Watch England Women play West Indies Women from 7.30am this Sunday on Sky Sports Cricket
Saturday 29 February 2020 08:28, UK
England's Sarah Glenn hailed the influence of fellow spinner Sophie Ecclestone after the pair orchestrated a 42-run win over Pakistan at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup.
Leg-spinner Glenn impressed again by taking 3-15 at the Manuka Oval, continuing the good form she has shown since making her debut in the pre-Christmas series against Pakistan in Malaysia.
The 20-year-old now has 13 wickets in her nine T20 appearances and says she is benefitting from bowling alongside Ecclestone, who is the top-ranked spinner in the ICC's T20 bowling rankings.
"It's been great to have Sophie with me, she's a similar age but has some more experience in the team," said Glenn.
"If I'm ever nervous or unsure about anything, she's always there to talk it through on and off the field. She's a key asset to the team.
"We're really positive as a group. It was gutting to lose against South Africa but we're feeling really good and have plenty of momentum now.
"We've had a lot of success in Canberra, especially Heather, who's had a brilliant time. We've got a lot of good memories to take into Sydney."
Knight continued her fine form with the bat, following up her century in the win over Thailand with 62 from 47 balls as England posted 158-7 from their 20 overs. She now averages 48 at the Manuka Oval in nine matches - with four fifties and one hundred.
Seamer Anya Shrubsole then took 3-25 to reach 100 wickets in T20 internationals as Pakistan were all out for 116.
Reflecting on England's second win of the tournament, Knight said: "I still think there are areas we can improve in.
"We started well; losing the wicket [of Amy Jones] was unfortunate but we still went hard in the powerplay, which was really pleasing.
"I'm enjoying batting a bit further up the order, to be honest. I have a little bit more of a chance to impact the game and pace my innings and shape the innings for the team.
"We would probably have liked to score a little bit more but I think the wicket was a little bit slow, so it was more than par I think.
"The fielding and bowling performance was generally pretty good. It was pretty close to an all-round performance."
Pakistan looked comfortable pursuing 124 against West Indies but struggled against the spin of Glenn and Ecclestone.
Aliya Riaz's dashing 41 was their only sizeable contribution and while she felt they were capable of chasing the target, missed chances in the field proved the difference.
"We made mistakes in the field and dropped some catches," said Aliya. "That's the difference between us and England.
"We believed at the halfway stage when Javeria started well, we built some partnerships and I tried to do my best at the end. I tried to hit the ball as hard as possible.
"Some catches dropped is the responsibility of the fielders. These are our mistakes. We need to build more partnerships and make fewer mistakes in fielding and bowling."
A version of this article first appeared on the International Cricket Council's official T20 World Cup website.
Live coverage of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup continues on Sky Sports, with England Women next in action on Sunday when they take on West Indies Women from 7.30am.
