The last time Scotland’s women faced England in an official fixture – indeed, the only time – was a one-day international played at Bradfield College in Berkshire in August 2001.
On that occasion Scotland were on the end of a thumping defeat – bowled out for just 24 in response to England’s 262-7.
It’s testament to how far women’s cricket has come in Scotland that just over two decades later Kathryn Bryce felt emboldened to bat first against England after she won the toss.
Scotland may be an Associate nation, with a fraction of the funding and resources of a full member like England, but they were not overawed by the occasion.
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With the bat they posted a respectable, if not especially challenging, total -not far shy of the average first-innings score of 117 at this venue.
There were some notable highlights as the Bryce sisters both played fluently while Ailsa Lister heaved Sarah Glenn for a 72-metre six over mid-wicket – Scotland’s first maximum of the World Cup.
Scotland’s bowling struggled against the power and crisp timing of Bouchier and Wyatt-Hodge, while their fielding was again disappointing.
But for the climax to a debut World Cup campaign this was a more than decent showing and in none of the matches were they embarrassed.
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Going forward Scotland’s players, who have been contracted since 2022, would doubtless benefit from more matches against full members.
The England & Wales Cricket Board are not a charity, but that it has taken a World Cup for these sides to meet for the first time in a T20 international feels slightly incongruous given their proximity.
Cricket Scotland should be banging down the door to get games against their neighbours, in more familiar surroundings, inked into the calendar.
During the continuation of its historic 50th season Saturday, NBC sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live” took aim at the UFC.
Harnessing the absurd vocal talent of guest host Ariana Grande, a master impressionist, a pre-taped commercial spoof had the singer playing another legendary musician, Canadian singer Celine Dion – of whom Grande does a spot-on impression.
In the bit, Grande plays Dion doing a promo for UFC 308, which takes place Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi. She sings parts from Dion’s 1996 cover of “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” but changes the words to make them appropriate for the octagon.
While swapping out original verse for things like “There was breaking of bones, and there were knees to the balls,” Grande sings over vintage UFC highlights. “A woman with the tightest French braids – and the flattest face” is former women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the highlights. “An angry man with a cauliflower ear and a sideways nose” is Mike Perry. The hush of the crowd as a 300-pound Bosnian vomits up his own teeth. This is the UFC.”
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The spoof even gives a playful nudge at the UFC’s revoloving-door broadcast booth and its “dozens of commentators, all bald and in the shiniest of shirts.”
Check out the video from Season 50 of “Saturday Night Live” above with host Grande. The episode also featured musical guest Stevie Nicks.
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Takamoto Katsuta has set out goals after being benched by Toyota for Rally Chile, as he prepares for his World Rally Championship return at next week’s Central European Rally.
Katsuta rejoins Toyota’s line-up after it temporarily dropped its full-time driver for the visit to Chile last month following a rough run of results.
After undergoing a reset, the 31-year-old jumped back behind the wheel of his GR Yaris Rally1 for a pre-event its last week ahead of Central European Rally’s tricky asphalt stages with a clear objective in mind.
“I’m looking forward to being back in the car and driving on a totally different surface for the last two rallies of the year,” said Katsuta.
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“I really like driving on asphalt and I hope to find a good feeling and perform well.
“Central European Rally is a big challenge for everybody with a lot of surface changes and dirt on the road. Last year, the Friday on Czech roads was especially difficult with rain and a lot of cuts.
“With that experience it should be easier to return this year but there will still be many new stages, so we need to focus on making good pacenotes and communicating well with our route note crew.
Takamoto Katsuta, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Photo by: Toyota Racing
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“I will try to be patient, be there to score points for the team and if everything goes well, it will be easier for me to push at Rally Japan [the season finale].”
Speaking at Rally Chile, Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala empathised with how his driver would be feeling after the decision, but is confident that Katsuta would return stronger.
Latvala also revealed that improving his pacenotes had been identified as area that would benefit the Japanese driver.
“We have had a few phone calls with him and of course it is never a nice situation as he wanted to come to Chile to drive, but after a few days he was thinking about it and understood the situation and was willing to work and try to improve himself to come back stronger,” said Latvala.
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“To understand it first is never nice for the driver. But at the end when you do it and come back, sometimes you realise that this is something good. We have seen that in the past with other drivers [that have been benched]. Adrien [Fourmaux] is a very good example and it also happened to Ott Tanak and Elfyn Evans in the past.
“First of all I wanted him to switch off from rallying, then we wanted him to work with the co-driver to try and improve the notes as we realised in Greece that maybe there is too much information in them, which is then taking away the focus on the driving and the road as he has to listen too much.”
Looking ahead to next week’s rally, Latvala added: “The target will be to have a solid rally, score some points and find a good feeling in the car ahead of Rally Japan.”
I won it all with Ireland and was named player of the year and now I work for a packaging company on six-figure salary
A third wrote: “That is incredible to do that so quickly after the ball fell off top level sport unmatched 👏”
However some questioned whether it should have been allowed to stand as Barton kicked the ball a couple of yards in front of where it was meant to be taken.
One fan said: “He didn’t take it from the correct mark, shouldn’t have been allowed. Or alternatively, Barton should have had to retake it.”
Another added in agreement: “How much grace do you get for taking it closer to the posts? Not sure I’d have given that.”
Watch the moment England thought they had taken the wicket of Scotland’s Katherine Fraser at the Women’s T20 World Cup, only for the bails to stop flashing despite the ball appearing to touch the stumps.
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