England began their World Cup campaign with a win against Bangladesh thanks to the left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, who bagged two wickets and a run-out in her first World Cup match since November 2018.
Jon Lewis’s decision to recall Smith to the England side earlier this year was grounded in his belief that her powerplay bowling is “up there with the best in the world” and she lived up to that billing here, finishing with two for 11 from her four overs and helping restrict Bangladesh to a 20-run power play – a slow start from which they found it impossible to recover.
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England’s eventual margin of victory was a comfortable 21 runs, although the win came after a wobble which saw them post a below-par 116 for seven after the middle-order almost squandered a strong start. The newlywed Danni Wyatt-Hodge – playing for the first time under her married name after tying the knot in June – hit 41, but was stumped in the 13th over amid a tricky few overs for her side.
Wyatt-Hodge said: “Conditions are quite difficult and it’s going to be a tough tournament, but I’m delighted to contribute tonight. There were probably a few nerves out there, but we played some smart cricket, and ran really well.”
England had started with a 47-run power play, but proceeded to lose five wickets for 37 runs in the final nine overs as Bangladesh’s spinners made the most of friendly conditions in Sharjah.
But England stuck to their own spin-heavy strategy, first touted against New Zealand in July, taking to the field with four front-line spinners who between them took five of the seven Bangladeshi wickets to fall.
Smith had been a last-minute addition to the XI, after Lewis and the captain, Heather Knight, watched Thursday’s opening games in Sharjah and concluded that a fourth spin option would be more of an asset on the slow, low wicket than the seamer Lauren Bell.
And so it proved: Smith had the opener Shathi Rani caught driving to mid-off, and returned at the death to skid the ball on to Taj Nehar’s stumps. Perhaps her most important contribution, though, was in the field, fizzing a throw in from deep square leg to run out Bangladesh’s captain, Nigar Sultana.
Wyatt described Smith’s performance as “outstanding” and added: “I said to her before the game: ‘You’re going to be a handful on this pitch,’ because she’s skiddy and little, and doesn’t get much bounce. She really deserved her chance tonight.”
Sobhana Mostary slapped Charlie Dean for six en route to a 48-ball 44 – no mean feat given the Sharjah boundary sizes – but her battling effort came to an end in the penultimate over, trapped leg-before as Bangladesh fell well short.
Earlier, Bangladesh’s bespectacled leg-spinner Fahima Khatun had enjoyed two opportunities to bring out her signature dance celebration. First, she teased Nat Sciver-Brunt out of her crease, rapped her low on the pads in front of middle stump, and, after England burned through a review, greeted the third-umpire’s decision with glee.
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Then, in the 16th over, a frustrated Alice Capsey fell straight into the trap Khatun laid for her, reverse-sweeping into the hands of backward point after managing just nine runs from the 17 balls she faced. Sophie Ecclestone pulled out her usual party trick of smashing her first ball for six, but Knight admitted afterwards that England had been pushing for a total nearer 130. “If we get on this pitch again, we’re going to have to graft for runs,” she said.
England go again on Monday against South Africa, who – fresh from thumping West Indies by 10 wickets – are likely to provide a more formidable challenge.
