An unbeaten record century by the England captain, who recently became a mother through IVF with her wife, and an outstanding bowling spell from the world’s No.1 ODI bowler Sophie Ecclestone, led England Women to an 89-run win over Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Pitch Report
A grassless surface was prepared for this match, appearing to offer some assistance to spin. Both teams seemed confident about their spin attacks. Compared to previous matches, there was less swing on offer. A total around 240 was considered a good par score on this pitch.
Toss
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and chose to bowl first, aiming to chase later on. Chamari explained that with the possibility of rain and Duckworth-Lewis coming into play, batting second would be more favorable. England skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, however, noted that the pitch might slow down in the second half, making batting first the better option.
Teams
England went in with an unchanged lineup, while Sri Lanka made one change — Devmi Vihanga replacing Achini Kulasuriya.
England Innings
Udeshika Prabodhani and Sugandika Kumari opened the bowling for Sri Lanka. In the very first over of Sugandika, Tammy Beaumont was given out caught behind, but the decision was overturned on review.
In the 4th over, Amy Jones was run out brilliantly by Kavisha Dilhari. Chamari Athapaththu brought herself on to bowl in the 9th over and conceded just a single run, tightening the pressure. Under that pressure, Tammy Beaumont attempted to accelerate during the final over of the powerplay but was caught at point by Harshitha Samarawickrama off Sugandika Kumari’s bowling. England reached 50 for 2 at the end of the powerplay.
Inoka Ranaweera came on and almost had England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt dismissed for 3, when she offered a simple catch to midwicket — but Udeshika Prabodhani dropped it.
The best partnership of England’s innings came between Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight, adding 60 runs off 73 balls. Knight (29) fell attempting a reverse sweep against Inoka Ranaweera, giving a catch to Devmi Vihanga at slip. Initially given not out, Chamari successfully reviewed the decision just in time.
Sofia Dunkley was dismissed for 18 after offering a return catch to Kavisha Dilhari. In the 35th over, Inoka Ranaweera bowled a double-wicket maiden — Emma Lamb was bowled, and Alice Capsey was stumped by Anushka Sanjeewani.
In the middle 30-overs, England were 129 for 4. By the 40th over, they had reached 179 for 6. In the 45th over, they passed 200 and began to accelerate.
England added 49 runs in the final 5 overs, led by Sciver-Brunt’s late flourish — she reached her 10th ODI century, scoring 117 runs, her first international hundred after the Katherine(her Wife) giving birth to baby Theodore, whom she shares with her wife and former cricketer Katherine Brunt. She celebrated by cradling her arms like a baby, with Katherine and Theodore watching from the stands.
England finished on 253 for 9 in 50 overs.
Inoka Ranaweera was impressive with figures of 3 for 33 from 10 overs, while Sugandika Kumari and Udeshika Prabodhani claimed two wickets each.
Sri Lanka Innings
Sri Lanka started steadily but suffered an early setback when Chamari Athapaththu retired hurt with a muscle injury in the 6th over.
New batter Vishmi Gunaratne was bowled for 9 off Charlie Dean’s first delivery, giving England a wicket maiden. Sri Lanka ended the powerplay at 37 for 1.
Harshitha Samarawickrama and Hasini Perera then added 58 runs off 66 balls, stabilizing the innings. Hasini was close to reaching her maiden ODI fifty when she played a rash shot and lost her wicket — a major blow for Sri Lanka.
With England sensing an opening, Sciver-Brunt brought back Sophie Ecclestone in the 19th over — and it proved the turning point.
On her second over, Hasini tried to loft one over mid-on but was caught out. The crucial partnership was broken, and the next 14 balls yielded 11 dot balls. Kavisha Dilhari, who followed, struggled to score, making just 1 off 9 balls.
Ecclestone struck again in her next over, dismissing Harshitha with a top edge to fine leg. Chamari returned to the crease, but Ecclestone continued her domination, claiming three wickets in three overs and finishing her spell with 3 wickets for just 4 runs during that period.
In her 6th over, Ecclestone bowled Chamari Athapaththu through the gate. She finished with stunning figures of 10 overs, 17 runs, and 4 wickets.
After Chamari’s dismissal, Sri Lanka’s last major hope, Nilakshika Silva, was out for 23.
Nat Sciver-Brunt herself took over the ball, dismissing Anushka Sanjeewani and Devmi Vihanga to wrap things up.
Sri Lanka were bowled out for 164 in 45.3 overs, giving England an 89-run victory.
Turning Points
- The dropped catch by Udeshika Prabodhani when Nat Sciver-Brunt was on 3 — she went on to score 117.
- The dismissal of Hasini Perera for an unnecessary aerial shot when she was set, breaking Sri Lanka’s momentum at 95 for 1.
Stats & Records
- Nat Sciver-Brunt’s 10th ODI century was her 5th in World Cup history, making her one of the top five century-makers in Women’s World Cup cricket.
- Sophie Ecclestone’s 4 for 17 was the best bowling performance of the tournament so far.
- Nilakshika Silva was dismissed on 999 career ODI runs.
- Sciver-Brunt was named Player of the Match for her all-round performance (century + 2 wickets).
- With this victory, England moved to the top of the points table, while Sri Lanka slipped to 7th.
To qualify for the semi-finals, Sri Lanka must beat Bangladesh and South Africa and win at least 3 of their remaining 4 matches.
Footnote
Once again, Sri Lanka’s defeat came down to crucial dropped catches and poor situational handling. Reckless shots against the world’s top-ranked spinner Sophie Ecclestone proved costly. Failing even to reach 200 may hurt Sri Lanka’s net run rate.
However, if the team learns from these mistakes and corrects their shortcomings in the remaining matches, there’s still hope for Sri Lanka to reach the World Cup semi-finals.