Captain Heather Knight says England are “not far off par” in “tough conditions” at the Women’s T20 World Cup where they made a winning start to their campaign in Sharjah.
Linsey Smith starred with the ball as England launched their campaign with a 21-run victory over Bangladesh.
Smith turned in figures of 2-11 from her four overs and played the significant role in the dangerous Nigar Sultana Joty’s run out as Knight’s side limited the Bangladeshis to 97-7 in the Group B showdown under the lights.
She and Charlie Dean each claimed two wickets to help successfully defend a target of 119 after Danni Wyatt-Hodge had scored 41 in a modest total of 118-7 on a tricky pitch.
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Highlights of the Women’s T20 World Cup Match between England and Bangladesh
“Conditions were pretty tough out there for batting and boundary hitting,” said skipper Knight. “Few little bits we can do better but a pleasing performance and glad to get the win.
“It wasn’t far off par but if we can push it up to that 135, 140 mark that’s going to be a really good score on that type of wicket. It was what we prepared for but we’ve just got to find a way to do it sometimes. It’s not going to be beautiful and sexy all the time. If we do get on these conditions again then we’ll have to graft a bit and try and minimise dot balls because boundaries are going to be hard to hit.
“Having said that, I was pretty happy with the score. You saw in our innings it got lower and slower as it went on.”
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Bangladesh were literally dancing after getting the key wicket of Nat Sciver-Brunt…
Player-of-the-match Wyatt-Hodge said: “It was really nice to get out there and delighted with the win. Pretty tough conditions but I’m delighted to contribute and long may it continue.
“We did well to get that total. A bit slow and a low surface, but we wanted to keep the intent and bravery and try and get as many runs as we could.
“You are better off just going for your shots and play with intent on that pitch.”
England play South Africa next and Knight added: “They had a convincing win the other night. They’ve got some world-class players.”
What’s next at Women’s T20 World Cup?
Pakistan are in action against India in a classic blockbuster on Sunday October 6 at 11am.
Watch every match of the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports, concluding with the final in Dubai on Sunday October 20.