Nat Sciver-Brunt praises England’s brutality against Sri Lanka following win in Women’s T20 World Cup opener | Cricket news
Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt praised England’s ferocity as they kicked off the ICC Womens T20 World Cup with a ‘huge’ victory over Sri Lanka at Edgbaston.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge was the difference-maker for England, scoring 105 not out and taking a stunning catch to dismiss Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu.
Wyatt-Hodge put on 136 runs for the first wicket with Amy Jones before 46 off 22 balls from Sciver-Brunt took England to 219-1 in 20 overs.
Sri Lanka never looked like settling England until they were reduced to 132 all out and an 87-run defeat, with Freya Kemp taking an England-best 4-21 on her World Cup debut and Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone finishing with two wickets apiece.
“It’s a big win for us,” Sciver-Brunt continued Sky Sports Cricket. “We are very happy that the first game is over.
“What a way to start the first innings. Danni and Amy looked settled in what they were doing and set up a great platform for us to explode at the end.
“I’m really excited to get a spot in the middle. I’ve had a few innings in practice games, but nothing compared to being there.”
Asked if England had played too aggressively, Sciver-Brunt added: “Yes, absolutely. We were well-rounded and thought about the game in a really good way.
“In the second innings, starting with three wickets in the powerplay will make it difficult to chase such scores down.”
As well as his third and fifth T20 centuries for England, Wyatt-Hodge’s ton was his first since wife Georgie gave birth to their daughter Daisy.
Reflecting on the birthday party she attended to mark her centenary, Wyatt-Hodge added: “That was for Daisy, that little baby. I hope the TV got it.
“It was great over there. What a crowd. I really enjoyed playing in front of this amazing crowd here at Edgbaston.
“Such a start. It’s always good to start well in the World Cup.
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Danni Wyatt-Hodge caught the ball over his shoulder at deep square to dismiss Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu from Charlie Dean’s delivery.
“I really enjoyed playing there with Amy [Jones]and Nat does what he does best at the end there, he just hits it in every part.
“We said how important it is to get off to a good start and we did that tonight. It’s always a really good pitch here at Edgbaston, and our bowlers did really well and to keep them to that level on a really good pitch.
“We go to Southampton tomorrow to play Ireland on Tuesday night, and hopefully we can do it again.”
Athapaththu won the toss and put England into bat, a healthy decision as they were set 220 to win after England posted the biggest score in T20 World Cup history.
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Danni Wyatt-Hodge had an impressive innings for England as he scored a century against Sri Lanka.
After seeing his six bowlers hit 23 fours and three sixes, his players throw three points and throw away the opportunity to run Wyatt-Hodge in the powerplay, Athapaththu said his team must return to the draw board before facing New Zealand next.
“We didn’t play our best cricket today and, in all three departments, we weren’t at our level. That’s why we lost,” he said.
“The most important thing is to attack the stumps. The bowlers, especially the bowlers, were bowling in different lines and in different places. It’s not enough, we need to improve our bowling.
“We need to play our good, fearless cricket all the time in the middle. We lost a few wickets in the powerplay and lost our momentum, so we have to improve our batting as well.
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Nat Sciver-Brunt brought up 3,000 T20I runs with a superb six at Edgbaston.
“The next game is New Zealand, which is a tough team as well. We played the first two games against two big teams, so we need to improve our plans.
“We’re going back to the drawing board to decide what we can do. We have to sort out a few things and we’ll be back in the next game.”
England T20 Women’s World Cup fixtures/results
All matches are live on Sky Sports, always in the UK and Ireland
- Friday June 12 (Edgbaston): England beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs
- Tuesday June 16: England vs Ireland, Hampshire Bowl 6.30pm
- Saturday June 20: England vs Scotland, Headingley 6.30pm
- Wednesday June 24: England vs West Indies, Lord’s 6.30pm
- Saturday June 27: England vs New Zealand, The Oval 6.30pm
Everyone can stream all the 12-team matches including England, Scotland and Ireland, as well as the semi-finals and final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup live for FREE on the Sky Sports App.
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