Kent captain Charlotte Edwards led England Women to a crushing 51-run victory over Ireland at Loughborough on Saturday.
After being inserted by Ireland, the England captain dominated the Irish attack finding the boundary on seven occasions as she posted 72 not-out off 61 balls. Easing into the innings, Edwards began to fire in the seventh over and put on a tidy 53-run partnership with Arran Brindle.
England posted 136-4 from their 20 overs.
Claire Shillington and Cecilia Joyce set about a strong chase for Ireland as the pair knocked off 47 in the first 10 overs. However Danielle Wyatt stopped the pair in their tracks taking both scalps as they were caught by Jenny Gunn, leaving Ireland on 55-2.
The tourists only managed to chip off a further 30 runs as they were restricted by the England attack with Holly Colvin bowlingMelissa Scott-Hayward and Laura Delany being run-out.
Ireland fell 52 runs short as they finished on 85-5 from their 20 overs.
Charlotte Edwards said: “It was good to get out and play after the conditions have been against us for most of the week. It was really nice to be back playing together and to have Katherine (Brunt) and Holly (Colvin) back in the squad.
“We were a little bit rusty in the field, but that’s understandable given we haven’t had that much cricket due to the rain. We’ve got another days training then we’ll be looking forward to getting the India series underway on Tuesday.
“It was nice to contribute, credit to Ireland though, they bowled really well upfront. I feel in good form and it’s just good to get another win in Twenty20 cricket.
“We’re delighted that the England Women’s Academy beat India this morning and a couple of our squad players performed well in that match, so that’s a really good sign heading into the series.”
England Women will play the first match of the NatWest Women’s T20 Series against India at Canterbury on Tuesday 26th June.