England slump with the bat again as Sri Lanka earn historic T20 series win
Sri Lanka beat England in T20I series for first time, coming from 1-0 down to win 2-1; tourists triumph by seven wickets in Derby as hosts falter against spin once again - watch first ODI, from Durham, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am, Saturday (11am first ball)
Thursday 7 September 2023 08:11, UK
England slumped against Sri Lanka's spinners for the second game running as the tourists clinched a historic first T20 series win over their opponents.
Heather Knight's hosts lost by seven wickets in Derby on Wednesday night, rolled for just 116 having been skittled for 104 in Saturday's second T20 at Chelmsford.
England lost seven wickets to spin in the third T20, with Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu (3-21) the pick of the attack.
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Athapaththu then backed up her 55 from 31 balls during the eight-wicket win in Essex at the weekend - which was Sri Lanka's maiden T20I triumph over England - with 44 from 28 balls to set up a chase the visitors completed with three overs to spare.
England had been reduced to 11-2 in two overs after being inserted - Danni Wyatt (0) clothing the first ball of the innings to cover and Alice Capsey (9) then run out after a mix-up with Maia Bouchier (23 off 18).
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Bouchier went on to top-score, with Amy Jones (20 off 17) and Danielle Gibson (21 off 15) the only other players to pass 20 as England were guilty of soft dismissals and Sri Lanka excelled with the ball and in the field.
Athapaththu had Jones stumped in the 11th over and then polished off the innings by dismissing Kate Cross (2) and Mahika Gaur (0) from successive balls at the end of the 19th - Gaur bagging a golden duck in her first England innings having made her debut in the series opener at Hove last week.
Athapaththu muscled Cross for six over backward square in the second over of the chase before whipping teenage seamer Gaur over the rope an over later as she bossed an opening stand of 65 from 40 balls with Anushka Sanjeewani (20 off 16).
England had a glimmer of hope when Athapaththu and Sanjeewani were caught off spinners Capsey (1-21) and Sarah Glenn (2-23) respectively but Harshitha Samarawickrama (26no) guided her side to victory - and history.
England were not at full strength for the series with Sophia Dunkley, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Bell rested, injured or ill but the manner of their batting against spin is a concern ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2024 and then the 50-over World Cup in India a year later.
England will now look to bounce back in the three-match ODI series, which begins at Chester-le-Street on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am (11am first ball).
Knight: England must improve against spin
England captain Heather Knight:
"Credit to Sri Lanka. They have been brilliant in the last two games. They came out with a clear plan, bowling lots of spin, and that has identified areas where we need to be better.
"We have a young team but that is no excuse. We have been a bit off and have been punished.
"It was a risk we took, bringing some young players in and resting some senior players, but we don't regret it. There is a lot of cricket these days and resting players gives opportunities.
"You don't know too much about a player until you expose them to international cricket."
Athapaththu, Beaumont praise Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu:
"Sri Lanka have helped a lot for women's cricket. They increased our payments and gave contracts to 60 players. We have a good domestic structure as well and I think we can be a good team in the future."
England batter and Sky Sports Cricket pundit Tammy Beaumont:
"Their plans got better each game, they are getting smarter and you can see that having professional contracts is bringing better [performances] out of them. They stuck with spin - which has been England's weakness."
What's next?
Live Women's International One-Day Cricket
The final two games of the ODI series are at Northampton on Tuesday (12.30pm start) and then Leicester on Thursday (12.30pm start), with all three matches live on Sky Sports Cricket.
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