Edwards ton gives England consolation win, podium finish

On Wednesday, England captain Charlotte Edwards was heartbroken after she learnt that Australia had been defeated by the West Indies. The result meant England were knocked out of the World Cup. Edwards was to reveal how she had experienced a bout of desolation upon because of her team's exit.

It's unlikely that Edwards would have overcome her anguish when she walked out to bat at the CCI. But she decided to blank it out temporarily, by scoring an unbeaten century in a four-wicket win over the White Ferns and determine third place for England. A target of 221 never quite seemed a tricky one for the powerful English batting line-up. Certainly not with Edwards in charge, stroking away as fluently as ever, and picking up boundaries at regular intervals. The likes of Sarah Taylor and Lydia Greenway also provided crucial contributions, keeping their skipper company but fell by the wayside.

Playing in her fifth World Cup, Edwards had already scored a century earlier in the tournament against hosts India. And here she doubled her century tally in style, bringing it up in 117 balls. Like always, there was the customary grace in every stroke Edwards dished out against the hapless Kiwi bowlers. She hit 15 boundaries as England reached their target with three overs to spare.

Earlier in the day, it was Amy Satterthwaite again who lifted the Kiwis past the 200-run mark with an aggressive 85 off 95 deliveries. And the left-hander looked well on cue for a second consecutive ton against England in three days before she became Holly Colvin's third victim of the morning. Ferns skipper Suzie Bates only managed 21 but can take pride in being the first batter in the tournament to cross the 400-run mark in the overall aggregate. But despite Satterthwaite's positive intent, the Kiwis were kept quiet for most periods, and it was only Nicola Browne's late assault that helped them pose a decent challenge to Edwards & Co.

... contd.

ALSO READ

Only Sachin Tendulkar can decide on his retirement: Sanath Jayasuriya

IPL 2013 preview: Bangalore out to put campaign back on track against Delhi

South Africa coach Gary Kirsten to step down next month

My goal is to play well in every match, says Parvez Rasool