POTCHEFSTROOM: England’s skipper Grace Scrivens struck a quickfire 93 to power her side to a mammoth 207/2 before bowlers propelled them to a resounding 121-run victory over Ireland in the Super Six clash of the ongoing ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup.
After opting to bat first, England raised a massive 207/2 at the back of a combined brilliance of their top four batters with skipper Scrivens leading the way with a brisk 93.
Earlier, English openers gave their side a flying start as they stitched a magnificent 136-run partnership for the first wicket inside 13 overs before Aimee Maguire castled Liberty Heap to provide her side with a much-needed breakthrough.
Heap fell eight short of her half-century as she scored 42 off 29 balls and smashed seven boundaries.
Following Heap’s departure, Scrivens stitched a brief partnership for England as she added 22 runs for the second wicket with Niamh Holland before falling to Freya Sargent in the 16th over.
She top-scored for England with 93 off just 56 balls, hitting 15 boundaries and two sixes.
Besides the openers, top-order batter Holland (34*) and wicketkeeper batter Seren Smale (30*) also made significant contributions and made sure their side surpassed the 200-run mark.
For Ireland, only Maguire and Sargent could pick up a wicket.
Set to chase a mammoth 208, the Irish batting lineup failed completely and bundled out for a mere 86 in response.
Middle-order batter Abbi Harrison offered a brief fightback with her gritty 16-run knock and top-scored for her side.
Besides Harrison, only Maguire (14) and skipper Siuin Woods (13) could breach the double figures as the rest of the Irish batters failed against a strong English bowling attack.
Hannah Baker and Sophia Smale led the way for England with the ball as they both took three wickets each, while Ryana MacDonald-Gay and Scrivens made one scalp apiece.
Meanwhile, in another Super Six clash, New Zealand edged Rwanda by four wickets to script a winning start to the second phase of their campaign.
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