent 85 to guide New Zealand to 220 for eight.
Left-arm spinner Holly Colvin shone with the ball for England, picking up three wickets for 31 runs while Aaran Brindle (2/38) dismissed two Kiwi batswomen. England's chase, however, did not start on a good note as the defending champions lost opener Danielle Wyatt (5) early.
Edwards, who became the first woman cricketer to amass 5,000 runs in ODIs, with Taylor then forged a 78-run second-wicket stand, before Taylor was caught off Doolan's bowling. The English skipper then added 53 runs with Greenway for the third wicket to steady the innings and just when it seemed that the two were set for a long haul a brilliant diving catch by New Zealand captain Suzie Bates cut short Greenway's stay.
All-rounder Brindle then shared a 58-run stand for the fourth wicket with Edwards to take England closer before they lost wickets in quick succession to be reduced to 202 for 6. But Edwards and Laura Marsh held fort and saw England home without any further trouble.
Sri Lanka thrashed South Africa by 87 runs to finish fifth in the ICC Women's World Cup in Cuttack. Batting first at the Barabati Stadium, Sri Lanka put up a decent score of 243 for seven in stipulated 50 overs with useful contributions from the middle-order.
In reply, South Africa were bundled out for a paltry 156 in only 40.1 overs with off-spinner Shashikala Siriwardene picking up four for 32. Among the Lankan batswomen, Chamari Atapattu was the top-scorer with a patient 52 off 106 balls. She hit five boundaries. The other contributions came from Deepika Rasangika (43), Siriwardene (44) and Eshani Kaushalya (43).
ENGLAND BEAT NEW ZEALAND BY FOUR WICKETS:
NEW ZEALAND: 220-8 in 50 overs (Amy Satterthwaite 85, Frances Mackay 30, Nicola Browne 27*, Suzie Bates 21, Katie Perkins 20; Holly Colvin 3-31, Arran Brindle 2-38)
ENGLAND: 222-6 in 47 overs (Charlotte Edwards 106 *, Lydia Greenway 31, Sarah Taylor 28, Arran Brindle 27; Lucy Doolan 3-50, Sian Ruck 2-20)
SRI LANKA BEAT SOUTH AFRICA BY 88 RUNS:
Sri Lanka: 244-7 in 50 overs (Chamari Atapattu 52, Shashikala Siriwardene 44, Eshani Kaushalya 43, Deepika Rasangika 43; Marcia Letsoalo 2-36, Chloe Tryon 2-46)
SOUTH AFRICA: 156 all out in 40.1 overs (Shandre Fritz 54, Dane van Niekerk 26; Shashikala Siriwardene 4-32, Sripali Weerakkody 2-15, Chamani Seneviratna 2-35).