Centurion Taylor steals show to bring series level
Bruised after an underwhelming year since winning the World Cup, England showcased the best of themselves to level their one-day international series with South Africa in Hove.
From the moment that Tammy Beaumont crunched two boundaries – a punch down the ground, followed by a cut laced through point – in the opening over, this felt like a new day. In chilly and windy conditions, England responded to their meek seven-wicket defeat in the opening one-dayer with a performance of sharpness and skill.
For all the crispness of Beaumont’s century, this felt almost incidental set against the impudence of Sarah Taylor’s own hundred. If one moment embodied the sheer dominance of this innings it came against Raisibe Ntozakhe’s off-spin. Taylor is adept at the reverse sweep. South Africa know as much, and had a fielder in place to stop her – so Taylor hit a reverse sweep over the hands of point for four. Later, after she had passed her hundred, Taylor reverse-swept Ayabonga Khaka’s medium pace, this time playing the shot down into the ground and finer.
A spirit of chutzpah, effervescence and sheer creativity brimmed through Taylor’s innings. It was detectable in everything she did – from her bustling between the wickets to the way she used her feet to bowlers, both advancing towards them and shimmying around her crease.
Her first international century at her home ground was celebrated riotously. This was Taylor’s seventh century in all – two months shy of a decade after her maiden England hundred, against South Africa in 2008. The sheer elan brimming through the innings, the sense of a cricketer 115 ODIS into her career and yet still, somehow, exploring the outer limits of her talent, invited the question as to what Taylor may achieve in the coming years.
Several of South Africa’s players reached out to shake Taylor’s hand when she was finally dismissed; they were not the only ones privileged to watch this innings.
Beaumont, player of the tournament when England won the World Cup, had reached only 40 in three of her 17 international innings across all formats since. Here she produced a return to the halcyon days of July 2017. Between the sweetly-timed drives, there was audacity in her scoops and reversesweeps – though, for Beaumont and Taylor such strokes are so well-honed that they qualify more as pragmatic than reckless.
Their partnership was, as South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk said, “like a runaway train”. In the end, England’s total of 331 for six, after being put in to bat, was defined by a vitality that had been lacking in their anaemic efforts at Worcester in the first ODI.
In South Africa’s reply, Lizelle Lee hit a century of her own, making this the first women’s ODI with three centurions: a testament to how the balance in the game is skewing towards the bat.
When, after a prosaic start, Lee surged – advancing from 61 to her century in 14 balls – South African had designs on the highest chase in ODI history. Those hopes flickered during Chloe Tyron’s hitting, until she became the third to fall to Sophie Ecclestone. From there, England cruised home.
Meanwhile, Scotland were unable to repeat their weekend heroics against England as Pakistan eased to a 48-run victory in Edinburgh. Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed finished on an impressive unbeaten 89 from just 49 balls as the tourists closed on 204 for four. But while openers George Munsey and Kyle Coetzer made a decent start in reply, the Scots could not maintain the pace and closed on 156 for six.