Natalie Sciver and Tammy Beaumont blast England to eight-wicket victory over Australia in T20 Tri-Series

Half-centuries from Natalie Sciver and Tammy Beaumont in Mumbai on Friday boosted England to an eight-wicket victory over Australia in the women’s T20 Tri-Series.

England restricted Australia to just 149 for eight, despite Australia captain Rachael Haynes top-scoring with 65, as Jenny Gunn plundered three wickets. Sciver took two and Danielle Hazell one.

Coming in to bat, Sciver piled up 68, including 12 boundaries, with Beaumont also finishing unbeaten as she registered eight fours across her haul of 58 at the Brabourne  Stadium. The winning runs came with three overs to spare.

Bryony Smith, who racked up a half-century in a warm-up match against India A this week, was dismissed for a single on her England debut while left-arm pace bowler Katie George made her bow in the first innings.

Beaumont said: “It bodes well for the rest of the tournament. Maybe there were a lot of doubts over us, coming here with an inexperienced squad, people might have thought that we would struggle against a strong Australian team.

“It’s good to put that marker out there, but that’s the nature of T20 cricket. If one of their top-order players had come off, they might have got to 180 or 190.

“Playing India in India is never easy, so it’s an exciting prospect to see how we go against them on Sunday.”

England had beaten Australia 2-1 in the T20 part of the multi-format Ashes over the winter.