England beat West Indies by eight wickets: first women’s T20 cricket international – as it happened
That’s it from me this evening.Congratulations England – ‘A new dawn has broken has it not?’ and all that.Charlotte Edwards will be pretty happy with what she saw this evening.The series continues on Friday down in Hove.Rob Smyth will be your guide for that and we’ll be back in the morning for the start of the Test match summer.
Thanks for your company, goodnight!England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt:Happy days! I didn’t have to do anything! The important thing was taking wickets through the innings, Hayley is such a big player for them but stemming the runs by taking wickets was our method.The chase looked calm and calculated and was brilliant to watch.”Hayley Matthews is named Player of the Match… The West Indies skipper was on the losing side but she did score 100 not out from just 67 balls.Without her there would barely have been any match to speak of.It was a good day for myself but unfortunate not to get the win.
I felt we were 15-20 runs short and we weren’t able to build many partnerships.It’s hard to defend 150… It’s about picking ourselves up and starting again (in the next match at Hove).”That’s a stylish win for England.Sophie Dunkley hits the winning runs through the covers and the Charlotte Edwards/Nat Sciver-Brunt regime gets off to the perfect start.Now that's how you start a summer 😍 pic.
twitter.com/zwGyDhsryH16th over: England 140-2 (Dunkley 77, Knight 38) Wonderful stuff from Dunkley! She knows exactly where the gaps are and reverse-sweeps for four.And again, a carbon copy! A clip for two into midwicket takes Dunkley to her highest T20I score.She’d love a red inker here.Twelve off the over and just seven needed for England.
I shall not be dining on Pentium processor.15th over: England 128-2 (Dunkley 66, Knight 37) Zaida James into the attack and England looking to get this done in a hurry now.Dunkley biffs down the ground and Knight gets in on the action with a lofted drive over the infield for four more.High class from Knight the footsoldier – a cut for four with nifty footwork and deft hands.England need 19 more runs to get their summer and new era off to a winning start.
If they mess it up from here I’ll eat this laptop,14th over: England 114-2 (Dunkley 66, Knight 23) Hayley Matthews brings herself back on, do or die for her side now,She burns a review on a spurious lbw shout on Dunkley and then has her… DROPPED! Alleyne can’t hold the catch running in and diving forward from long-on,Another tough one but West Indies need to cling on to the half chances,13th over: England 108-2 (Dunkley 61, Knight 22) Alleyne comits the cardinal sin and oversteps the front line.
Free hit incoming… Dunkley loses her shape and can only loft into the deep for a single.Two wides in the over too, West Indies can’t afford to gift extras to England, they are cantering as it is.Nine runs off an over that seemed to take an age.England need 39 from 42 balls.I imagine they are desperate to get this done and dusted so they can watch the end of the Europa league final.
Ahem.12th over: England 99-2 (Dunkley 59, Knight 18) Dunkley is ticking now! She trots down and drives Ramharack for four through the covers.Four singles then follow with ease.West Indies need to break this partnership pronto.11th over: England 91-2 (Dunkley 53, Knight 16) Dunkley has been on the pickle juice or some-such, she comes out after drinks and carves for four to bring up a classy fifty.
Afy Fletcher is whipped for two and then a single brings Knight on strike.Gah – poor ball – dragged down and hoicked for four more by Knight.10th over: England 80-2 (Dunkley 46, Knight 12) Krishma Ramharack into the attack, she twirls it down with her cap on a la her captain.Three singles before Knight opens the shoulders and hits the ball on the bounce into the sponge.Time for a drink and England have the match in their hands.
67 needed from 60 balls.9th over: England 73-2 (Dunkley 44, Knight 7) A scamper and a scurry, England tick over and take seven off Afy Fletcher.8th over: England 66-2 (Dunkley 39, Knight 5) Hayley Matthews brings herself back on, she wants to prise this game open with the ball.Knight and Dunkley rotate strike well to keep the squeeze at bay.7th over: England 60-2 (Dunkley 35, Knight 4) Heather Knight out in the middle and for the first time in eight years she doesn’t have the captain’s armband on.
She starts perkily, picking up a couple of twos through the off side.A few more quick wickets might see England wobbling.There is a spike and NSB has to drag herself off!England’s new captain arrives in the middle.Afy Fletcher comes on to fizz down some leg-spin.Lovely late cut from Dunkley for four.
She’s looked in great nick this evening.Now then, Sciver-Brunt attempts a sweep and West Indies think she might have a tickle on it…Dunkley launches James for four and clips through leg for a second boundary.A single brings Wyatt-Hodge on strike.Gone! The bowler zips one down the leg side and Wyatt-Hodge is unlucky as the ball canons off her back pad and onto the stumps.West Indies needed that.
6th over: England 51-1 (Dunkley 30, Sciver-Brunt 0)5th over: England 42-0 (Wyatt-Hodge 17, Dunkley 21) Cherry-Ann Fraser into the attack.She’s worked for four singles before Wyatt-Hodge smears her for four off the final ball, short and wide and lashed to the boundary.4th over: England 34-0 (Wyatt-Hodge 11, Dunkley 19) Hayley Matthew’s replaces Glasgow.Is she going to get a stack of wickets too? Not just yet – Dunkley sweeps her for four and England pick off four additional singles easily enough.3rd over: England 26-0 (Wyatt-Hodge 9, Dunkley 13) James continues and skids one through Wyatt-Hodge and the ball shoots away for four behind the keeper.
Shot! After looking slightly scrappy Wyatt-Hodge finds her timing and lofts square for four.England are away.2nd over: England 14-0 (Wyatt-Hodge 2, Dunkley 12) Jannillea Glasgow has a chance to atone for her butterfingers, she’s sharing the new nut.Sophia Dunkley has been back to somewhere near her best in domestic cricket recently, can she rediscover her mojo in England colours? The signs are good – she drills three fours through the covers in imperious fashion!1st over: England 1-0 (Wyatt-Hodge 1, Dunkley 0) Zaida James gets things underway with the ball and nearly snaffles Wyatt-Hodge right away but the lofted drive slips through the fingers at of Jannillea Glasgow in the covers! Tricky but should have been taken, an early let off for England.Just one off the first over.
Here come Wyatt-Hodge and Dunkley, can England make light work of this total? Let’s find out!England’s men get their Test summer started tomorrow.I suppose it would be terribly rude not to plug today’s Spin:"Those Thursday starts are a pain, eh? What with all that annoying “work” getting in the way and a manager/team who inexplicably don’t seem to be bothered about whether Sam Cook will jag the new Dukes and be quick enough on his Test debut or even whether Zak Crawley’s Teflon coating might finally wear through?Where do these people get off organising meetings for 11am? No matter, you’ve got your methods, your strategies.You’ve been in good form during the first months of the County Championship, honing your skills for the first Test.You do what the teenagers do and surreptitiously use an ear bud so you can tune in to Test Match Special on the sly.Do not – repeat NOT – start tapping your tea mug with your teaspoon when Soul Limbo kicks in, have some self-control.
Play the long game.It’s Test cricket for God’s sake, show some grit and determination! Wait, who are you calling old-fashioned?Open up your tabs on your desktop.Go on, fire up that trusty out-of-date spreadsheet ready to cover the over-by-over and live text alerts with the flick of a shortcut key should someone walk past.Concentrate.Use your process.
“Be where your mouse is,” This thing could be over in an instant,Get your head down,Take each ball at a time,”England will need to knock off 146 to get their new era off to a winning start, you’d take that I reckon.
Then again, take away Matthews’ runs and they’d be chasing just 46!And a century for Hayley Matthews! Off the final ball of the innings too.She’s carried her side on her back this evening with over two thirds of their runs coming off her blade.That’s her third T20I ton and she punished a loose final over from Lauren Bell, twelve runs off the final over and a tricksy total to defend.19th over: West Indies 134-7 (Matthews 89, Fraser 0) Cherry-Ann Fraser is the new batter and blocks out a dot.Matthews will be on strike for the final over.
Lauren Bell to bowl it, full of confidence after that catch.Wonderful catch by Lauren Bell at fine leg! Uses her height and fast reflexes to pluck the ball out of the evening sun with both hands.Mangru’s cameo comes to an end.18th over: West Indies 128-6 (Matthews 88, Mangru 12) The century is still in for Hayley Matthews! She carves Wong through point for four and then spots the slower ball off the final ball of the over, dispatching over midwicket for another boundary.Mangru is playing a clever hand too, making sure she gets her captain on strike as much as possible.
Wong returns with figures of 1-35.Decent.17th over: West Indies 119-6 (Matthews 80, Mangru 11) Bell comes back to bowl the death overs and is crashed through the covers by Matthews.That’s all for boundaries off the over though as Matthews is kept honest by a nippy bouncer to finish the over.Three to go, what sort of score can Matthews haul her side to here? 150 might be a tricky chase under lights.
16th over: West Indies 111-6 (Matthews 74, Mangru 9) Impressive figures for Em Arlott on dayboo – she finishes her four overs with 1-28.15th over: West Indies 105-5 (Matthews 71, Mangru 6) Matthews is keeping her side alive in the match with consecutive fours off Wong.The bowler comes back with a 70mph yorker.Hundred up for West Indies, they owe a lot to their skipper.14th over: West Indies 95-5 (Matthews 62, Mangru 5) Mandy Mangru joins Matthews and strokes a four through cover to get off the mark in style.
England trying to starve Matthews of the strike, without her runs this scorecard makes for grim reading for West Indies.Hayley Matthews barbecues her partner in trying to come back for two to keep strike.England gifted another!13th over: West Indies 82-5 (Matthews 55, Glasgow 4) Jannillea Glasgow is the new batter and she gets off the mark with a nick through the vacant second slip region! Arlott might ask for another catcher… two dots to finish the over.England on top at the moment.A first international wicket for Em Arlott! Back of a length and swatted tamely into the ring.
Lovely moment in dappled evening sunshine for the debutant.A back of the hand slower ball from Wong does the trick and breaks the partnership! Gajnabi was too early on the shot and she plinked a catch to England’s captain at midwicket.Clever bowling from Wong.12th over: West Indies 75-3 (Matthews 52, Alleyne 0) Izzy Wong is hacked baseball style down the ground by Gajnabi.Shades of KP against Brett Lee at the Oval in 2005.
11th over: West Indies 64-3 (Matthews 52, Gajnabi 6) Linsey Smith peels off a maiden over, worth its weight in gooooold.10th over: West Indies 64-3 (Matthews 52, Gajnabi 6) Arlott is panned away over mid-on for four by Matthews and then swept for two more.A single brings up the half century for Hayley Matthews, she’s looking dangerous but West Indies haven’t got that many on the board at the half way stage.9th over: West Indies 54-3 (Matthews 43, Gajnabi 5) Charlie Dean rattles through a quick over for just three runs.England have been sharp in the field so far
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