First women's one-day international, Colombo (Nondescripts):
England 192 (49.4 overs) beat Sri Lanka 187-9 (50 overs) by five runs
Match scorecard

Danielle Hazell's figures of 3-22 were her best for England

England's women made a winning start to their tour of Sri Lanka after being given a scare by the home side in the first one-day international.

They scraped home by five runs in Colombo after being bowled out for 192.

Claire Taylor hit 73 and Jenny Gunn made 39 as they put on 86 for the fourth wicket, the only partnership of note in England's innings.

Sri Lanka started well, reaching 64-0 before a spell of 3-22 by Danielle Hazell, but came up short on 187-9.

Having won all seven previous meetings with Sri Lanka - six in the 50-over format and one in a Twenty20 contest - England's players had been a set a tour target of a clean sweep by Charlotte Edwards.

They were immediately on the back foot, however, as Heather Knight departed for a duck and skipper Edwards was run out for four in the 10th over.

Taylor and Gunn came together after Lydia Greenway fell lbw for seven and they set about repairing the early damage, although boundaries were few and far between.

Together they hit five of the six fours which England managed before Taylor was caught in the 34th over, with debutant Fran Wilson following for a disappointing first-ball duck.

The slide continued when Gunn gave a return catch two overs later and England were grateful for useful knocks of 15 by Laura Marsh and Anya Shrubsole as their last four wickets went down in the space of eight overs for 28 runs.

Shrubsole struggled with the new ball at the start of Sri Lanka's reply, conceding 25 from her first five overs as Chamari Atapattu single-handedly matched England's boundary tally.

The introduction of 22-year-old Hazell brought about the breakthrough as Atapattu was caught by Gunn for 30 and she later ended fellow opener Chamari Polgampola's 69-ball vigil by bowling her for 32.

Sri Lanka slumped to 86-5 before a 52-run stand between Eshani Kaushalya (32) and Dilani Manodara (26) gave the home side renewed hope of an upset victory.

Tail-ender Sripali Weerakkody struck the game's only six but her unbeaten 19 was not quite enough as England all-rounder Gunn held her nerve in the final over.

England's top batter Taylor admitted the tourists were not at their best.

"We performed well in patches and had two good partnerships," she said.

"It's the first time we have been on grass for three months.

"Sri Lanka were well drilled and put in a good performance, hitting some good boundaries."

Hazell said she was pleased with her three-wicket haul, saying: "It was great to get a win under our belts and good to be back on grass.

"I'm pleased with my performance and to pick up three key wickets, I'm happy with that.

"I'm looking forward to the second one-dayer on Wednesday where we'll be looking for a 2-0 series win."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version