Sophie Ecclestone claimed a maiden Test five-wicket haul but England’s understaffed bowlers toiled as Annabel Sutherland put Australia firmly on top in the multi-format Ashes series opener.
With Nat Sciver-Brunt on ice as England took precautionary measures because of the all-rounder’s jarred right knee, the rest of England’s frontline attack – led by Ecclestone – had an increased workload.
The slow left-armer sent down 46.2 overs spread across the first four-and-a-half sessions of the Test, collecting a hard-earned five for 129 as Sutherland’s 137 not out ushered Australia to a titanic 473.
Sutherland’s highest score in 33 previous internationals spread across all formats was 35 but she was dashing at Trent Bridge, capitalising on England’s aching limbs – they were kept in the field for 124.2 overs – to record the fastest Test ton by an Australian woman off only 148 balls.
She showed the enviable depth of Australia’s batting pool with the highest score by a number eight in women’s Tests and there was no keeping her out of the game as she made the breakthrough with the ball, dismissing opener Emma Lamb as England went to tea on 68 for one.
England would have been hoping to wrap up the lower order and keep Australia to under 350 on the second morning but Sciver-Brunt’s sore knee – she fielded and will be fine to bat – left the hosts a bowler light.
Sutherland, resuming on 39, took advantage with England’s seamers innocuous while she even got after the more frugal Ecclestone when the spinner was introduced after 40 minutes. Lauren Bell’s hooping inswinger bowled Alana King through the gate for 21 but it was a rare moment of relief for England.
Ireland-born Australia debutant Kim Garth proved a capable foil for the more attacking Sutherland, who went through the gears after going to a maiden international half-century, requiring only 48 more balls to bring up her second 50, doing so with a clip through mid-wicket off Lauren Filer for her 12th four.
There was an authoritative pull and a thick edge out of reach of Heather Knight in the same over off the England debutant and Sutherland continued to churn out the runs after lunch with a mighty mow over deep mid-wicket for the first six of the Test.
Either side of the maximum, Ecclestone rapped Garth on the back pad after skidding through her defences, ending a 95-run stand for the penultimate wicket which had carried Australia past 450, before taking a sharp caught and bowled off Darcie Brown for a five-for to leave Sutherland out of partners.
While Ecclestone bore the brunt of Sciver-Brunt’s absence with the ball, Kate Cross racked up 29 overs, with debutant Filer bowling 22 and Bell 20.
Sutherland’s efforts, allied to Ellyse Perry’s 99 on day one, lifted Australia to their sixth-highest Test score of all-time and left England needing a monumental effort from their batters.
Tammy Beaumont, fresh from a rollicking double century in a warm-up against Australia A last week, had a let-off on four as a diving Phoebe Litchfield could not pull off a low catch after Brown had drawn the edge.
The England opener tucked into some sumptuous drives and took advantage of a few full tosses from Australia’s bowlers to end the afternoon session on an unbeaten 41 off just 56 balls after Sutherland got Lamb to drive at a fuller delivery, with Jess Jonassen taking a low slip catch.
West Indies win fifth T20I by eight wickets to secure 4-1 series victory
The West Indies Women defeated hosts Pakistan by eight wickets in the fifth and final T20 International at the Karachi National Stadium on Friday to complete a 4-1 series victory.
Pakistan, after being put in to bat by the West Indies, had an excellent start to their innings with Ayesha Zafar and Sidra Ameen putting on 38 for the first wicket before Zafar fell in the fifth over for 22.
Ameen and Muneeba Ali then put on a further 46 before the latter fell for 25 in the 13th over.
That same over saw Pakistan reduced to 86-3 when Nida Dar fell for two.
What proceeded that can only be described as a collapse as the hosts then lost their next five wickets for just 35 runs in five overs.
They eventually ended their 20 overs 134-8. Ameen was the final person out for a top score of 48 as Afy Fletcher was excellent with the ball for the Windies with 3-17 from her four overs.
Qiana Joseph also bowled well with 2-26 from four overs.
The successful chase was then anchored by superstar batter Hayley Matthews.
The skipper faced 59 balls and hit 11 fours on her way to a top score of 78 as the West Indies needed just 18.2 overs to reach 136-2.
Shemaine Campbelle provided good support with 33.
Matthews was named player of the series thanks to her 205 runs and seven wickets.
Full scores: Pakistan 134-8 off 20 overs (Sidra Ameen 48, Muneeba Ali 25, Ayesha Zafar 22, Afy Fletcher 3-17, Qiana Joseph 2-26)
West Indies 136-2 off 18.2 overs (Hayley Matthews 78, Shemaine Campbelle 33)
IPL: Iyer and Starc boost Kolkata's top-two hopes after Mumbai win
Venkatesh Iyer starred with 70 for Kolkata Knight Riders before Mitchell Starc's four-wicket haul eased his side to a 24-run victory over Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.
The Knight Riders only managed to post 169 at Wankhede Stadium as Iyer and Manish Pandey (42) were the only Kolkata batters to pass 15 runs on Friday.
Nuwan Thushara registered figures of 3-42 and Jasprit Bumrah picked up three wickets for just 18 runs as Kolkata limped to a target that appeared somewhat reachable for Mumbai.
Yet Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Naman Dhir all failed to get going in response for the Indians before Suryakumar Yadav's 35-ball 56 promised a tense ending.
However, Andre Russell forced Suryakumar to launch a full toss into the sky for a simple Phil Salt catch – with the West Indian one of three Kolkata bowlers to collect two wickets, along with Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy (both 2-22).
Suryakumer's dismissal teed up Starc's three-wicket blitz to end the innings with 4-33, moving the Knight Riders up to second in the table as Tim David's quickfire 24 proved redundant for Mumbai.
Data Debrief: Iyer the hero as Mumbai play-off hopes stunted
Having been reduced to 57-5 in the first innings, Iyer stood up with his season-best 70 off just 52 balls – including six fours and three maximums – guiding Kolkata to a commendable target.
This defeat left Mumbai ninth in the table, some six points adrift of the play-offs with just three games remaining – they may live to rue not capitalising on a promising first-innings position.
CWI's Lead Selector Haynes confident in T20 World Cup squad- “We’ve got a team that can win this World Cup”
CWI Lead Selector, Dr. The Hon. Desmond Haynes, believes the squad that has been selected to represent the West Indies at the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup set for June 1-29 in the Caribbean and the USA can replicate the performances of the region’s title-winning squads in 2012 and 2016.
“This is a very good time in West Indies cricket. I believe that we’ve got a team that can win this World Cup and I feel damn good about this,” Haynes said in a Friday press conference announcing the squad.
“We’ve had preparations for the last year. The majority of the players, we had them involved and they were very successful. This is a very exciting time for us and I would hope that everyone in the Caribbean and all the West Indies fans support us because this is our best chance,” he added.
Also on hand at Friday’s press conference was West Indies Men’s ODI and T20I head coach Daren Sammy who also expressed confidence in the squad ahead of the tournament.
“We’ve known how to select winning teams. We’ve done it before and I think, as a selection group, we’re really excited about it,” Sammy said.
“It’s an exciting time and this preparation did not start now. It started from the last World Cup in Australia. What we’ve been able to do throughout the last year as a T20 group, the players we’ve exposed, has brought us to this moment and I think we’re about to knock it out of this world,” he added.
Two of the standout names in the 15-man squad were pacer Shamar Joseph and Shimron Hetmyer.
Joseph made his Test debut during the recent tour to Australia and became a worldwide phenomenon when he took a seven-wicket haul in the final innings despite an injured foot to give West Indies a dramatic eight-run win at the Gabba in the second Test. It was West Indies' first Test win in Australia since 1997.
This will be his first opportunity to represent the West Indies in the T20I format. He’s currently getting his first crack at franchise T20 cricket as he is a member of the Lucknow Super Giants in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
“You really can’t question Shamar Joseph’s skills. We saw him in Australia. We were looking at someone up front to bowl in the first powerplay and we think he ticks that box for us,” Haynes said.
Hetmyer is making his return to the squad after being left out for the tour of Australia. Haynes said it was a tough time deciding whether to pick Hetmyer or Kyle Mayers.
“It was a very close decision between Kyle and Hettie but we look at it from the point of view that we wanted the extra batsman to be one batting down the order,” he said.
Since the start of Daren Sammy’s tenure as head coach, he has always placed an emphasis on the importance of roles in a successful T20 outfit.
He believes that this 15-man group has covered all the necessary bases.
“We are ready. When you look at role definition from the group we’ve selected, I think we’ve come up with the best combination to help us win this World Cup.
The hosts will open their campaign against Papua New Guinea at Providence in Guyana on June 2.
Full squad: Rovman Powell (C), Alzarri Joseph (VC), Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd
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