No Nat? No problem.
In the absence of their injured skipper, England’s batting order once again flexed its muscles to blow Scotland’s bowling attack away and maintain their 100% record in their home Women’s T20 World Cup on Saturday night.
As usual captain Nat Sciver-Brunt sat out with a recurrence of a calf strain she sustained in the build-up to the tournament, Sophia Dunkley stood in with aplomb, striking a fierce 57 off 37 deliveries to set a platform before Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson powered England to 200 for five, scoring 39 and 30 respectively.
Along with their record-breaking 219 for one against Sri Lanka on the opening day of the tournament, they now become the first team to score two scores of 200 or more in a single Women’s T20 World Cup.
This was labelled as a potential ‘banana skin’ for Charlotte Edwards’ side. Scotland have plenty of talent in their side, including world-class all-rounder Kathryn Bryce, who is capable of winning a game on her own. Not only that, but they came agonisingly close to upsetting the West Indies only two nights ago, going down by seven runs in the end. So England will be pleased, not just with the victory but the dominant nature of it.
“They’re [Scotland] really consistent and stand up on the world stage, franchise cricket and everything, so definitely not a team we wanted to take lightly,” said Dunkley, having won player of the match. “Seeing their performance against the West Indies was great to watch, so we definitely were looking forward to the game. Plus, it’s a little British clash.”
There was strong Scottish support among the 11,419 fans, a record-breaking attendance for a women’s match at Headingley. There were certainly more Scotland flags than England flags waving during the national anthems. However, they flattered to deceive, letting themselves down, particularly in the field.
Scotland were poor throughout; countless boundaries were conceded through the legs of fielders, while Dunkley survived three dropped catches on her way to her half-century. Priyanaz Chatterji dropped the first Kathryn Bryce, before Katherine Fraser and Megan McColl dropped two in consecutive Kirstie Gordon deliveries.
It’s a shame because Gordon got the Scots off to a flying start. Facing off against her former side, having represented England in the 2018 edition of the tournament, she took a wicket with the very first ball of the match. To a length delivery, Amy Jones leant forward and could only prod to Megan McColl at extra cover. Headingley’s up, Gordon’s running, England fans silenced.
That brought Dunkley to the crease. She might have been expected to open having done so in every match of England’s warm-up series against New Zealand and India, so facing the second ball of the innings was nothing new. She played in her usual aggressive style, and while in recent times it hasn’t worked out, it did on this occasion.
Even when Gordon had Danni Wyatt-Hodge caught for seven with a vile dragged-down delivery, Dunkley powered on, crashing the ball to the boundary as she totalled eight fours and one six in a destructive innings.
Alice Capsey and Heather Knight added valuable contributions of 40 and 25 apiece before Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson added more than the finishing touches. Their partnership of 61 from 21 balls was astonishing to watch from start to end. The pair both struck at strike rates over 240; they took 39 runs off the last two overs to not only ruin Kirstie Gordon’s respectable figures up to that point, but also take England to their second score of 200+ is as many innings batting first. Spare a thought for the two openers as the only batters to score single figures.
Scotland knew that this was always going to be a tough task – the record chase in the tournament stands at 165 from 2009 by England – but their chase started briskly. Fraser, in particular, launched a couple of eye-catching shots for six, but once wickets started to fall, they fell in clusters. Fraser herself was first to fall, bowled by stand-in captain Charlie Dean. Darcy Carter followed when Sophie Ecclestone bowled her for her 150th T20I wicket, and when Kathryn Bryce fell to her 151st, the result, if it didn’t already, seemed inevitable. If Scotland were to stand any chance, they needed their talisman to go big, but suppose all heroes have off days.
Her sister Sarah Bryce held a brief fightback. The wicketkeeper top-scored with 34 before she perished trying to up the scoring rate – caught Gibson, bowled Linsey Smith. There were also a wicket apiece for the all-rounder duo, Kemp and Gibson, as Scotland put up an admirable effort to finish – their highest total while chasing in T20Is.
England’s attentions now turn to Wednesday against the West Indies, where a win would qualify them for the semi-finals. Sciver-Brunt is expected to be out again for the side’s trip to the Oval, and it will be seen whether she returns for their final group match against New Zealand or is saved for the knockout rounds – or if she returns at all.
In the meantime, England can be pleased that they can still churn out comprehensive victories in her absence.
