England extend lead in T20I series with comfortable win in Barbados

Sophia Dunkley made 43 and Charlie Dean took three wickets as England went two-nil up in the five-game T20I series

Barbados: England 141-6, West Indies 125-8 - England win by 16 runs

Scorecard

England eased to a second successive victory in the T20I series against West Indies as Jon Lewis' side ramp up their preparations for the T20 World Cup in February.

Sophia Dunkley (43) top-scored for the tourists, batting through the majority of the innings on a desperately slow surface as England rested key players Nat Sciver, Amy Jones and Sophie Ecclestone in Barbados, before they defended a total of 141 for 6 with ease against a struggling home batting line-up.

Opener Dunkley hit one glorious six over long-off and dragged two fours through the legside as she took responsibility after the early losses of Danni Wyatt and Lauren Winfield-Hill, who kept wicket for the first time in international cricket – also the first time that Jones has missed an England match since replacing Sarah Taylor behind the stumps.

Maia Bouchier, given a rare opportunity in England's middle order in the absence of Sciver, played an excellent supporting role after Heather Knight's side had stuttered through the first half of their innings, reaching 57 for 2 at the halfway stage.

But Knight upped the ante, chipping beautifully over midwicket and driving through point in successive balls before she was stumped down the legside off Karishma Ramharack.

Her departure, though, after Wyatt had been bowled cutting and Winfield-Hill holed out to midwicket, brought Bouchier to the crease.

She added 40 with Dunkley in 4.1 overs until the latter picked out long-off, attempting to repeat her earlier six. Bouchier (24) was then stumped two balls later.

England might have been in greater strife had Rashada Williams not dropped two straightforward chances at extra cover.

^{Hayley Matthews is short on runs for West Indies (Image: CWI Media)}

But after Katherine Brunt almost ran herself out when attempting a single to the bowler off her first ball, she and Alice Davidson-Richards struggled to provide any late fireworks, with Brunt giving a first international wicket to occasional wicketkeeper Williams. Sarah Glenn then hit 10 off three balls in an important cameo that took England to a total that they defended comfortably.

West Indies started well with the bat, with Aaliyah Alleyne hitting three early boundaries, but she chipped Freya Davies to mid-off to begin a collapse of 5 for 29 in seven overs. Hayley Matthews, who took three wickets with her off-spin but is enduring a miserable time with the bat, was bowled through the gate by Charlie Dean's off-spin, before Dean – bowling in a T20I for the first time – cleaned up Williams, who has comfortably been the hosts' best batter in the last fortnight.

Djenaba Joseph, a member of West Indies' under-19 side soon to depart for the World Cup in January, was stumped off a beautiful Glenn leg-break, with Kycia Knight bowled by a similarly classical dismissal for Dean, flighting up a ball that pitched on middle and took her off-stump.

Chinelle Henry, expensive earlier with the ball, chipped Lauren Bell to Wyatt in the deep and Shemaine Campbelle was trapped in front by Brunt, before Afy Fletcher was deceived by an excellent Bell slower ball. Towering sixes from Shabika Gajnabi and Cherry-Ann Fraser brought West Indies closer, with England winning by 16 runs to extend their series lead.

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