19 February 2020 12:04 am
England captain Heather Knight won the toss in Adelaide and batted first but her team never got going, struggling to 122 for 9, with Sri Lanka’s spinners inflicting
the damage.
Sri Lanka’s win was set up by an all-round performance from Chamari Atapattu who scored 78 off 50 deliveries, before taking 3 for 21 in four overs.
Atapattu and Hasini Perera put on an unbeaten opening partnership of 123 to take Sri Lanka to victory achieved in just 12.3 overs. “It was a disappointing performance, but I’d rather we got it out of the way ahead of the World Cup,” said Knight. “We’re still in a good place.” In Brisbane, India warmed up for a tilt at a first ever World Cup crown by beating 2016 champions the West Indies by
two runs. Playing their last game before the tournament starts on Friday, Australian skipper Meg Lanning and deputy Rachael Haynes steered them to a four-wicket victory with three balls to spare in Adelaide. Lanning (47 from 36 balls) and Haynes (39 from 35) put on a 90-run stand after they slumped to 35 for four in reply to South Africa’s 147 for six. “We’re as ready as we can be. Now it’s just about going out there and putting it on the park,” Lanning said after a build up that saw the four-time World Cup winners beat India and England in a tri-series, but also lose to both sides.
They set the West Indies a very makeable 108 to win after being restricted to 107 for eight. But Stafanie Taylor’s side couldn’t reach the target, managing just 105 for seven in their 20 overs. The 10-team World Cup starts in Sydney on Friday when Australia face India.
England Women: 122/9 in 20 overs (Amy Jones 23, Tammy Beaumont 23, Shashikala Siriwardene 4/22, Chamari Atapattu 3/21)
Sri Lanka Women: 123/0 in 12.3 overs (Chamari Atapattu 78 n.o, Hasini Perera 29 n.o).
(Agencies)