England Women 158 for 5 (Sciver 58*, Beaumont 34) beat West Indies Women 155 (Taylor 57, Hartley 4-24) by five wickets
Scorecard
File photo – England Women’s left-arm spinner Alex Hartley finished as the leading wicket-taker in the five-match series, with 13 dismissals © WICB Media/Athelstan Bellamy
Left-arm spinner Alex Hartley‘s career-best 4 for 24 subdued a powerful West Indies Women’s batting line-up to 155, paving the way for England Women’s series-clinching five-wicket victory in the fifth ODI in Kingston. Natalie Sciver‘s unbeaten 58 eased the side home in the 39th over.
The result took England’s points tally in the ICC Women’s Championship to 23, leaving them one win away from confirming their direct qualification in next year’s Women’s World Cup, a target they will look to achieve on the tour of Sri Lanka next month.
Hartley accounted for West Indies’ senior batsmen in her haul, dismissing Deandra Dottin, Merissa Aguilleira, captain Stafanie Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle. Dottin fell in the 23rd over, bringing an end to a promising third-wicket partnership of 37 with Taylor after West Indies got off to a slow start. Aguillera fell four overs later.
Hartley then went on to sap any momentum West Indies could have gained in the slog overs by dismissing Campbelle and Taylor in the 41st and 43rd overs. Taylor fell for 57 off 101 balls, with three fours and a six, having steered the side to 137 with little support from the other batsmen, and the innings lasted only five more overs after her wicket as the last five wickets fell for 24. Hartley took her second four-for in the series and finished as the highest overall wicket-taker with 13 wickets in five matches, a record for England in a bilateral one-day series.
While West Indies’ batsmen had failed to put together a half-century stand, England built their chase around the 56-run partnership for the third wicket between captain Heather Knight and Sciver. England were 56 for 2 in the 17th over when the pair came together and by the time the stand was broken, at 112 in the 29th over, they were firmly in control of the chase. Sciver’s unbeaten 58, her sixth ODI fifty and second in the series, came off 74 balls and included six fours.
Knight said: “To come to the Caribbean and beat the ICC Women’s World T20 champions on their home patch, in tough conditions, and with a couple of set-backs along the way, shows how much character, desire and talent there is within this squad.
“Throughout the five matches, momentum has constantly shifted between the two sides, which shows how evenly matched the teams are.”
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo