England vs Pakistan: Sarah Glenn takes four wickets to lead hosts to a 53-run victory

England leg-spinner Sarah Glenn took four wickets to lead her side to a 53-run victory over a wasteful Pakistan side and record their first T20I win in the three-match series at Edgbaston.

Pakistan raced to 57-2 as they looked to take on England’s superb bowlers with Gull Feroza (17) and Sadaf Shamas (35) sharing a stand worth 27-runs, the highest of their innings, before the hosts pegged them back and bowled them out for 110-9.

Charlie Dean (1-29) trapped Sidra Ameen (nine) lbw in the third over before Lauren Bell struck to remove Feroza at the end of the powerplay but Pakistan’s middle and lower order fell victim to England’s terrific bowling, losing seven of their batters in single figures.

Earlier, England lost the toss and were inserted to bat and immediately looked at risk of a shock capitulation when they lost their first four wickets for only 11 runs with Maia Bouchier (four), Danni Wyatt (one), Alice Capsey (five) and Freya Kemp (0) all out in single figures.

Captain Heather Knight (49) and Amy Jones (37) weathered the storm sharing a fifth-wicket partnership worth 67-runs to help England post 163-6 and take the lead in the three-match T20I series.

Danielle Gibson (41no) and Sophie Ecclestone (19no) helped England at the death with an unbeaten 44-run stand after the tourists were hit with a slow over-rate penalty in the penultimate over.

Captain Knight rescues England

England were at the risk of a shock defeat after Pakistan’s brilliant bowlers capitalised on a flat wicket removing Maia Bouchier (four), Danni Wyatt (one), Alice Capsey (five) and Freya Kemp (0).

Bouchier fell to the fourth ball of the game after she hit Waheeda Akhtar (2-20) to mid-off and joined her in the dugout the following over after clubbing left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal (2-30) to mid-on.

Waheeda completed a double-wicket maiden in the third over after Capsey top-edged Pakistan’s pacer while Kemp was run out carelessly for a duck handing Nida Dar’s team the dream start.

England skipper Knight helped her team rebuild as she took on Pakistan’s spinners, arriving at the crease at 11-4 alongside Amy Jones – who was playing in her 100th T20I – and pulled the hosts to 119-6.

Knight made the most of being dropped on three by Rameen Shamim smashing six boundaries during her outing but fell one shy of a half-century, the highest score in the match, after she top-edged leg-spinner Tuba Hassan (1-22) to mid-on.

However, England’s Gibson and Ecclestone continued to accelerate with the former hitting 11 boundaries between them in the final four overs to quieten the Pakistani fans among the 15,000-strong crowd at Edgbaston.

Pakistan waste golden opportunity

In 15 head-to-head meetings against England, Pakistan have only ever won once, and as their spinners took charge early on it seemed like Nida Dar’s pre-match words – “We can give England a setback” – were becoming true.

However, the tourists’ momentum quickly dwindled after England’s spinners showcased their brilliant skills and inflicted a collapse that saw Muneeba Ali (10) caught by Jones and Pakistan’s highest scorer Sadaf Shamas (35) run out by Capsey.

Nida Dar failed to rescue Pakistan in the same manner as her counterpart Knight after she slog-swept Glenn to deep mid-wicket where Bouchier completed a regulation catch, leaving her side at 83-5.

Pakistan then lost four wickets for the same amount of runs as their lower-order batters had no response to England’s attack.

Sophie Ecclestone (1-17), the No 1-ranked bowler in T20I, removed Natalia Pervaiz (four) who feathered behind to Jones in the 14th over while Bell (3-22) had Rameen Shamim (two) caught at midwicket with a terrific running catch from Wyatt.

Glenn struck twice in the 16th over to have Tuba Hassan caught behind for a duck with excellent glovework from Jones and proceeded to bowl Waheeda Akhtar (0) with a legbreak delivery that smashed into her off-stump, leaving Pakistan faltering at 89-9 at the end of the 15th over.

Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal kept the Pakistani flag flying in the middle for three more overs hitting a couple of boundaries each but the latter had no answer to Bell’s bouncer that saw her caught by Kemp at point with 10 balls remaining.

Jones: It is a special day for me at Edgbaston

Player of the match Amy Jones playing in her 100th T20I…

“It was a pretty good. Obviously made a lot better with a comfortable win in the end. I am glad the 100th fell here at Edgbaston.

“It was definitely challenging up front. I though Pakistan bowled really well so when I got out there with Heather (Knight) it was about rebuilding in a positive way.

“There are some learnings in there for us but I am happy with the partnership we built and we scored some runs when we got going.”

Dar: There are positives for us to take

Pakistan captain Nida Dar…

“We started really well in the Powerplays, and the batting and the bowling. But I think that we need to go on and learn as well.

“It was a big opportunity and I wish we had grabbed that but there are things to work on and we have things to work on for the next game.

“I think the catches we took are a positive which we will take into the next game.”

Watch England Women face Pakistan in the second T20I on Friday May 17 live on Sky Sports Cricket, with live coverage from 5.30pm. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.

Women’s Vitality T20I Series vs Pakistan fixtures – live on Sky Sports

May 11: 1st Women’s T20I – Edgbaston, Birmingham, 2.30pm
May 17: 2nd Women’s T20I – The County Ground, Northampton, 6.30pm
May 19: 3rd Women’s T20I – Headingley, Leeds, 1pm

Women’s Metro Bank One-Day International Series vs Pakistan fixtures – live on Sky Sports

May 23: 1st Women’s One-Day International – The Incora County Ground, Derby, 1pm
May 26: 2nd Women’s One-Day International – The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton, 11am
May 29: 3rd Women’s One-Day International – The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford, 1pm

Stocks making the biggest...

Biggest banks planning to...

Why the ‘great resignation’...

Stocks making the biggest...

NVO, HMC, XRX, TSLA...

How much Mariah Carey...