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.
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.
'I was a tired, grumpy old man' - Stokes apologised to England team-mates after Pakistan defeat
Ben Stokes says he apologised to his England team-mates after his frustrations were evident during the second-Test defeat by Pakistan.
The hosts levelled the three-Test series on Thursday after wrapping up a 152-run win in Multan.
However, it could have been a different story but for fielding errors at crucial stages for the visitors, Jamie Smith and Joe Root notably dropping catches to dismiss Salman Agha, whose subsequent knock of 63 helped Pakistan seal victory with a day to spare.
Stokes, who returned to action following a hamstring injury, could not hide his frustration during a difficult day for England, but insisted he would not let his emotions get the better of him again.
"No one means to drop catches, but it just proves how important catches are in these subcontinent conditions, they don't come along that often," he told Sky Sports.
"I actually apologised to the group last night. It's the first time in my captaincy that I've let my emotions and how I was feeling with the way the game was unfolding show in my body language.
"I owned up to that and was very annoyed at myself for letting that out. It's something that I don't want to do or be seen to be doing, so I apologised to the group about that.
"Poor old me, I was a tired, grumpy old man last night! You won't see that happen again."
However, England coach Brendon McCullum defended the actions of his skipper.
"We all know how passionate Ben is, how much it means for him to play for England," he said.
"We've seen that through his bloody-mindedness to get back from injury, which was significant, and to do so in a nine-week timeframe and to have his first TM [Test match] in extreme conditions, 40 degrees, and be able to give what he gave to the side.
"I think, maybe, that's where some of that frustration led to - certainly, it wasn't directed at any of the players. It was more about trying to assess the rhythm of the game, and to impact on it."
Sri Lanka breeze to series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka cruised to a nine-wicket victory over West Indies to seal a T20I series triumph.
With the series delicately poised at 1-1 heading into the final match on Thursday, Sri Lanka started with intent in Dambulla.
Maheesh Theekshana (2-19) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2-24) led the charge as Sri Lanka skittled through the Windies' top order.
Rovman Powell's stubborn 37 and a contribution of 32 from Gudakesh Motie steered West Indies to a reasonable total of 162-8, but it was one well within reach of Sri Lanka.
Pathum Nissanka clipped seven fours and one six in a 22-ball 37 to get Sri Lanka's chase rolling at pace, before he was bowled by Gudakesh Mottie (1-31).
Yet the damage was mostly done, with Kusal Mendis powering his way to an unbeaten 68 and Kusal Perera plundering 55 from 36 balls to get the job done with the minimum of fuss.
Data Debrief: Perera closing in on Sri Lanka record
Perera is now just nine runs away from surpassing Tillakaratne Dilshan (1,889) as the leading scorer in Sri Lanka's T20I history.
His efforts, combined with those of Nissanka and Mendis, saw Sri Lanka win for a fourth time in their last six T20Is at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, although this is the first time they have won at the venue in that run when batting second.
The Windies' miserable record in Asia has continued, meanwhile. They have won only one of their last 11 T20Is in Asia (L10), with that victory coming in the first match of this series. They have now lost 33 T20Is on the continent in total, with only Ireland (35) having lost more.
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