Stand-in captain Nat Sciver-Brunt marked her a hundredth ODI with a record-breaking century as England thumped Sri Lanka to wrap up their summer season in scintillating style.
Deputising for an under-the-weather Heather Knight, Sciver-Brunt gave a masterclass in managed aggression as she flayed a 66-ball hundred – the quickest in ladies’s ODIs by an England batter.
After eclipsing the earlier greatest off 70 balls by Charlotte Edwards in opposition to New Zealand in March 2012, Sciver-Brunt made 120 from 74 deliveries earlier than England prevailed by 161 runs for a 2-0 collection win.
Her document would solely have stood for a few minutes if Maia Bouchier had hit her sixty fifth ball for six however she was lbw for 95, ending a boundary-laden 193-run stand in 121 deliveries with Sciver-Brunt.
Their efforts underpinned England’s mammoth 273 for eight in a contest lowered to 31 overs every due to a rain-delayed begin at Grace Road, with Charlie Dean’s 5 for 31 hastening Sri Lanka’s demise to 112 all out in a doomed pursuit.
Bouchier and Sciver-Brunt got here collectively after England had lurched to 18 for 2, with Tammy Beaumont edging a wild heave to slide earlier than a flat-footed Alice Capsey noticed her stumps disturbed by a Udeshika Prabodhani inswinger.
With Sri Lanka’s coterie of spinners nonetheless to bowl, England might need feared the worst of their remaining outing of their summer season programme.
They laboured when batting first in opposition to Sri Lanka’s slower choices in a shock defeat within the previous T20 collection, however Sciver-Brunt was rested for these matches and she or he exhibited why she is considered the most effective batters in opposition to spin within the ladies’s sport.
After taking two singles from her first seven deliveries, Sciver-Brunt settled into her stride with considered one of a number of back-foot punches by way of cowl off Inoka Ranaweera earlier than larruping by way of midwicket to carry up England’s 50 after which shimmying right down to the sluggish left-armer and elegantly driving for six.
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Opposite quantity Chamari Athapaththu rotated her choices however the spinners supplied little or no risk and no containment, with all of them going at greater than 10 an over when Bouchier and Sciver-Brunt batted.
Sciver-Brunt drove, pulled and swept expertly, scooping as soon as, going proficiently by way of the gears as she introduced up her third ton in 4 ODI innings, reaching the milestone in understated style as she nudged seamer Achini Kulasuriya off her pads for a single.
Bouchier supplied ample help. This was simply her second ODI innings however she matched Sciver-Brunt blow for blow, registering a dozen fours and two sixes, having benefited from Emma Lamb’s continued absence with a again spasm.
Her timing was glorious as she effortlessly whipped left-armer Prabodhani and fellow seamer Hansima Karunaratne over the leg-side fence, whereas she was additionally fluent driving down the bottom and pulling throughout the road.
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After three successive fours off Oshadi Ranasinghe, Bouchier might need been stumped on 55 when she overbalanced in opposition to the off-spinner however wicketkeeper Anushka Sanjeewani fumbled the take.
Bouchier was ultimately out 5 wanting a maiden hundred after enjoying throughout one from Kavisha Dilhari, however the opener’s innings went some solution to justifying England giving their fringe gamers an opportunity on this collection.
Sciver-Brunt had not supplied a lot of a sniff in compiling the sixth quickest ODI century within the ladies’s sport however her keep, containing 18 fours and a six, ended when she holed out to long-off off Ranaweera.
Her departure marked the beginning of England dropping 5 wickets of their final 32 balls though debutant Bess Heath’s cameo 21 off 14 deliveries helped them add 50 to a monumental whole that will have stretched Sri Lanka in a regulation 50-over sport.
Having amassed 106 for 9 in Tuesday’s abandonment at Northampton and been skittled for an equivalent whole in a seven-wicket defeat at Chester-le-Street on Saturday, Sri Lanka merely by no means received going.
Lauren Filer continued her glorious summer season by uprooting Sanjeewani’s center stump and castling Imesha Dulani. Teenage left-arm seamer Mahika Gaur, recalled after being rested at Wantage Road, positioned the surface fringe of Harshitha Samarawickrama earlier than Charlie Dean ran amok.
Unperturbed at being thrashed for 2 fours in her first over, Dean invited one other swipe from Athapaththu, who missed a slog sweep and fell lbw to the off-spinner for the second match in a row.
The Sri Lanka captain was the massive wicket and any faint hope disappeared along with her though Dean nonetheless rubberstamped the win by snaring Karunaratne, Hasini Perera and Dilhari in the identical over.
A maiden five-for in England colors was assured when Prabodhani dragged on and Sri Lanka rapidly subsided in 24.5 overs.
