England pulled off a statement run chase against India on Tuesday evening at Taunton, reaching their target of 181 with nine balls to spare thanks to a brilliant 137-run partnership from 76 balls between Alice Capsey and Heather Knight.
This was England’s highest successful T20 international run-chase in eight years and it could not have been more perfectly timed, providing the perfect confidence boost 10 days out from their World Cup opener against Sri Lanka on 12 June.
Charlotte Edwards, the head coach, said: “As games go, I don’t think it could have gone any more perfectly for us. We had to chase a big total playing against one of the best teams in the world, and we did it convincingly.”
Conscious that all five of their World Cup group-stage games are scheduled for the evening, England had chosen to bowl first to get in some valuable practice batting under lights. The hosts, though, began their chase by sinking to 38 for three in the opening six overs, culminating in the horribly familiar sight of Amy Jones biffing it straight to midwicket.
But Capsey and Knight soaked up the pressure, to the delight of the 6,000-strong crowd. Capsey middled it gloriously, muscling boundaries down the ground en route to 82 from 43 balls, her highest international score. “I couldn’t be prouder,” Edwards said. “It’s been lovely to watch her develop over this winter. She’s worked so, so hard and now she’s bearing the fruits of that.”
Meanwhile Knight – her senior by a mere 14 years – favoured nifty sweeps, responding to recent criticism of her slow strike rate by scoring a 31-ball half-century, her quickest ever in internationals. “The more people were writing her off, the more I knew she was going to put in a performance like this,” Edwards said.
It leaves England with something of a selection dilemma, given that Edwards confirmed on Tuesday that the captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, will be fit to return for the World Cup opener, albeit as a pure batter. “They’re good headaches to have,” Edwards said.
Earlier, India’s captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, struck an unbeaten 56, sharing partnerships of 40 from 26 balls with Jemimah Rodrigues and 67 from 48 balls with Deepti Sharma.
Lauren Bell’s slower ball again proved a potent weapon, sneaking past the bat of Rodrigues before causing Deepti to miscue a catch to Charlie Dean at mid-off in the penultimate over of India’s innings. Under pressure, England’s fielding generally held up well – the highlight being a superb direct hit from Sophie Ecclestone at extra cover to run out Yastika Bhatia, just as India’s No 3 looked set for a big score.
But Ecclestone was also left red-faced when she fumbled an easy opportunity to run out Richa Ghosh off the final ball of the innings, underarming it wide and allowing through an overthrow, despite being only a metre in front of the stumps.
Bhatia, fresh from being retired out in the last match, looked determined to avoid a repeat, finding the gaps to reach the boundary from her third and fourth balls on her way to 32 from 18 deliveries. But she also took a tumble at the crease trying to sweep Linsey Smith and the unhurried running which led to her demise in the following over might suggest a deeper underlying issue. It is not so very long since her ACL surgery.
Thunderstorms had threatened to ruin the decider but fortunately the weather played ball, enabling a proper conclusion to this enthralling series. England now disperse for a few days before coming back together again in Cardiff next weekend for two official warm-ups, the first against Australia. The sun may have shone at Taunton, but their biggest summer has barely begun.
