England, South Africa inaugurate St. Lucia action with wins

In the second game at the Daren Sammy Stadium, South Africa came away with a seven-wicket win in their first match of the competition, with their pace bowlers taking seven wickets between them. It was also Sri Lanka’s first game in the tournament, having seen their last game against England abandoned due to rain.

England v Bangladesh:

After being bowled out for 46 In their opening game against the Windies, Bangladesh did only a little better, managing 76 for nine in their twenty overs against England. There were four ducks in their innings, which was propped up by some big-hitting from opener Ayesha Rahman, who scored 39.

England played three left-arm spinners and three debutants; Kirstie Gordon was both, and she took three wickets, including that of Ayesha. Gordon has also previously played for Scotland.

England stuttered in reply, losing their openers in the first three overs, both to Salma Khatun;s straighter balls. Amy Jones rode her luck as she was dropped on 14, going on to top score with an unbeaten 28. Rain arrived in the ninth over, shaving England’s target down to 64 off 16, and they knocked off the runs quickly after the interruption.  

Kirstie Gordon, who was later declared player of the match, said: “I didn't know if I was going to make my debut tonight. Nobody knew if we were going to get a game in. It's really special to make my debut and to pick up some wickets as well.”

Bangladesh Captain Salma Khatun said: “A first ball wicket felt really good. I think if it led to two or three wicket wickets more, the match would have been much closer. Especially if we took that catch, and there was a close stumping, it could have been close.”

 South Africa v Sri Lanka:

South Africa’s seamers harried the Sri Lanka batters with pace and movement, but also conceded 19 wides as they restricted them to 99 for 8 in their 20 overs. Shabnim Ismail bowled a 124 kmph delivery on the way to a three wicket haul, as all six South African bowlers got wickets to keep Sri Lanka under a hundred.

Dane van Neikerk and Marizanne Kapp took a wicket apiece, and with those, they joined a select group of players with more than 1000 runs and 50 T20I wickets. The two also shared a 67-run partnership for the third wicket to help South Africa get home in the 19th over.

Player of the Match, South Africa’s Shabnim Ismail, said:  “Yeah, I always say myself and Marizanne Kapp go hand in hand with the bowling. I told everyone in the world that we're the best opening bowling combination, and we complement each other very well. And the way we performed today just displayed our talents out there today”

“We always speak about the extras in T20, especially, I mean, it's only 120 balls that we have. I think it was 25 extras, but we're definitely going to work on that.”

Scores in brief:

England defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet, St. Lucia (DLS Method)

Bangladesh: 76-9, 20 overs (Ayesha Rahman 39; Kirstie Gordon 3-16)
England: 64-3, 9.3 overs (target revised to 64 off 16 overs),  (Amy Jones 28, Natalie Sciver 23; Salma Khatun 2-17)

Player of the Match: Kirstie Gordon

South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground

Sri Lanka: 99 -8, 20 overs (Sahshikala Siriwardene 21, Dilani Manodara 20; Shabnim Ismail 3-10)
South Africa: 102-3, 18.3 overs (Marizanne Kapp 38, Dane van Neikerk 33 not out)

Player of the match:  Shabnim Ismail

Tuesday’s fixtures:

Ireland v Pakistan, Georgetown (Group B)
Australia v New Zealand, Georgetown (Group B)

Image: ICC website