International Women’s T20 Three Team Challenge: at Ash-Shariqah (Sharjah), UAE; November 5th
England’s Sophie Ecclestone took four wickets, to boost her side’s chances of reaching Monday’s IT20 Challenge final in the United Arab Emirates. As heard on Sports Extra Radio, England’s Sophie Ecclestone made what sporting pundits described as a ‘devastating performance’ of left-arm spin. As World’s number-one IT20 bowler, Ecclestone was hit for ‘six’ during the powerplay, before she skittled four wickets from her 3.1 overs – conceding only nine runs – including a rare wicket-maiden.
*Before the match, player-turned-commentator Alex Hartley revealed her relief to see Sophie Ecclestone ‘wearing a new pair of green boots.’ Earlier, Hartley witnessed Ecclestone’s dismay at ‘discovering (upon arrival at the venue) she’d two left feet inside her bag.’
*During the interval Ecclestone told interviewers that the ‘IPL girls were nice and welcoming’ and predicted just ‘eight overs’ would secure a win for ‘Trailblazers’ (skippered by India’s current captain Smriti Mandhana) over ‘Velocity’ (skippered by India’s ex-captain Mithali Raj.)
*For ‘Velocity,’ who were all-out for 47, only New Zealand’s Leigh Kasperek (11*) offered any spirited resistance. Kasperek later found success during the powerplay, when Mandhana (6) – was caught in the deep by Bangladesh’s Jahanara Alam, with ‘Trailblazers’ on 12-1.
*‘Trailblazers’ won the match by a wide margin inside 8 overs (as Ecclestone had predicted), with one ball to spare – seen across the finishing line by a wide margin: by both West Indies’ star Deandre Dottin (29* off 28 balls) and India’s Richa Ghosh (13* off 10 balls.)
Result: ‘Trailblazers’ (48-1) beat ‘Velocity’ (47) by 9 wickets
‘Velocity’ 47 (15.1 overs); Verma 13; Kasperek 11* Ecclestone 4-9, Goswami 2-13; ‘Trailblazers’ 48-1 (7.5 overs); Dottin 29*, Ghosh 13*
Standings: (1) Trailblazers 1 won; (2) Velocity 1 won, 1 lost; (3) Supernova, 1 lost.
Next match: Trailblazers v Supernova on Saturday Nov 7th, with the final broadcast on ‘Five Live SX’ on Mon 9th (13:55GMT)
Photo above shows Ecclestone on England duty
