Sarah Glenn took a big step in her mission to prove herself as an all-round prospect for England with a match-winning performance on the international stage.
Glenn claimed the important wickets of Deandra Dottin and Stafanie Taylor as part of England’s three-pronged spin attack, who shared six of West Indies’ eight wickets to fall between them as the hosts romped to another comfortable victory in their T20I series in Derby on Wednesday night.
But it was Derby native Glenn’s knock of 26 from 19 balls as England’s top-scorer that, in this instance, set her apart from fellow spinners Mady Villiers and Sophie Ecclestone as Player of the Match.
Not only did she help salvage what proved to be a decent total for England, but Glenn did exactly what coach Lisa Keightley had asked of the side she took over in January when identifying areas to improve after the World Cup – score runs in the lower order. And, after England failed to do so in the opening match of the series – losing five wickets and adding just 31 runs in the last five overs – the task took on more urgency, with captain Heather Knight reiterating the objective before the second game.
“It really means a lot because I really, really don’t want to try and be seen as just a bowler or batter, I want to be seen as a genuine allrounder,” Glenn said after the match. “I’ve been working hard on my batting over the last few years to be genuine allrounder.”
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Having turned 21 just last month and playing her 12th T20I, Glenn had only batted once before at this level, scoring 7 in Monday’s series opener, which England also won by 47 runs.
And, after gaining a confidence boost with her bowling at the T20 World Cup earlier this year – where she claimed six wickets in four matches, including 3 for 15 against Pakistan – Glenn said the pandemic-enforced break between that tournament and this series had helped her return to action refreshed with bat and ball in mind.
“I came back with a fresh mindset to just try and be really positive and I want to keep playing my attacking way, whatever the situation is,” Glenn said. “It felt really special to do it [make runs] with an England shirt on. I’ve been wanting to work my way up the order as well so it’s felt quite a special moment to get some runs today.”
Glenn shared a 46-run partnership off 30 balls with veteran Katherine Brunt for the seventh wicket after England had stumbled to 96 for 6 in their second of five matches against West Indies. With Dottin and Taylor at the crease in West Indies’ reply, the tourists looked capable of overhauling the target of 152 but, when Glenn trapped Dottin lbw for 38 and had Taylor brilliantly stumped by Amy Jones for 28, they fell away.
“It can be hard to bowl at these batters and you can end up going for a few runs in trying to figure out a way,” Glenn said. “I’ve just got to keep being brave and trust in my game for it to pay off.”
Villiers was economical in claiming 2 for 10 from three overs, including another excellent stumping by Jones to remove Lee-Ann Kirby, while Ecclestone – the No.1 bowler on the ICC T20 rankings – snared late wickets that ensured only Dottin and Taylor reached double figures for West Indies.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo