Tammy Beaumont scored 78 off 79 balls to fire England women to victory over Sri Lanka in Colombo and into an unassailable 3-0 lead in the one-day international series.
Beaumont hit seven fours and three sixes at the Premadasa Stadium as England chased down Sri Lanka’s 161 to record a five-wicket win with one match left to play in the four-game series.
England’s bowling trio of Laura Marsh, Alex Hartley and the stand-in captain Danielle Hazell took two wickets each and no Sri Lanka player scored more than 29.
Beaumont and Lauren Winfield (21) gave England’s reply a solid start and they never looked back as Beaumont lasted all but the last five balls of the innings, with Fran Wilson adding a valuable 30.
When victory was confirmed with 20 overs left, Amy Jones (one) and Georgia Elwiss (five) were left unbeaten at the crease. England will look to complete a series whitewash on Thursday. They secured qualification for the 2017 Women’s World Cup when they took a 2-0 lead on Saturday.
The Yorkshire off-spinner Hazell was captaining the side in place of Heather Knight, who had a hamstring injury, while the fast bowler Katherine Brunt was also ruled out with a thigh problem.
Hazell said: “The girls put in a really good performance and made my job really easy. I’m proud to have captained the team and if it comes my way again, I’ll be happy to do it. It shows how strong our squad is. It’s a real honour but it shows the strength of women’s cricket in England.”
Beaumont added: “It was hard work out there because the pitch deteriorated in the second innings. All credit to the way Fran Wilson came in and she definitely kept me going in the middle as I went through a hard patch. Fran is showing her class now. For her to do that on the international stage is great to see.”
