England v West Indies – First T20
Canterbury
The first England game of the summer and a new regime in charge. We waited to see how big an effect this would have on players who had massively underachieved in Australia.
Against a West Indian side still far too dependent on one player, it proved an easy ride. Even though Nat Sciver-Brunt made 0 off two balls, her team cruised home, with a new-look Sophia Dunkley proving her selection totally justified with 81* off 56 balls.
The worry is that the whole series may go the same way, unless the West Indies’ management can instil enough confidence and technique in their players to even up the odds.
Hayley Matthews confirmed her outstanding pedigree with a magnificent 100*, batting right through, as the wickets tumbled at the other end. That has been her experience for quite a while. In the continued absence of Stefanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin, she stands alone.
The opening phases
Lauren Bell made an inauspicious start, going for nine off her first over, but she recovered well to take two wickets in her second over and complete a maiden.
Linsey Smith did her controlling job as expected, finishing with 1-19 off her four overs. She went for one 6 off Matthews, but that was the only maximum England conceded. Charlie Dean couldn’t match her for accuracy, but by the end of the Powerplay, the West Indies had reached only 37-2, and Matthews was responsible for most of those. How soon could England fiddle her out? The answer was, they couldn’t. But they were able to keep her off strike for chunks of the innings, and that gave Em Arlott the pleasure of taking a debut wicket, having Aaliyah Alleyne caught by NSB (her second), while standing in the deep.
Issy Wong too bowled some sprightly deliveries and took a wicket, but she was a debatable choice: one bowler who didn’t have the figures to justify her selection.
The question is whether Charlotte Edwards will be looking for more accuracy from her bowlers, knowing the Indians are on their way. NSB gave Linsey Smith the tough overs – early and late – and she was her usual stingy self. It was typical of cricket that her only wicket came from a quite brilliant catch by Bell at fine-leg. She threw herself to her left to cling on to a thunderbolt from the keeper, Mandy Mangru.
The innings melted away, with Matthews just able to reach three figures in the last over from a scrambled single and an off-line throw. An imperious innings of the highest quality, but one rose cannot make a summer. Apart from her only Shabika Gajnabi and Mandy Mangru reached double figures. Realeanna Grimmond, on debut, gave her wicket away by wandering out of her crease and allowing Amy Jones to remove a bail in a cruel form of execution.
After the break
Danni Wyatt-Hodge flattered to deceive, as so often. She played some wondrous strokes, but, in an effort to send another ball over the extra-cover boundary, she stepped away to leg to see the ball deflect off a pad on to the stumps.
Nat Sciver-Brunt’s stay at the crease was an even shorter. She tried to sweep her second ball and was dumbfounded to be given out on review, caught behind.
Sophia Dunkley had obviously been working hard on her technique. Altering her grip a touch opened up new areas for her to attack, and this increased her confidence. She hit Jannillea Glasgow’s first over for three consecutive fours, and she added nine more in compiling a ruthless 81* off a mere 56 deliveries to scotch any doubt about her right to be present. Heather Knight played as if delighted to be shot of the captaincy. She placed the ball unerringly into gaps that Matthews simply couldn’t fill. She scored 43*, adding 94 with Dunkley in ten overs. The bowlers didn’t know where to aim the next ball. Proceedings came to a predictably early close.
The large crowd could sit back and enjoy the display, though the weather chose this evening to cool off markedly.
Scores:
West Indies 146-7
England 150-2 (16.3 overs)
England won by 8 wickets
Player of the Match: Hayley Matthews
Teams
England: 1 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 2 Sophia Dunkley, 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt (captain), 4 Heather Knight, 5 Amy Jones (w-k), 6 Alice Capsey, 7 *Emily Arlott, 8 Issy Wong, 9 Charlie Dean, 10 Linsey Smith, 11 Lauren Bell
West Indies: 1 Hayley Matthews (captain), 2 Qiana Joseph, 3 Zaida James, 4 *Realeanna Grimmond, 5 Shabika Gajnabi, 6 Aaliyah Alleyne, 7 Jannillea Glasgow, 8 Mandy Mangru (w-k), 9 Cherry-Anne Fraser, 10 Afy Fletcher, 11 Karishma Ramharack
*uncapped
Afterthoughts
The match marked a new beginning for England. The previous day Charlotte Edwards said “Get fit!” She was all too aware of public feeling about performances during the Ashes tour, and had to sort out the best method of answering them.
There had been no precise standards set, so she was treading a sensible course.
Crickether had revealed (https://crickether.com/2025/05/18/the-crickether-weekly-episode-269-nsb-presser-england-squad-west-indies-predictions/) how uncomfortable NSB was at her first press conference. This bears out her reluctance to be considered as a future captain on a previous occasion. With Amy Jones reacting in a similar way, the cupboard looked bare. If Charlie Dean is to be next in line, she must prove she is the first choice finger spinner (in the absence of Sophie Ecclestone). At the moment she can’t.
The West Indies changes
The official statement went: “There are two changes to the squad who contested the World Cup Qualifiers, with 20-year-old Guyanese all rounder Realeanna Grimmond and Kittitian fast bowler Jahzara Claxton replacing Jamaicans wicketkeeper/batter Rashada Williams and all-rounder Chinelle Henry, respectively.”
Sadly, the management must go on working on the players they have at their disposal.
