England ease past Scotland

England signaled their intentions with a 10-wicket mauling of Scotland to jump to the top of their group and brighten prospects of making the semifinals of the Women’s T20 World Cup.

Opting to bat first, Scotland were restricted to a modest 109/6. In reply, England openers Maia Bouchier and Danni Wyatt-Hodge came out all guns blazing and completed the chase in just 10 overs.

Bouchier, who started the innings with a flurry of boundaries and also got a life early on, remained not out on 62 off 34 balls, while Wyatt-Hodge was unbeaten on 51 from 26 deliveries on a surface that played much better than a typical Sharjah wicket.

The Scots were batting decently enough, but the English bowlers stuck to their plans and Sophie Ecclestone (2/13 from 4 overs) was the most successful one on the day.

Even as Sarah Bryce (27 off 31 balls) and Kathryn Bryce (33 off 28 balls) played handy cameos, it was never going to be enough for the tournament debutants.

“We are putting ourselves in a really good position and going into the next few games, we have to keep ourselves calm,” said Bouchier, the Player of the Match.

Brief scores: Scotland: 109/6 in 20 overs (Bryce 33; Ecclestone 2/13); England: 113/0 in 10 overs (Bouchier 62*, Wyatt-Hodge 51*).