England women’s cricket team completed a 3-0 whitewash against West Indies with an emphatic 135-run victory in the third and final One-Day International at Chelmsford on Thursday.
The hosts who had already taken an unassailable 2-0 series lead, completed a clean sweep thanks to a collective batting performance despite West Indies asking them to bat first in tough, overcast conditions.
England got off a great start thanks to their top three of Amy Ellen Jones (80 off 83 balls), Tammy Beaumont (46 off 54 balls) and Sarah Taylor (70 off 61 balls) before captain Heather Knight’s whirlwind cameo steered them past the 250-run mark.
The chase proved to be too big an ask for the visitors, who could only put up 131-9 on board, chasing a revised target of 267. Windies were poor with the bat all series long and the story was no different in the final game as they lost both their openers early on. Although Captain Kycia Knight top-scored (38 off 29 balls), only four other batswomen managed to cross double-digit figures as England kept them on the back foot for the entire game.
By virtue of this win, England earned two points in the International Cricket Council’s Women’s Championship and virtually sealed a place in the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup.
Brief scores: England 258/4 in 39 overs (Amy Ellen Jones 80, Sarah Taylor 70, Tammy Beaumont 46, Heather Knight 40*; Hayley Mathews 2-52) beat West Indies 131 in 37.4 overs (Kycia Knight 38, Stacy-Ann King 26; Kate Cross 2-16, Sophie Ecclestone 2-27) by 135 runs (Duckworth/Lewis Method).