The game confounded the BBC forecast which saw rain coming in big splashes.
The result was similar to Monday’s, underlining the problems the visitors have with their batting.
For a bear of little brain it was hard to understand why Lisa Keightley picked the same XI. The only practical difference was that Mady Villiers was given a bowl. She took her chance extremely well. So the plan must be to introduce the other five in the squad, Freya Davies, Kate Cross, Katie George, Lauren Winfield-Hill and Sophia Dunkley at some later stage. A T20 match passes in the blink of an eye, and a player’s fortunes can rest on a fluky moment.
Stafanie Taylor won the toss and chose to field. Spies whispered it was to avoid fielding as the late Derby evening turned arctic.
England’s batters still have some way to go if they want to match the Australians in the opening phase. There was a lack of total command over the situation, some false shots, poor calls and, luckily for them, three dropped catches in the powerplay. Tammy Beaumont is one who has added to her repertoire of strokes, but the scoring-rate of some of the top six still needs a boost. Placement is a high skill; so many good-looking shots went straight to fielders.
It was left to Sarah Glenn at No 8 to make the highest score (26), and only two others topped 20, Beaumont (21) and Amy Jones (25). Nat Sciver, Heather Knight and Fran Wilson registered the slowest run-rates of the front-line batters, and you have to wonder whether Wilson is the answer at No 6, where the ability to hit the ball out of the ground becomes urgent. The tail-enders did their stuff well. Glenn and Katherine Brunt added 46 in five overs for the seventh wicket, and therein lies the huge contrast between the two sides Taylor bowled beautifully, taking 2-12 in her four overs.
Second Innings
Everyone knows that Taylor, Dottin and Matthews are fine batters, but the drop-away once they are dismissed is extreme. Matthews went early just after ricking her back, then the other two set about their business. They added 61 in nine overs, but even there they succumbed to a lot of dot balls.
Brunt offered another Scrooge-like performance with the ball (3-0-8-1), and the young spin trio backed her up splendidly, each taking a couple of wickets and causing the batters to select their shots unwisely. Glenn can take pride in dismissing both Dottin and Taylor.
To show the state of Caribbean batting at the moment – they lost seven wickets for 24 runs and took six overs to score them.
Jones again showed outstanding skills, taking two demanding stumpings and acting as a constant threat to batters with unreliable balance. But she did drop a skier
The English outfielding reached the same high standard as on Monday. Just a handful of blemishes spoilt the overall picture.
Result:
England 151-8
West Indies 104-8
England won by 47 runs
Player of the Match – Sarah Glenn
The third match is due on 26 September, weather permitting.
