England get on the board with rain-affected win
- Amy Jones top scores in a tricky chase to give England two points after first game washout
ICC Women’s World Cup champions England overcame some early jitters to register a seven-wicket wicket win against Bangladesh and secure their first points at the ICC Women’s World T20 2018.
As the rain relented in St. Lucia, the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground finally saw some action after fears that Group A would be severely marred by rain. While the sun did not quite shine, England made hay, picking up critical points and boosting their run rate in the process.
After playing three left-arm spinners in their XI, England restricted Bangladesh to 76 for nine in their 20 overs. Amy Jones then top-scored to ride out some early wickets from Bangladesh, guiding England home in 9.3 overs after a rain delay reduced the innings to a maximum of 16 overs.
England started their run chase in frenetic fashion, losing Danielle Wyatt on the first ball of the match -LBW to Bangladesh skipper Salma Khatun- and then Tammy Beaumont to the same bowler, to have England at 13 for two in three overs.
That may well have led to a collapse if Bangladesh wicketkeeper Shamima Sultana had held on to a tough chance off Jones five balls later. Jones (28, 24b, 2x4) survived, and went on to stitch a 38-run partnership with Natalie Sciver to take England to safety. England lost the more aggressive Sciver (23, 17b, 4x4) before rain halted play after nine overs; England knocked off the revised target of nine runs in 42 balls without further alarm.
In the first innings, Bangladesh got on the wrong side of an important toss, and their opening batters struggled to handle the prodigious swing that the England bowlers found. Three of the top four were out for ducks, one falling to inswing, the other to outswing, and the third to a run out in an eventful first half of the innings. Despite a couple of sixes from opener Ayesha Rahman, Bangladesh were only 26 for three at the halfway stage.
Ayesha (39, 52b, 2x4, 3x6) played a lone hand for Bangladesh, punctuating spells of dot balls with big hits, favouring the leg side. But after she was the fourth wicket to fall in the 13th over, caught on the midwicket fence going for another big hit, Bangladesh lost their next four wickets for fifteen runs. The innings finally meandered to 76 for nine in the allotted 20 overs.
England handed debuts to three players, among them 20-year old left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon who took three for 16, including the wicket of Ayesha. Bangladesh played 81 dots in their 20 overs and featured four ducks, and their total was not enough to challenge England.
Bangladesh now play Sri Lanka on 14 November at the same venue, and England have a four day break before their next game, against South Africa on 16 November.
Scores in brief:
England defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet, St. Lucia (DLS Method)
Bangladesh: 76-9, 20 overs (Ayesha Rahman 39; Kirstie Gordon 3-16)
England (revised target 64 in 16 overs) 64-3: 9.3 overs (Amy Jones 28, Natalie Sciver 23; Salma Khatun 2-17)