First women's Twenty20 international, Colombo: England 99-2 (15.4 overs) beat Sri Lanka 95-8 (20 overs) by eight wickets
Match scorecard

Edwards led from the front in a comfortable England victory

Charlotte Edwards produced an excellent all-round performance as England beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in Colombo in the first of three Twenty20 matches.

Edwards took 3-25 and then hit an unbeaten 48 as the tourists cruised home with 26 balls to spare.

Sri Lanka could only muster 95-8 after opting to bat first.

Edwards and Laura Marsh (29) launched England's reply with an opening stand of 73 and although Claire Taylor fell cheaply, they cruised home on 99-2.

"We played our best cricket of the tour so far today. All the bowlers bowled well and I am really pleased with how the whole team performed," Edwards said afterwards.

"It was great for Laura and I to get our innings off to a good start and set up the run chase. We are looking forward to carrying this performance forward to the second Twenty20 on Sunday."

England used the match to give Beth MacGregor and Susie Rowe a first taste of senior international cricket and Somerset youngster Fran Wilson also made her bow in the shortest form of the game, having previously played in the two one-day internationals.

MacGregor bowled with control, taking 0-13 in three overs, with Danielle Hazell (2-15) providing the main support for Edwards.

Shashikala Siriwardene's 22 was the top score for the home side, who needed to make early inroads into England's top order to have a chance of successfully defending their modest total.

The breakthrough did not come, however, and by the time Marsh was stumped off Deepika Rasangika in the 10th over, England were well on the way to their target.

Rasangika also accounted for Taylor, who was caught by Chamani Seneviratna for six, but England did not suffer any further loss as Edwards and Lydia Greenway completed the formalities.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version