England women v Sri Lanka women – 1st One-Day International, Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC), Colombo
One-Day International debut for Beth Langston, cap number 125
Sri Lanka women won the toss and elected to bat
Sri Lanka women – 168-7
50 overs
England women – 171-2 (Natalie Sciver 47*, Heather Knight 45*, Tammy Beaumont 41)
29.3 overs
England women won by 8 wickets
England Women made a perfect start to their tour of Sri Lanka as they cruised to an eight-wicket victory in the first ODI.
Natalie Sciver and captain Heather Knight made 47 and 45 respectively as the tourists comfortably chased down 169 to win the first of four matches.
The pair, who put on 82, were afforded a solid foundation thanks to Lauren Winfield and Tammy Beaumont’s opening stand of 77.
The victory, which did not count towards qualification for the ICC Women’s World Cup, will give England confidence they can book their place by winning one of the three remaining games.
Knight contributed in all departments of the game as Sri Lanka tossed away a bright start with the bat.
The England captain ended a 50-run opening stand when she dismissed Hasini Perera, caught by Winfield off a leading edge.
Fellow slow bowlers Danielle Hazell and Alex Hartley struck in similar fashion when top-edged sweep shots looped into Amy Jones’ gloves.
Beth Langston marked her debut with a wicket, her moment coming in her eighth over with Knight taking a good catch to dismiss Chamari Atapattu for 24.
Langston’s housemate Katherine Brunt took two wickets in an over courtesy of two fine catches from Knight and Sciver
Knight and Jones combined to take a wicket with the final ball of the innings, Hansima Karunaratne stumped as Sri Lanka closed on 168 for seven.
Report courtesy of the ECB
