Youthful England sweep past Sri Lanka in T20 opener

ENGLAND swatted aside Sri Lanka as they overhauled a meagre total with 17 balls to spare in their opening Twenty20 match of the Commonwealth Games.
Spinner Sophie Ecclestone justified her ranking as the best T20 bowler in the world with three wickets to sap Sri Lanka’s momentum.

The visitors chalked up 106-9 and England’s pursuit was swift and sure.
Teenager Alice Capsey’s 44 off 45 balls helped reel in the target as England won by five wickets.

It was an assured opening to the tournament for an England side who were without the leadership of usual captain Heather Knight, who missed the match with a lingering hip injury.
The inclusion of 17-year-olds Capsey and Freya Kemp, together with Knight’s absence, emphasised the youth of coach Lisa Keightley’s selection.

But the new generation proved well up to the task, dominating with both bat and ball to underline their credentials as title contenders.
After Sri Lanka chose to bat, England’s fast start with the ball came from a golden oldie rather than any of the whipper-snapping prospects.

Katherine Brunt may have two decades on her youngest team-mates, but her competitive edge glinted as she tore in and trapped wide-eyed 16-year-old Sri Lanka opener Vishmi Gunaratne lbw with the very first delivery of the contest.

By the other end of the Sri Lankan innings, youth had taken the limelight.
Issy Wong, on her Warwickshire and Birmingham Phoenix home ground, delivered three overs, full of zip and malice.

The 20-year-old was rewarded with two wickets in the space of five balls. Nilakshi de Silva, who top-scored for Sri Lanka with 25, miscued high and handsome for Danni Wyatt to claim, before Anushka Sanjeewani tickled a rising delivery behind to wicketkeeper Amy Jones.

Kemp picked up another pair of wickets after a successful debut against South Africa last week, dismissing captain Chamari Athapaththu for 10 with a ball that straightened off the seam and lured Kavisha Dilhari into a rash stroke.

Ecclestone, a relative veteran at 23, polished off the tail to finish with 3-25 after taking a sharp catch off her own bowling to end Hasini Perera’s innings.

ENGLAND’S REPLY STARTED AT A CANTER
Sophie Dunkley clobbered 17 runs off 16 balls before heaving across the line to give up her wicket to Oshadi Ranasinghe. Nat Sciver, skipper in Knight’s absence, also went for 17.
But, just as in the field, youth shone brightest.

Capsey, who scored 25 in her first international innings last week, played with flair and fine judgment, until missing a glance off her pads that would have brought up the winning runs.
It did not matter. Maia Bouchier duly did the job on the next ball, driving for four.