Amy Jones has been impressed with how easily England newcomers Mahika Gaur and Lauren Filer have hit the ground running.
On their ODI debuts, Gaur and Filer took three wickets apiece as a youthful England side rebounded from their shock T20 series defeat to Sri Lanka by thrashing the tourists at Chester-le-Street on Saturday.
The pair have been given a chance to shine in the absence of several regulars, with captain Heather Knight and head coach Jon Lewis eager to stress test those further down the pecking order.
“When you are given opportunities like this, it can put a bit of extra pressure on you,” Jones said. “Especially as a young player thinking ‘when other people come back am I still going to have a place?’
“It can be very easy to put a lot of pressure on yourself so it’s been so pleasing how they don’t seem to be feeling the pressure.
“Whether they are or not, they seem like they’re enjoying it and it’s reflected in their performances which is great. With a younger team on the whole, it’s great to give them opportunity.”
Gaur, who made her England debut in the T20 series having switched allegiance from the United Arab Emirates, set the hosts on the path to victory by castling Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu.
The 17-year-old left-armer, standing at 6ft 3in, exploited some early movement to also bowl fellow opener Anushka Sanjeewani before claiming the final wicket as Sri Lanka were all out for 106.
Filer, whose pace unsettled Australia batters in the Ashes Test, ripped through the middle order. Jones took three of her five catches off the 22-year-old quick – a record by an England wicketkeeper in a women’s ODI.
“I thought they were great,” Jones said of the duo. “Until this series, I’ve never faced Mahika or kept to her, it feels like she’s shot up out of nowhere. I’ve been so impressed with her, as has everybody.
“(She offers) something different with being a left-armer and her height. She swings the ball and she’s really consistent for a young player. I’m really excited to see where she can get to in her career.
“With a bowler like Lauren, you’re getting a catch every ball. I’m really enjoying keeping to her and I was impressed with her again. She’s got something that not many people have in the pace that she has.
“She’s definitely an impact player and how Heather used her in the Test match and even in the ODI was exactly how we want to use her – come on for shortish spells and just give it her all for a bit and make something happen.”
England wrapped up a seven-wicket win with 32 overs to spare in the north-east and they can move into an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series at Northampton’s Wantage Road on Tuesday.
Jones was pleased with the response after the 2-1 loss in the T20s, where Sri Lanka became the first side other than Australia to administer a bilateral series defeat on England in the format since 2010.
“As a group, we were really disappointed with how the T20s went,” Jones added. “Going into any series, when you go in as favourites especially, you want to get the job done and convincingly.
“To lose those two games was definitely disappointing. But a big (conversation) was around how two bad days doesn’t make you a bad team and knowing how quickly cricket can change.
“The general feeling was just staying positive. There was a big ask for energy. There was a focus from Lewy (Jon Lewis) on making sure in the field we’re fizzing the ball back to me. That really helped us focus.”
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.
'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."
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