All-round effort helps England Women defeat South Africa in second T20I; clinch series

Worcester: England Women registered another big win against South Africa, defeating the visitors by six wickets in the second T20I to take an unassailable lead in the three-match series, here at the Country Ground.

Sarah Glenn (2/27) and England veteran bowler Katherine Brunt (1/24) bowled tight spells on Saturday evening restricting the Proteas to 148/6 in the allotted 20 overs before overhauling the total in 19 overs for the loss of four wickets.

England have already won the ODI series in the multi-format fixture, while the one-off Test had ended in a draw.

Seamer Brunt added another record to her already impressive resume emerging the highest wicket-taker for her country in T20Is. She picked up the milestone when she deceived dashing South Africa player Laura Wolvaadt with an superb slower delivery that took out the top of leg stump.

The 37-year-old has now taken 103 wickets in 98 matches with a best of 4/15. It’s another feather in the cap for Brunt, who bowled well against South Africa to finish with tidy figures of 1/24 from her four overs.

It was a decent effort from the visitors with the bat, with opener Anneke Bosch top-scoring with a fine 61 at the top of the order. Fellow opener Lara Goodall chipped in with 42 and Wolvaardt made a quick-fire 21 as the Proteas put together a score they thought would be enough.

But with experienced all-rounder Marizanne Kapp missing due to family reasons, the Proteas’ bowling attack lacked the sting and the England batters made them pay.

South Africa’s total of 148/6 was always going to be difficult to chase down, but England’s new-look top-order had few issues as they reached the victory target with an over to spare.

Young gun Sophia Dunkley (23) and experienced right-hander Danni Wyatt (39) got the hosts off to a quick start, with the likes of Nat Sciver (47) and Amy Jones (20 not out) successfully guiding the run chase home.

Brief scores: South Africa Women 148/6 in 20 overs (Anneke Bosch 61, Lara Goodall 42; Sarah Glenn 2/27) lost to England Women 151/4 in 19 overs (Danni Wyatt 39, Nat Sciver 47) by six wickets.

–IANS