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4 hours ago
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Key events
Sri Lanka Captain Chamari Athapaththu:
We are not playing our best cricket or doing our best. We need to play positive and fearless cricket. We lost out momentum in the powerplay, and we need to improve out batting.
Out next game is New Zealand which is a tough game and we need to execute our plans. We have to go back to the classroom and bounce back.”
Danni Wyatt-Hodge is named player of the match after her unbeaten 105 from 62 balls, she did the cradle celebration as she went to three figures, a nod to her newborn daughter Daisy.
It was great fun out there. What a crowd and really enjoyed playing in front of them here at Edgbaston. What a start.
It’s always great to get off to a good start in a World Cup. I enjoyed playing with Amy [Jones] and Nat [Sciver-Brunt] does what she does best.
We said how important it was to start well and we did that. Our bowlers did incredibly well to keep them to that total on a good pitch. Now it’s off to Southampton and hopefully we can do it against Ireland.”
My century celebration was for my daughter Daisy. I hope TV got it!”
England beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs
Sophie Ecclestone takes a wicket with the final ball of the match to bowl Sri Lanka out and cap off a resounding England win!
WICKET! Nilakshika Silva c Capsey b Ecclestone 37 (Sri Lanka 131-9)
Capsey takes the catch at long on to give Ecclestone her first wicket.
19th over: Sri Lanka 127-8 (Silva 33, Madara 7) Kemp returns for her final over but can’t get the one wicket she needs to complete a five-fer. One more to go, Sri Lanka need erm 93 runs from six balls.
18th over: Sri Lanka 125-8 (Silva 32, Madara 6) Silva lofts Linsey Smith down the ground for six, just over the head of a leaping Alice Capsey at long on. England did lose on net run rate in the last World Cup so every run does count, they would love to polish this one off and get off the park with the points and a healthy NRR in the bag.
17th over: Sri Lanka 114-8 (Silva 23, Madara 4) Lauren Bell back for her third. She tries some slower balls, some short balls and some full balls but cannot make the breakthrough. A six is required off every single ball now. I think we can call this one. I mean I’ll keep calling it but we can, collectively, call it. You do know what I mean.
16th over: Sri Lanka 110-8 (Silva 21, Madara 2) Ecclestone whirls through her third, she’s wicketless and would love to bag a couple of slices of rabbit pie but instead is gluided away behind point for four by Silva.
15th over: Sri Lanka 105-8 (Silva 16, Madara 2) Kemp goes full but it is outside off stump, a play and miss sees Amy Jones then whip off the bails but no dice, the batter’s back foot was grounded. Six off Kemp’s third over and shockingly, no wickets.
14th over: Sri Lanka 99-8 (Silva 12, Madara 1) Linsey Smith returns and rattles through her over. Right, over to you Freya Kemp, get it full and straight!
13th over: Sri Lanka 92-8 (Silva 6) What an over from Freya Kemp, she has 4-13 from her two overs and will be on a hat-trick with her next ball.
WICKET! Sugandika Kumari b Kemp 0 (Sri Lanka 92-8)
Bowled first ball and Kemp has three wickets in the over!
WICKET! Kaushini Nuthyangana b Kemp 0 (Sri Lanka 92-7)
Kemp rattles the timbers and make it two wickets in the over!
WICKET! Kavisha Dilhari c Smith b Kemp 19 (Sri Lanka 92-6)
Wyatt-Hodge drops another tough chance over her shoulder, this time she fails to get her hands properly on it. It doesn’t cost England though as Dilhari holes out next ball!
12th over: Sri Lanka 90-5 (Dilhari 17, Silva 6) Charlie Dean returns for her third over and there’s just six runs off it. The run rating edging towards 17s. I don’t want to count English chickens but it is more or less goodnight Viennetta barring something miraculous from here on out.
11th over: Sri Lanka 84-5 (Dilhari 13, Silva 4) The official crowd figure at Edgbaston for this opening game is clocked at 14,865. Decent.
Drop! Dani Gibson has her fingertips scorched with a sharp return catch from Dilhari. England’s fielding has been much sharper this evening all told. Shot! Dilhari walks down and slaps a length ball for four past long on.
10th over: Sri Lanka 75-5 (Dilhari 7, Silva 3) England squeeze through Ecclestone, the run rate is up and over fourteens, we’re halfway through the overs and wickets.
9th over: Sri Lanka 69-5 (Dilhari 1, Silva 1) Wyatt-Hodge drops a diving catch at backward point, sharp chance and a decent effort from the centurion. She still looks gutted about it though.
WICKET! Harshitha Samarawickrama b Kemp 2 (67-5)
Kemp takes the pace off and outfoxes Samarawickrama, you miss and I hit. A good comeback from Kemp who was clobbered for six into the Hollies off at the start of the over.
8th over: Sri Lanka 58-4 (Samarawickrama 21) Freya Kemps coming on for a bowl.
WICKET! Hansima Karunaratne lbw b Dean 11 (Sri Lanka 58-4)
Charlie Dean strikes with an arm ball, back leg and byesy bye.
7th over: Sri Lanka 52-3 (Samarawickrama 18, Karunaratne 8) Dani Gibson introduced. Three singles and then Karunaratne pulls a short ball for four. Amy Jones thinks she might have a strangle down the leg side next ball but there’s nothing doing. Samarawickrama collects four off the last ball with a velvet handed late cut. Shot.
6th over: Sri Lanka 39-3 (Samarawickrama 12, Karunaratne 2) Karunaratne arrives and gets off the mark with a square drive. Powerplay done and England are well on top.
WICKET! Imesha Dulani c Kemp b Smith 7 (Sri Lanka 37-3)
Sri Lanka have to give it some, Dulani sweeps powerfully and might’ve expected four but she hits it straight to Freya Kemp at square leg.
5th over: Sri Lanka 37-2 (Dulani 7, Samarawickrama 12) Here comes Ecclestone. The required run rate is already up over twelves. Shot! Samarawickrama the southpaw unfurls another beautiful cover drive.
4th over: Sri Lanka 28-2 (Dulani 4, Samarawickrama 6) Samarawickrama is the new batter and she starts off with a lovely loft off Charlie Dean that goes to the midwicket fence.
WICKET! Chamari Athapaththu c Wyatt b Dean 4 (Sri Lanka 22-2)
What a grab! It’s that woman Danni Wyatt-Hodge again who holds on to a swirling catch over her shoulder in the deep. England are ecstatic in the field!
3rd over: Sri Lanka 22-1 (Athapaththu 4, Dulani 4) Imesha Dulani in at first drop and she gets off the mark right away by climbing into a cut shot as Bell drops short. Two dots finish the over.
WICKET! Vishmi Gunaratne lbw b Bell 6 (Sri Lanka 14-1)
That is stone dead. DEAD. It’s a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! Bell pins Gunaratne bang in front but the batter still reviews despite it hitting half way up middle. Bell and England have their first.
2nd over: Sri Lanka 14-0 (Athapaththu 3, Gunaratne 6) Linsey Smith is going to bowl the second, good luck getting her tricksy spinners away. Oh. Athapaththu does exactly that with a loft down the ground but it plugs like a kettlebell into the outfield. That’s unlucky. Five off Smith’s first over.
1st over: Sri Lanka 9-0 (Athapaththu 0, Gunaratne 4) A decent first over for Sri Lanka, Gunaratne leans on a drive and gets it through the ring for four. Not middled but whatever, Sri Lanka need to get off to a flier. Amy Jones lets a bye past from a short ball and four leg byes from a misdirected final delivery make it nine off the first over.
Lauren Bell has the ball in hand, she casts a long shadow across a sun dappled Edgbaston outfield. She’s got a slip in place and England have a mighty wodge of chips to play with.
