While Sophia Dunkley (34 off 18) got the run chase off to a quick start, she then watched as captain Heather Knight (32no off 22) and vice-captain Nat Sciver-Brunt (40no off 30) led the team to their target with 33 balls to spare. Sophie Ecclestone’s 3-23 helped England limit West Indies to 135-7 in Paarl.’
Knight had stated in her press conference prior to the game and again at the toss that England would maintain the attacking mentality they have adopted since Jon Lewis took over as head coach in November. That prediction came true as England scored at a rate of more than 9.5 runs per over, a record for a side chasing over 100 in the Women’s T20 World Cup, reports Cricket Live Score News.
After helping her team reach 69-1 from 10 overs, Hayley Matthews, the West Indies captain, was bowled by Ecclestone for 42 runs off 32 balls. The England spinner then went on to bowl Afy Fletcher (10) and Zaida James (2) to end the Caribbean team’s innings in the 19th over.
An enthused England batting unit, one that had crushed 246 in a warm-up match against South Africa earlier this week, did not find a target of 136 to be a struggle. Knight sealed an emphatic victory by hitting Chinelle Henry for six over long-off to complete the victory.
English