Player of the match Alice Capsey was not surprised by the impact of England debutant Mahika Gaur after the teenage pair helped secure victory in a rain-affected T20 opener against Sri Lanka at Hove.
The hosts clinched a 1-0 lead in the three-match series thanks to a 12-run success on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
Capsey, 19, hit a blistering half-century to help England post 186 for four in a innings reduced to 17 overs due to a delayed start.
Sri Lanka had reached 23-0 from 3.1 overs in reply when play was halted for almost 45 minutes by a further downpour, before being set a revised target of 68 from six overs – 45 more from 17 balls.
Fast bowler Gaur then marked her maiden cap by claiming the wicket of opposition skipper Chamari Athapaththu, who was caught by Amy Jones, to help England over the line.
“We’ve all got along with her really well,” Capsey said of 17-year-old Gaur.
“She’s fitted in perfectly, she’s just a really good human. She’s just someone who doesn’t take too much fuss.
“She gets on with it, she works really hard and I’m not surprised how well she went out there and bowled today.
“It was probably a different role to what she was expecting, having to go to her death overs pretty quickly, but she took that role on really well and it shows her character.”
Capsey smashed 51 off just 27 balls, including five fours and three sixes, to equal her highest T20I score.
England had raced out of the blocks and were 50 without loss at the end of four overs after the start of the match was pushed back by an hour because of wet weather.
Danni Wyatt contributed 48, while fellow opener Maia Bouchier made 22, captain Heather Knight chipped in with 23 and Freya Kemp added 20.
Capsey admits England’s players were becoming “a bit itchy” as the prospect of a washout became a genuine threat.
“I don’t think I was thinking too much about my 50, I was thinking more about getting the win,” she said.
“We did the first half of the job really well. I thought Danni Wyatt at the top of the order did brilliantly and then cameos from Heather and Freya, who just kept the momentum going and really finished the game off well for us.
“We knew it was only half the job done. It was a bit frustrating coming off after 3.1 overs and we knew there was a cut off time so I think everyone was getting a bit itchy to get back out there.
“It was nice we were able to. We were put under pressure, which is what we wanted, and it was really nice to see how the team came back from that – it was a really good performance for us.”
The sides will meet again on Saturday afternoon at Chelmsford ahead of a finishing the series on Wednesday at Derby.
Inglis hails 'hard to stop' Stoinis after ruthless knock
Josh Inglis lauded "hard to stop" Marcus Stoinis as Australia signed off their T20I series against Pakistan in style, claiming a whitewash.
The hosts raced to a seven-wicket victory with almost nine overs remaining in Monday's third match.
After Australia's bowlers had limited Pakistan to just 117 runs, Stoinis ensured they signed off their final white-ball assignment in style, with his unbeaten 61 doing the damage.
Only twice has he bettered that knock in T20Is – versus New Zealand in 2021 (78) and against Oman at the World Cup earlier this year (67*).
"It's been a great week. We've had a lot of fun as a group," Inglis said. "It's been really nice.
"When Stoinis is going like that, he is really hard to stop. One of those sixes was probably the biggest I've ever seen!"
Stoinis, who was named player of the match, added: "Nice to score some runs on a beautiful wicket but credit to the bowlers who kept the total down.
"Yeah, I actually told [Haris] Rauf that this is the first time any of us got the better of him! No, he's a brilliant bowler, bowled well this series."
During their white-ball tour, Pakistan won the ODI series, their first time doing so in Australia in 22 years, but got whitewashed in the T20Is.
Despite the heavy loss, captain Agha Salman chose to focus on the positive effect the experience will have on their young players.
"I think in the middle overs, we didn't capitalise on the start," he said. "But lots of positives.
"The way Usman [Khan] batted, the way Jahandad [Khan] bowled. These youngsters will come good.
"It's obviously a big achievement winning the ODI series, but we could have done much better in the T20Is."
Salt century gives England winning start to West Indies T20 series
Phil Salt hit a superb century as England drew first blood in their T20 series against West Indies, with a commanding eight-wicket victory at the Kensington Oval.
Salt's unbeaten 103 off 54 balls was the highlight for the tourists, who successfully chased down their target of 183 with 19 balls to spare.
The West Indies endured a difficult start and were reduced to 18-3 and later 117-8, with Saqib Mahmood (4-34) and Adil Rashid (3-32) doing the damage.
However, the hosts managed 65 runs in the last 5.2 overs to finish at 182-8, with Gukadesh Motie knocking 33 off 14 balls along the way.
Salt kick-started England's chase with 50 off just 25 deliveries taking them to 73-1 after six overs, with Will Jacks (17) dismissed with the final ball of the powerplay.
Jos Buttler's first match after four months out lasted just three minutes, as the skipper was caught by Motie for a golden duck.
However, it proved a false dawn for West Indies, with Salt and Jacob Bethall (58 from 36 balls) safely steering England to victory.
Data Debrief: Salt completes hat-trick of hundreds as Bethell makes historic half-century
England put their disappointing ODI series behind them, making history with the highest T20 chase at the Kensington Oval.
Salt was the hero with his third T20I century, all of which have come against West Indies in the past 12 months.
Bethell also made history on Saturday. Aged 21 years and 17 days, he become the youngest England player to score a 50 in a T20I.
Asalanka leads Sri Lanka to ODI series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.
The hosts successfully chased down their opponents' total of 189, giving them an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka controlled the early powerplay - Asitha Fernando (3-35) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25) took two wickets apiece to leave the tourists at 31-4 in the ninth over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) then claimed three of his four wickets as Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were all dismissed in the space of 14 balls.
However, Sherfane Rutherford (80 off 82 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) steadied the ship to take the Windies from 58-8 to 189.
Although Joseph claimed Avishka Fernando (9) in the fourth over, Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both chipped in with contributions of 38 to get the hosts to 112-4.
Skipper Charith Asalanka (62 not out) led the charge thereon, while Kamindu Mendis (11) comfortably got them over the line with 34 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Rutherford-Motie historic stand proves academic for tourists
West Indies were looking to level the series, but their hopes were not aided by Sri Lanka's impressive bowling.
Rutherford and Motie did their best. Their partnership brought 119 runs, which is their nation's highest ninth-wicket stand in ODI history, breaking the previous record of 85 between Yannic Cariah and Alzarri Joseph.
However, it ultimately proved in vain as the hosts secured the series with a game to spare.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
