Danni Wyatt continued her excellent 20-over form, scoring a quickfire 81 from 55 balls as England beat the West Indies by 42 runs in the second Vitality IT20 in Northampton, taking their winning run to 14 matches.
Wyatt averages over 50 in the format in 2019 and got England off to a good start with fellow opener Amy Jones, putting on 67 for the first wicket before Jones was bowled by Chinelle Henry for 37.
Tammy Beaumont was neatly caught and bowled by Afy Fletcher for two, which brought Nat Sciver to the crease. Sciver bludgeoned four fours in her 19-ball score of 31 but was bowled round her legs by Hayley Matthews.
Wyatt, meanwhile, was speeding along herself, reaching her 50 off just 38 balls and she didn’t slow down after reaching the milestone. She hit nine fours in the innings, the last of which being a loft over mid-on the ball before she found the safe hands of Matthews at point. Her knock of 81 was her highest IT20 score on home soil.
A couple of late run-outs saw England finish on 180/6, which proved to be more than enough.
Left-arm spinner Linsey Smith dismissed Matthews with the fifth ball of the first over of the reply, before Anya Shrubsole trapped Britney Cooper in front with the final ball of the second over to leave the visitors 19 for two.
West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor became the latest victim of some sharp Sarah Taylor handywork while attempting to run an overthrow. The throw from Katherine Brunt at deep cover saw Taylor gather the ball at full stretch and sweep her hands back to remove the bails.
Stacy-Ann King and Chedean Nation staged a power-hitting comeback but both were removed in the same over from Smith, setting the run chase back and ultimately taking the game out of reach of the visitors.
Brunt picked up two wickets in the 16th over – both bowled, while Taylor smartly stumped Henry off Sciver in the 18th. And a wicket for Sophie Ecclestone in the 19th left the West Indies on 138 for nine from their 20 overs.
England’s final match of the Vitality IT20 series takes place at the County Ground in Derby on Tuesday.
Danni Wyatt: “It was great to get back out there in a T20. I enjoyed myself and it was nice to get some runs.
“We thought we had a decent score at the break but Windies pushed us hard and made us work for the win, which was a really good test for us.
“With the bat we ran hard and accelerated well towards the end. I think the bowlers did well. There were a few pressure overs that became quite important when the Windies were going big and they delivered to keep us ahead of the game.
“I think there are probably a few things to work on but it’s good to get another win and keep the run going. We just want to keep trying to deliver our best every game and push ourselves to improve all the time. Hopefully we can make it 15 wins at Derby on Tuesday.”
Courtesy of the ECB
