This served as a wake-up call for England, and they will want assistance if they are to defeat India in the second of five Twenty20 Internationals, as captain Nat Sciver-Brunt hopes.
In the first game of the series at Trent Bridge, Sciver-Brunt played a lone hand with the bat, hitting 66 while wickets fell all around her and England was bowled out for a pitiful 113 chasing 211.
Sciver-Brunt scored 37 of England’s third-wicket partnership of 49, while Tammy Beaumont scored 10. The only player to achieve double figures was Em Arlott, at number 7.
That came after India’s interim skipper, Smriti Mandhana, destroyed the home bowling attack with her first-ever T20I century of 112 in 62 balls. Harleen Deol’s 43 off 23 and their 94-run partnership for the second wicket after a 77-run opening partnership with Shafali Verma provided her with strong assistance.
“When a team scores 200, you’ve got to have some really good partnerships in there when you’re batting and we lost wickets early, so it made it very difficult for us,” Sciver-Brunt stated.
“They are undoubtedly a top-tier team with some incredible hitters who can punish you if you give them the chance. We’ll be looking to correct a few things and perhaps just tighten up our lines a bit because we definitely didn’t do ourselves justice in the first innings.
“I think the plans were right, but we probably just didn’t execute so we will review honestly and make sure that we’re confident going into that second game.”
Sciver-Brunt scored fifty-three runs against the West Indies, who had lost all six of their games in the T20I and ODI series that came before this one
. Arlott’s 3 for 14 dominated the visiting lineup, overshadowing her effort. She scored 55 not out in the second Twenty20 match, where England knocked down a meagre total of 82 for the loss of just one wicket.
She scored 57 not out in the final match at Taunton with Beaumont rested and Jones dropped down the order to give someone else a chance after another 200-plus partnership at the top in Leicester. In the ODIs, she managed 52 in Derby, a match that was dominated by a 222-run opening stand between Beaumont and Amy Jones.
India was viewed by England as a more formidable foe. It is obvious that they, or those around them, need to do more given how difficult their first loss as captain and head coach was—a 97-run loss that was their worst in Twenty20 cricket.
“One person can’t win a game, so it is all about partnerships with the bat and showing our physicality as well, making sure that we’re coming back for twos and keeping that energy high,” Sciver-Brunt stated.
We probably approach things the best that way. I believe that everyone wanted to achieve it; we simply didn’t use the bat to execute it. You need someone to go big while you’re chasing that, but you also need some other people to help out.
“Everyone is making an effort. You cannot accuse someone of not trying or something similar. Naturally, forming a relationship with someone and playing the game together would be fantastic.
Given that England’s fitness was criticised following the T20 World Cup and the Ashes, the term “physicality” may seem like a euphemism. Following encouraging indicators against the West Indies, England’s fielding problems, which also fell under that category during their failures, plagued them in this encounter as well.
Shafali was given a single by Sophie Ecclestone’s misfield off the opening ball of the game, which was a full toss from Lauren Bell. Mandhana then punished the next overpitched delivery for four.
The ball fell safely behind Alice Capsey at midwicket in the following over as she lost sight of it while sprinting beneath Mandhana’s top-edged pluck.
As a result of their punishment, England’s spinners let up 105 runs in eight overs. After missing both West Indies series to play local cricket while recovering from a minor knee injury, Ecclestone was given a chastening return to action. She subsequently took a brief hiatus from playing cricket, citing the necessity to manage her health.
In the final over of the innings, she was able to remove Mandhana, who selected Sciver-Brunt, although she let up 19 runs in her opening over, 12 in her second, and 12 in her third.
When asked what she said to Ecclestone following that first over, Sciver-Brunt’s answer indicated that she had used a humorous “welcome back” to try to keep the atmosphere light.
“She’s been away, but she’s really glad to be back and we’re glad to have her as well,” said Sciver-Brunt. “We don’t dismiss someone who hits 19 in their opening over, particularly if their name is Sophie Ecclestone. Later in the innings, she had a significant impact.
As she heals from a chronic Achilles ailment, Sciver-Brunt stated she will only play as a batter during this series and the three ODIs against India to follow.
By bowling at some point during the Hundred, she aims to gradually return to her customary all-rounder role by the time the 50-over World Cup begins in late September. She will play for the Trent Rockets there, but in order to manage her workload, she will not be captaining them this season.
“This week I did turn my arm over for 24 balls, but I think the process of me coming back to bowling will take a little bit longer than usual,” she stated.
“I wanted a chance in the summer to play a bit of cricket and not have to think too much about the game so you get that little mental space as well, so I’m really looking forward to that,” she said on her absence from the Rockets.
Sciver-Brunt’s England teammates are in the greatest position to ease her workload in Bristol on Tuesday.
India
