England v Sri Lanka: Women’s T20 International Cricket Third Match – Live | locust
Key events
JONES IS NOT OUT!
No spike when the ball passes the bat, so Jones survives.
TICKET OFFICE? England 47-4 (Jones v Sanjewaani b Dilhari 2)
England are in big trouble here. Amy Jones left, brilliantly caught up after gloved a nasty reverse shot on new bowler Kavisha Dilhari. Or is she? England reviewed.
7th over: England 44-3 (Knight 10, Jones 1) Time for more spin, in this case left hander Inoka Ranaweera. She sent those two hitters back to Chelmsford on Saturday and threatens to do so again when Knight, beaten in the air, runs out of time. Jones then misses a sweep. England is a little shaken.
6th over: England 41-3 (Knight 8, Jones 0) It was the last ball of the over, and of course Powerplay. It becomes extremely interesting.
TICKET OFFICE! England 41-3 (Bouchier v Dilhari v Prabodhani 23)
Uh-oh. The ball after elegantly cutting late for four, Bouchier slots Prabodhani straight in from long range. That ends a promising but incomplete run of 23 from 18. England are in a game here.
5th over: England 34-2 (Bouchier 17, Knight 7) Bouchier drives Fernando elegantly halfway for his third boundary, then throws a simple single-to-deep central wicket. On this occasion, no one seems interested in returning for a single second. England is recovering rather well from this desperate start.
4th over: England 27-2 (Bouchier 12, Knight 6) Bouchier made 22 and 12 in her first series as an opener, so she will be eager to kick things off. Meanwhile, Heather Knight gets her first limit with a sleek back cut by left arm spinner Sugandika Kumari.
3rd over: England 21-2 (Bouchier 11, Knight 1) Capsey was not happy at all leaving the field. I would need to see it again, but I feel like both were at fault.
Bouchier will feel like she has her work cut out for her anyway, and she’s off to a strong start with back-to-back bounds off Chamari Athapaththu. The first shot was lovely, a threaded drive between extra coverage and middle, and the second was an effective draw when Athapaththu failed.
2nd over: England 11-2 (Bouchier 2, Knight o) It was the last ball of the over. What’s odd is that it took quite a while for either Bouchier or Capsey to change their minds, but they both stayed on the same end and that made the exit a formality.
TICKET OFFICE! England 11-2 (Capsey missed 9)
It’s a real mess! Alice Capsey was exhausted after a desperate confusion. Maia Bouchier worked a single-to-deep midwicket, turned for a second and then changed her mind. Capsey kept running, so they both ended up on the non-attacking side. Sri Lanka had all the time in the world to pull off the run, and Capsey came away with a face like thunder.
1st over: England 8-1 (Bouchier 0, Capsey 8) Wyatt walked away in chorus and waving his bat. She is such a key player, and he’s been in pulsating form this summer, so it’s a blow for England.
New hitter Alice Capsey smashes her second pitch to the edge of coverage. He stayed in the air for a while but saved perfectly. She gets another limit on the last ball, dancing until belting a high drive down the middle. Excellent stick.
TICKET OFFICE! England 0-1 (Wyatt v Perera v Fernando 0)
An amazing start! Danni Wyatt slapped Inoshi Fernando’s first ball directly to cover him. It was a long jump, actually, and Wyatt had almost too much time. She threw everything but sent the ball badly directly to Hasini Perera.
Here are the players. It’s a sweltering evening in Derby and it’s time for England to face another spin test.
Team news
England bring in Mahika Gaur for Issy Wong, who is currently struggling. Sri Lanka remains unchanged.
England Wyatt, Bouchier, Capsey, Knight (c), Jones (week), Kemp, Gibson, Dean, Glenn, Cross, Gaur.
Sri Lanka Athapaththu (c), Sanjeewani (week), Samarawickrama, Gunaratne, Perera, de Silva, Dilhari, Ranaweera, Kumari, Prabodhani, Fernando.
Sri Lanka wins toss and bowl
It worked wonderfully in Chelmsford, so why not. Heather Knight says she would have done the same.
🏴 ViaMichelin
Sri Lanka wins toss and bowl first in decisive T20I against England in Derby! 🪙 pic.twitter.com/mZw3BYEBoS
-Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 6, 2023
Preamble
And now, something completely different: a series decider. So far this summer we’ve had three draws, two at the Ashes* and one last night at the Men’s T20. But tonight – barring a weather twist – we’ll have a real winner, and no one will find themselves metaphorically kissing their sister.
Few expected the first decisive game of the summer to take place in this series; even fewer expected Sri Lanka to wipe the ground with England as they did in Chelmsford on Saturday. Their clean-ball record against England before this match was horrendous – P26 L25 – but their eight-wicket win, inspired by the marvelous Chamari Athapaththu, bore no argument.
A similar result today would be seismic. England have not lost a T20 series against a team other than Australia since 2010, and they have never lost a white ball series against Sri Lanka. There’s a bigger picture, with two White Ball World Cups to come in the next couple of years, so England can rationalize that as an unexpected bonus: a chance to see their young players play under the unique pressure of a true series maker.
The game starts at 6 p.m.
* Yes, yes, I know there were a few mini-deciders during the Women’s Ashes, but we all see the bigger picture here at OBO Towers. Oh yeah.
theguardian
