| Second Twenty20, Incora County Ground, Derby |
| England 151-8 (20 overs): Glenn 26, Jones 25, Taylor 2-12 |
| West Indies 104-8 (20 overs): Dottin 38, Villiers 2-10, Ecclestone 2-19 |
| England win by 47 runs; lead series 2-0 |
| Scorecard |
England overcame a middle-order wobble to claim a comfortable 47-run win against West Indies in the second T20 and take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
England were in danger of squandering a strong start after slipping to 96-6, with Stafanie Taylor taking 2-12, but Sarah Glenn’s aggressive 26 from 19 balls lifted England to 151-8.
West Indies reached 72-1 and looked relatively untroubled before Glenn removed Deandra Dottin for 38 and the tourists stumbled to 96-8.
Regular wickets and a lack of big shots saw West Indies finish their 20 overs on 104-8.
This was a much improved West Indies performance with the ball and keeper Shemaine Campbelle was excellent to claim two stumpings.
However, they let England back into the match in the final overs, and they once again struggled to make an impact with the bat.
When Dottin was trapped lbw, defeat felt inevitable, with no batter able to take the attack to a fine England bowling attack.
England can clinch the series on Saturday in the third match, which starts at 13:00 BST and will be shown live on BBC Two.
Strange night in Derby
It was an odd chase, with both sides combining moments of brilliance with some average cricket.
Glenn was superb for 2-24 and Villiers, who did not bowl in the opening match, played a fine containing role to take 2-10 and prevent the Windies batters from freeing their arms.
For a time it looked as though Dottin could take the game away from England, particularly when the hosts burned their two DRS reviews on a pair of speculative lbw shouts.
While Dottin’s boundaries were impressive – she hit four fours and one six in her 40-ball knock – she once again ate up too many dots and struggled to rotate the strike.
England made some uncharacteristic errors in the field, three times giving up overthrows, and Amy Jones dropped a high but straightforward chance from Chinelle Henry.
However, the spinners excelled, with Sophie Ecclestone working her way through the tail to take 2-19 as the hosts were able to snuff out West Indies’ reply without any real drama.
England struggle before final flourish
It was an innings of two halves from England – a strong start and end, sandwiched around some poor decision making from the middle order.
England started where they left off on Monday, with Tammy Beaumont and Danni Wyatt racing to 34-0 inside the first four overs, largely faced with some indifferent bowling.
The hosts still felt relatively secure once Beaumont had fallen, but West Indies stormed back into the game.
Natalie Sciver, dropped twice in the space of two balls, was brilliantly stumped by Campbelle, before Wyatt was run out after a mid-pitch mix-up over a single that was never there.
Heather Knight, who was dropped off the third ball of her innings, looked set to be the glue, along with Jones, who hit a stunning straight six to spark hopes of a revival.
But Jones sent a top edge to short third man, Knight hoicked leg-spinner Afy Fletcher to the fielder at deep square leg and Fran Wilson was stumped off a Taylor wide to leave England 96-6 and struggling.
Some late hitting from Glenn and Katherine Brunt got England to a total that always felt too challenging for a fragile West Indies batting line-up, but there are areas to improve for the hosts.
‘It’s too easy for England’ – what they said
West Indies men’s coach Phil Simmons on Test Match Special: “It’s getting too easy for England. West Indies need to sit down and work out how to set up this batting order so they have people complementing each other when they bat below the top three.”
England’s Sarah Glenn: “It’s special – this is the ground I grew up playing on. It was a really special moment for me [to contribute all-round].
“I’ve been wanting to work my way up the order so it was good to get some runs in an England shirt. I want to be seen as a genuine all-rounder.”
West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor: “We got off to a decent start, then they came back. We were on target for restricting them under 145, 135, which would’ve been good.
“The batters didn’t come to the party and we need to improve in that area. It just can’t be one player.”
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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