In the ongoing U19 Women’s Tri-Nations T20 Series 2024 featuring England, Australia, and Sri Lanka, the match between Australia and England at the Mahinda Rajapaksha, the latter won the toss and elected to bat first.
The Australian bowlers put up a disciplined effort, restricting the English batting lineup to a total of 146 runs in their allotted 20 overs. Jodi Grewcock played a significant knock, scoring 31 runs off 33 balls, while Josie Groves led the charge with an impressive 57 runs off 41 deliveries. However, apart from these two, no other batter managed to make substantial contributions. Sienna Eve and Hasrat Gill were impressive for Australia, picking up three and four wickets respectively.
Chasing a target of 147 runs, Australia faced early setbacks with Kate Pelle and Samara Dulvin departing without contributing to the scoreboard. Amy Smith and Grace Lyons also fell cheaply, struggling against the England bowlers. However, Eleanor Larosa anchored the innings with a resilient unbeaten knock of 41 runs off 40 balls. Lucy Hamilton and Hasrat Gill provided crucial support with valuable contributions of 12 and 40 runs respectively.
Sophia Smale was the standout bowler for England, claiming three wickets. Despite a valiant effort by Australian batters, they fell short of the target set by England U19. England emerged victorious in this encounter by defending their total of 146 runs, winning the match by a margin of 35 runs.
England’s Josie Groves was awarded the Player of the Match for her outstanding innings of 57 runs off 41 balls, which played a crucial role in setting up the victory for her team.