England bounce back from awful start to beat Pakistan in opening T20

Captain Heather Knight stabilised the England innings with the bat before Sarah Glenn starred with the ball in a 53-run win

Sarah Glenn starred with the ball for England (PA Wire)

England recovered from a nightmare start to beat Pakistan in their first assignment of the summer, drawing first blood in the three-match T20 series with a 53-run win at Edgbaston.

Aiming to get on a run with the Women’s T20 World Cup in October moving into view, England stumbled out of the traps after being asked to bat first on Saturday as they lurched to 11-4 inside three overs before captain Heather Knight stabilised the innings with 49 off 44 balls.

The hosts finished strongly, led by Danielle Gibson’s unbeaten 41 off 21 deliveries, to post a competitive 163-6 before Pakistan reached 77-3 at halfway as they looked to set their new record chase in the format.

However, Pakistan’s pursuit never recovered from Sadaf Shamas being run out for 35 off 24 balls and they lost their last seven wickets for just 31 runs as they were all out for 110 in 18.2 overs.

Sarah Glenn was the pick of the England attack with 4-12 in her first international appearance since leaving the recent tour of New Zealand early after suffering a concussion, while Lauren Bell chipped in with 3-22.

Sophie Ecclestone, the women’s top-ranked T20 bowler, claimed 1-17 to equal Katherine Sciver-Brunt’s England record 114 wickets in the format.

Glenn took 4-12 to skittle the Pakistan line-up (Getty Images)

Speaking on BBC Two after the win, Knight said: “We have depth with the bat, it was a case of rebuilding. We’re delighted Nat’s coming back in, but we’ve got a lot of young talent coming through.

“I wasn’t going to miss England games in New Zealand [to play in the WPL]. It gave me a chance to work on my game, I had some good time in the nets with my batting coach, you don’t have a lot of chance to do that.

“We’re getting really good at sharing knowledge. We’ve got a lot of young players who are keen to soak up stuff, sometimes if we’re under the pump we might have to change our game if the pitch isn’t conducive to hitting a boundary every ball. We’re working with the skills coaches to get the skills we need in Bangladesh [Women’s T20 World Cup.”