England beat the West Indies by 49 runs after bowling the hosts out for just 82 runs in 16 overs; win means England take a 4-0 win the five match series; Sophie Ecclestone takes international wicket tally to 56 this year to claim record
Monday 19 December 2022 10:20, UK
Sophie Ecclestone claimed a new women's cricket record as England beat West Indies by 49 runs to win the fourth T20 in Barbados.
The 23-year-old has taken 56 international wickets this year, the most any woman has ever taken in a calendar year.
After electing to bat first, England slumped to 86-7 after 14 overs but a 45-run eighth wicket partnership between Katherine Brunt (24) and Charlie Dean (20) helped the tourists post 131.
Sheneta Grimmond and Cherry-Ann Fraser finished with three wickets apiece, including opener Sophia Dunkley (35) and captain Heather Knight for a golden duck, to give the hosts hope.
In response, the West Indies lost two wickets in the first over, with Lauren Bell taking the wickets of Aaliyah Alleyne and Rashada Williams for zero.
Bell had another career best performance, this time finishing with 4-12. She was backed up by the spinners, with Sarah Glenn (1-16), Charlie Dean (2-16) and Ecclestone (2-13) all among the wickets as England bowled the West Indies for just 86 runs.
The victory means England take a 4-0 win in the T20 series, ahead of the final match on at the same ground on Thursday.
Ecclestone said: "I'm really loving this tour, the new head coach coming in has really changed things up a bit, and it's been great to have everyone back together. After being in the Big Bash, it feels great to be back in an England shirt.
"It was a bit of a tricky wicket today, but playing thee spinners with Glenny [Sarah Glenn] and Deano [Charlie Dean] is great for me and great for us three, and I'm glad we're doing well together. Deano obviously played a T20 in the Ashes and didn't bowl a ball or field a ball, so I think it's great that she's shown how great she can be."
"Looking ahead to the World Cup, they're always incredible to be a part of and the event itself will be amazing, I think the up and coming team that we have now is amazing and I can't wait to see what we can do.
"Jon Lewis has been great for us, I think we needed someone to come in and freshen things up and to be in a position to be able to go out and be positive and give everything to the team and not have any worries if it goes wrong and to leave it all out on the pitch."
