Lucky Heather leads way to an England win

HEATHER Knight rode her luck through a hat-trick of early scares before shepherding England to a nervy four-wicket win over Bangladesh at the Women’s World Cup.

- By RORY DOLLARD

A second straight win in Guwahati put Charlotte Edwards’ side on top of the standings but it could have been very different as they made heavy weather of chasing 179.

In trouble at 78 for five, they were bailed out by their former captain’s gutsy 79 not out as she and all-rounder Charlie Dean (27no) eased their worries with a controlled seventh-wicket stand.

But Bangladesh will feel rightly frustrated at missing out on a major upset after England’s match-winner somehow survived a torrid start to her innings.

Knight, only just back from a torn hamstring, was given caught behind for a golden duck, only to be reprieved by DRS as third umpire Gayathri Venugopalan overturned the on-field decision despite an apparently inconclusive spike on UltraEdge.