Kent & England captain Charlotte Edwards led the way with a half-century today as her side claimed a comfortable 51-run victory over South Africa.
Edwards was on form at the CCI ground in Mumbai today in England’s first warm-up game ahead of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2013.
The captain top scored with 78 in a total of 270-9 after England had been put into bat by South Africa – sharing a 101-run partnership with Lydia Greenway who made 35. Berkshire’s Heather Knight was the other major contributor to the England run-tally, making 42 off only 45 balls before holing out with three overs remaining.
Wickets were then shared around by the England bowlers as South Africa fell 51-runs short of their victory target. Left-arm spinner Holly Colvin claimed the prize wicket of the dangerous Chetty for 57 with Arran Brindle and Danielle Hazell also among the wicket-takers and Lydia Greenway catching the eye with an impressive diving catch at mid-wicket to dismiss Susanna Benade.
After the game Heather Knight said: “It was great to get out there, get into the swing of things and score some runs today. It was a decent wicket with a bit in it for the bowlers and played a little different to what we were expecting, but was nice to bat on.
“Charlotte batted well up front, set a really good platform for us to kick on from and we got a decent total in the end. Our bowlers bowled well, got overs under their belts and it was good to get out in the field for 50 overs and get miles in our legs; we’re all feeling really good leading into tournament.
“It’s a nice ground here at the CCI, I’m looking forward to playing our group games here, it’s well suited for women’s cricket. We’ve got a quick turnaround now for our second warm-up game against New Zealand tomorrow, then it’s into the group stages with our first game against Sri Lanka on Friday.”
England will play their second and final warm-up game against New Zealand tomorrow (Tuesday January 29th) at the BKC ground, Mumbai.