SA bear brunt as Eng, Kiwi women smash T20 record
RUN GLUT Kiwis slam 216 vs Proteas, only to be bettered by England’s 250
LONDON: England posted a new women’s Twenty20 international record of 250 for three against South Africa at Taunton on Wednesday — just hours after New Zealand had done the same thing to the Proteas at the same ground. The three sides are taking part in a triangular tournament where teams will play ‘double-headers’.
It was South Africa’s turn on Wednesday. First they conceded 216 for one against New Zealand, but that record did not last long.
A few hours later, England eclipsed that score, with Tammy Beaumont — one of the stars of the side that won last year’s 50-over World Cup — making 116 and putting on 147 for the first wicket with Danni Wyatt (56).
Beaumont said the team had ignored advice from England women’s coach Mark Robinson.
“We saw the Kiwi girls broke it, Robbo told us in the pre-match chat not to try and break it, but I think a few of the girls got a bit of a challenge on,” Beaumont said during the mid-innings break of England’s match.
“It’s an incredible wicket, and we feel a bit sorry for the South Africa girls having to go two in two, but that’s the way it goes in this T20 series and we’ve all got one of those.”
England went on to win the match by a huge 121 runs.
SUZIE BATES STARS
Earlier, New Zealand captain Suzie Bates top-scored with 124 not out off 66 balls, and with Sophie Devine (73) put on a record 182 for the first wicket against the overworked South Africans.
New Zealand’s total surpassed Australia’s 209 for four against England in Mumbai in March.
It came barely a week after the White Ferns posted a colossal 490 First, NZ set the record for the highest total in women’s T20s, scoring 216/1 against SA. Then England smashed it by 34 runs against the same opposition on Thursday. The previous record for highest total in women’s T20s was held by Aus, who made 209/4 vs Eng at Mumbai on March 31, 2018.
for four — the highest total in any one-day international, women’s or men’s, against Ireland in Dublin — an innings that featured Amelia Kerr’s individual record 232 not out.
Bates’s innings on Wednesday saw her go past former England captain Charlotte Edwards as the
leading run-scorer in women’s T20s.
“It’s the best I’ve batted for a while,” Bates told the BBC after South Africa managed just 150 for six in reply.
Bates, 30, hit 16 fours and three sixes but fell just two runs short of equalling the individual women’s T20 record of 126 made by Australia’s Meg Lanning against Ireland in 2014.
South Africa skipper Dane van Niekerk admitted: “I think we went to Plan Z. There were a couple of run-out chances we didn’t take, but the class of Suzie and Sophie, they’ll make you pay.” NEWDELHI: India’s Dheeraj (64kg), Gaurav Solanki (52kg) and Amit Pangal confirmed themselves of medals as they ensured semi-final berths at the Chemistry Cup in Halle, Germany.
Gold-medallists at the Gold Coast CWG, Gaurav registered a comprehensive 5-0 win over Russia’s Vadim Kudriakov, while Amit defeated Germany’s Christopher Goman by a similar margin late on Wednesday night.
Dheeraj cruised past Germany’s Baryshnik Wladislaw, posting a 5-0 win.
At the Ulaanbaatar Cup in Mongolia, India’s Sonia Lather (57kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) confirmed medals after advancing to the semi-finals on Thursday.
VANI TIED 24TH
PATTAYA: Golfer Vani Kapoor made a positive start in the Thailand Championship, finishing Round 1 in tied 24th position as she carded even-par 72 at the Pheonix Gold Golf and Country Club on Thursday.
Vani sank four birdies on the second, third, seventh and 10th holes along with a couple of bogeys and one double bogey on hole nine, which evened up her score at the end of day one of the Ladies European Tour (LET) meet.
SIDHU TOPS TRIAL 5
NEWDELHI: Shooter Heena Sidhu topped the charts for the selection trials 5 in 10m air pistol women’s category while parashooter Rubina Francis from Madhya Pradesh clinched gold and silver in the senior and junior class of the 10m air pistol (IPC) Championship in the 18th KSS Memorial Shooting here.
Sidhu scored a mammoth 240.9 to top the list. Punjab’s Harveen Sarao had to settle for second spot with a score of 240.3.