England Falls to Australia in T20 Warm-Up

England suffered a convincing defeat against defending champions Australia in their first T20 World Cup warm-up match in Dubai. Chasing a target of 163 runs, Heather Knight’s side started strong, reaching 90-2 but then suffered a dramatic collapse, losing six wickets for just 15 runs and finishing at 129 all out in 19.4 overs, resulting in a 33-run loss.

Alice Capsey stood out for England, top-scoring with 40 runs off 34 balls but she was the only batter to surpass 20. Opener Beth Mooney anchored the Australian innings, contributing a quickfire 50 from 30 balls. Tahlia McGrath and Ash Gardner also made valuable contributions scoring 31 and 21, respectively to help Australia set a total of 162-6.

Lauren Bell led England’s bowling, claiming 2 wickets for 29 runs while Nat Sciver-Brunt and spinners Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn and Charlie Dean each took one wicket. The English openers, Maia Bouchier and Danni Wyatt started briskly, adding 30 runs in three overs before Australian bowlers dismissed both. Capsey’s aggressive innings featured five fours but her dismissal off a reverse sweep sparked the collapse.

Molineux ended with figures of 2-27 while McGrath claimed 3-18. In other warm-up matches, India triumphed over the West Indies by 20 runs, while last year’s finalists, South Africa, bowled out for just 92, lost to New Zealand by eight wickets. Organizers moved the tournament from Bangladesh to the UAE due to civil unrest in the country. The World Cup will kick off on Thursday with Bangladesh facing tournament debutants Scotland.

England will play their first game against Bangladesh on Saturday, October 5.