Young gun leads England in win over Sri Lanka

Alice Capsey defied a black eye to anchor England's pursuit of 107 as the hosts marked their first ever foray into cricket at the Commonwealth Games with a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka.

England slipped to 4-63 on a tricky Edgbaston surface, where timing proved difficult, but Capsey was a reassuring presence despite the 17-year-old only making her international debut last Saturday.

Sporting a shiner having top-edged a ball into her face while warming up in the nets, Capsey shrugged off the issue to top-score with 44 off 45 balls as England overhauled their target after 17.1 overs.

Image Id: 89B258854CDB4F40A2CA028DF1BAA230 Image Caption: Capsey's shiner on display after the match // Getty

Capsey was stumped attempting to hit the winning runs but Maia Bouchier did so off the very next delivery to finish on 21 not out as England made an ideal start to their Group B campaign.

While Capsey, one of seven England players aged 24 or under, has already developed a reputation for her big-hitting, the teenager showed her maturity by finding the gaps and milking Sri Lanka's coterie of spinners for ones and twos alongside Bouchier, who was a capable foil in a crucial 42-run stand.

Nat Sciver, deputising as England captain in the absence of the injured Heather Knight, said: "Alice is very stubborn.

"She got hit in the face and other people might not have wanted to continue, it's hard to get her off the pitch.

"I've not seen an innings like that from her. We've seen a very explosive sign of her batting but she was very calm and collected here."

Cricket is back at the Games after 24 years and while a men's 50-over tournament was held in Kuala Lumpur, this event in Birmingham which started on Friday is Twenty20 and exclusively for women, with England participating for the first time having declined to send a team to Malaysia in 1998.

They had a fraught couple of hours in the build-up to their tournament opener with their kit bags arriving late but they made a terrific start as Katherine Brunt celebrated her 100th T20 by trapping opener Vishmi Gunaratne in front with the first ball of the match after Sri Lanka had won the toss.

 

Sri Lanka, the lowest of the seven ranked teams at the Games, lost wickets at regular intervals which undermined their hopes as they posted 9-106, with Sophie Ecclestone justifying her status as the world's top-ranked bowler - in both one-day internationals and T20s - by taking 3-25.

Issy Wong showed off her turn of pace in a double-wicket maiden on her home ground while Freya Kemp, 17, took 2-14 as England restricted Sri Lanka to what looked an under-par score.

England had to overcome a few nervy moments with the bat and their situation might have become more problematic had Gunaratne held on to a low chance at short fine leg after Capsey had top-edged a sweep on 17.

England next take on South Africa, who suffered a 13-run defeat against New Zealand earlier in the day.

2022 Commonwealth Games

Australia's squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington

See all the Commonwealth Games cricket squads here

Group A: Australia, India, Pakistan, Barbados

Group B: England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka

July 29: Australia beat India by three wickets

July 31: Australia v Barbados (6pm local, 3am Aug 1 AEST)

August 3: Australia v Pakistan (11am local, 8pm AEST)

Semi-finals: August 6, 11am local (8pm AEST) and 6pm local (3am Aug 7 AEST)

Bronze medal match: August 7, 10am local (7pm AEST)

Gold medal match: August 7, 5pm local (2am Aug 8 AEST)

All matches played at Edgbaston Stadium