Knight scores 57 and Sciver 71 as England Women beat England A by 10 runs in rain-affected Ashes warm-up match; vice-captain Sciver follows her half-century with three wickets; England to play England A in two T20 games on Sunday before flying to Adelaide on Monday ahead of Ashes series
Saturday 15 January 2022 09:28, UK
Captain Heather Knight and deputy Nat Sciver struck half-centuries as England Women recorded a 10-run victory over England A in a rain-affected Ashes warm-up match in Canberra.
England begin their Ashes campaign against trophy holders Australia with the first T20 international in Adelaide next Thursday - the multi-format series comprises three T20s, one Test match and three one-day internationals.
In a warm-up game reduced to 35 overs a side on Saturday, England's senior team posted 193-6 against England A, with Knight hitting 57 from 65 balls and Sciver top-scoring with 71 from 71 deliveries.
Opener Lauren Winfield-Hill (24) and middle-order batter Sophia Dunkley (15no) also made double figures but Tammy Beaumont (6), Amy Jones (9) and Danni Wyatt (2) fell cheaply.
Seamer Lauren Bell claimed three wickets for England A, including Sciver, while there was a strike apiece for Kirstie Gordon, Beth Langston and Sarah Glenn.
England A made a decent fist of the chase, with Georgia Elwiss (33) and Alice Capsey (44) putting on 73 for the fifth wicket but they were eventually dismissed for 183 in the final over.
Sciver followed her exploits with the bat by taking 3-28 from 5.2 overs, while left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone bagged 3-24 and seamer Anya Shrubsole 2-32.
The sides will face each other again on Sunday in two T20 matches, before the players fly to Adelaide on Monday ahead of the Women's Ashes commencing later next week.
An unnamed member of backroom staff will remain in Canberra after testing positive for Covid-19, while the rest of the touring party will undergo another round of PCR tests before flying via charter.
Knight said on Friday that there were "concerns and anxieties" in the camp due to the positive test.
Knight also lamented the fact England's Ashes build-up has been "comical" and "pretty average" due to strict coronavirus restrictions, since landing in Australia but also before they left home.
The captain said: "The lead-up has been pretty average. Two weeks before we left England we could only train as individuals and with our households.
"We've had mums feeding bowling machines, boyfriends and girlfriends slinging. Dads batting and any family member or households supporting our training.
"As you can imagine, it's been pretty comical and also not ideal preparation for a series of this magnitude but it's been completely unavoidable."
