England Women scored 144 runs in the first innings of the third T20I of the series against the West Indies at the County Ground in Chelmsford on May 26.
England have already won the series. They beat the West Indies comprehensively in the first two fixtures.
In this dead-rubber, the West Indies bowlers did comparatively well and kept the English batters quiet for the better part of the innings.
Heather Knight’s Fifty Helps England Reach Fighting Total
Put in to bat, England lost both of their openers early. Wyatt Hodge (0 run off 1 ball) fell on the first ball of the game as Zaida James cleaned her up. Sophia Dunkley (3 runs off 6 balls), who scored match-winning 81 runs in the first match, also departed without contributing much. Hayley Matthews caused her undoing.
Nat Sciver-Brunt (37 runs off 40 balls) and Heather Knight (66* runs off 47 balls) stabilised the innings with a 48-run partnership for the third wicket. However, it can be debated if Sciver-Brunt helped England’s cause at all as she played less than run-a-ball.Â
Matthews broke the partnership and brought an end to Sciver-Brunt’s stay at the crease.
Knight took the innings forward with Amy Jones (22 runs off 17 balls), who provided a decent support but also fell prey to Matthews’ brilliance at a time for acceleration in the 17th over. But it did not deter Knight as she soon brought up her fifty.
Her 66-run knock helped England reach 144 runs for the loss of five wickets by the end of the 20th over.
West Indies Favourites But England Not Far Behind
While the West Indies only need 145 runs to win, it will not be an easy task for them, looking at how their batting has fared so far.
England have a total on the board that they can defend. They bundled out the West Indies for just 81 runs in the last match and would expect a similar performance from their bowlers.
For more live updates of ENG-W vs WI-W:
England vs West Indies Live Scorecard
