England women’s cricket team trail by 120 runs against Australia Women-A in their warm-up game after the first day of play at the County Ground in Derby. Thanks to Tammy Beaumont’s impressive knock of 65*, England have kept themselves in a commanding position, with nine wickets still in hand. Australia A were bundled out for 221 in their first innings, thanks to Sophie Ecclestone’s outstanding bowling spell of 5/38. Despite Charli Knott’s unbeaten 51 and Amanda-Jade Wellington’s 40 off three overs, Australia struggled to cope with the wickets falling regularly.
After losing Emma Lamb early at 10, England’s Beaumont and Heather Knight led the second-wicket partnership, closing the day at 101/1. Beaumont scored an unbeaten 65, while Knight stood at an unbeaten 26. Meanwhile, England Women A trail by 149 runs, with eight wickets in hand, as Australia Women lead by a considerable margin.
Australian bowlers will need to step-up their game to knock out England’s strong batting line-up, while England’s bowlers have already proven their mettle with an impressive performance against Australia Women-A. It remains to be seen how the match unfolds in the coming days, but England will need to work hard to level the playing field and clinch the victory.
