2nd T20I – England v Sri Lanka
County Ground, Chelmsford, 2 September
Sri Lanka 110/2 (13.2) beat England 104 (18.0) by 8 wickets
video scorecard | video highlights
1 – This was Sri Lanka women’s first victory in T20Is against England, and their first win in any format against the English on home soil.
2013 – Sri Lanka’s only previous win against England was a last ball, 1 wicket thriller at Brabourne Stadium during the 2013 ODI World Cup, and their last bilateral match victory in any format outside Asia was a 20 run T20I win against South Africa at Potchefstroom in November 2013.
6 – Both of Sri Lanka’s victories against England have been sealed with a six – by Dilani Manodara in 2013, and Harshitha Samarawikrama in 2023.
Chamari Athapaththu was the only Sri Lankan to feature in both games, while Heather Knight, Amy Jones and Danni Wyatt played in both for England.
2 – This was just the second time that England women have lost a match at Chelmsford, a ground that has staged nineteen women’s internationals (6xODI, 13xT20I). England’s only previous defeat at the County Ground was against Australia during the 2019 Ashes.
55 – Chamari Athapaththu’s innings was her highest T20I score against England. Until this match, Athapaththu had an average of 9.00, a strike rate of 75.00, and a high score 24 across her nine previous T20I innings against England.
Both of the times that Sri Lanka women have recorded victories against England, are also the only two occasions in all formats when Athapaththu has made a half-century against them (she top-scored with 62 in the landmark 2013 World Cup win).
26 – At 26 balls faced, Athapaththu’s fifty was the joint second fastest by a Sri Lankan woman in T20Is. Indicating her much improved form since Sri Lanka’s return to competitive action post-COVID, Athapththu (and Sri Lanka’s) five fastest fifties in the format have all been made since last year:
balls faced
- 25 Chamari Athapaththu v NZ at P Sara Oval, 2023
- 26 Chamari Athapaththu v SCO at Kinrara Oval, 2022
- 26 Chamari Athapaththu v ENG at Chelmsford, 2023
- 27 Chamari Athapaththu v KEN at Kinrara Oval, 2022
- 29 Chamari Athapaththu v IND at Dambulla, 2022
Only India’s Smriti Mandhana and Australia’s Meg Lanning have made faster T20I fifties against England.
67 – Sri Lanka’s powerplay total of 67/1 was the highest they have recorded in the format, and the most runs any side has scored against England women in the first six overs of a T20I.
6 – This was the second time that Sri Lanka women have had six different wicket-takers in the same T20I, and the second time in the format that England women have lost wickets to six different bowlers in the same match.
Two wickets apiece for Udeshika Prabodhani (37), Inoka Ranaweera (37) and Inoshi Fernando (36) made this the first time that bowlers aged over 35 have taken six wickets in a T20I innings between two Full Member nations.
48 – Sri Lanka’s course to victory was set when England were reduced to their second lowest total at the fall of the 6th wicket in a T20I. The only time they have scored less by this point, was 38/6 against West Indies at Derby in 2020 (a match which had been reduced before play to 5 overs a side).
34 – Following this collapse, Charlie Dean made the second highest score by a #8 batter for England women in T20Is.
33 – Dean’s partnership with Issy Wong was England women’s joint highest 9th wicket stand in the format:
- 33* Colvin & Hazell v WI at Bridgetown, 2013
- 33 Dean & Wong v SL at Chelmsford, 2023
- 28 K Sciver-Brunt & Marsh v AUS at Chelmsford, 2019
Unsurprisingly, in matches where the 9th wicket had so much opportunity to bat, England lost all three games above.
104 – Even with this late resistance, England’s total was still their tenth lowest in the format, and their third lowest at home.
8 – Athapaththu (1), Fernando (2), Kumari (1), Ranaweera (2) and Dilhari’s combined efforts made this the first time that spinners have taken eight wickets in a women’s T20I innings in England.
21.68 – This reflected a trend seen across the summer, in which England have lost 25 wickets in all formats to pace bowling, at an average of 43.20, compared with 50 wickets lost to spin at an average of just 21.68.
Stats derived from ESPNcricinfo statsguru.
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