Brilliant Beaumont reaches landmark
Tammy Beaumont hit an unbeaten half-century and became only the fifth Englishwoman to pass 1,000 international Twenty20 runs as England cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first match of the series in Colombo.
Linsey Smith took three for 18 – her best figures in the format – while debutant Freya Davies and Anya Shrubsole each claimed two wickets in the dismissal of the home side, who had won the toss and electing to bat, for 94 from 19 overs.
Shrubsole’s brace meant she passed Dani Hazell as England’s leading T20 wicket-taker. She now has 86 wickets at an average of 13.96.
Just three Sri Lankan players reached double figures, with No9 Oshadi Ranasinghe top-scoring on 20 not out from 24 deliveries.
Hansima Karunaratne made 19 from 35 balls before being bowled by Davies.
That never looked like posing England any problems and although Danielle Wyatt was dismissed for 15 and Amy Jones was run out for 18, Beaumont hit six fours in a 43-ball fifty to ensure the visitors won with 34 balls to spare.
“It’s great to start with a win,” said Beaumont. “We’ve got a lot of momentum at the minute, and we keep taking that out on to the field and being ruthless.
“I’m really happy to get to 50 and to pass 1,000 IT20 runs, but it’s all about the team and the most important thing was getting off to a winning start in the series. I’m delighted for Anya. She and Dani are very good friends, so I’m sure they’ll enjoy swapping places at the top of the wicket-taking chart.”
Beaumont made her England T20 debut against West Indies in 2009, and the 28-year-old Kent wicketkeeper-batter has since played 66 matches in the format. Her 1,032 runs have come at an average of 22.43 and a strike-rate of 106.28.
The second T20 takes place in Colombo tomorrow (4.30am GMT) and England will be looking to continue their dominance, having won the one-day series 3-0.