Cricket news round-up – 19 June: England demolish Afghanistan; Mali Women all out for 6

England beat Afghanistan by 150 runs in a World Cup match; Mali Women were bowled out for 6 in a T20I by Rwanda Women; Ed Joyce has been appointed Ireland Women interim coach; and the first T20I between England Women and West Indies Women abandoned due to rain.

England maul Afghanistan

England captain Eoin Morgan recovered sufficiently from a back spasm and went on to hit his career-best score, a remarkable 148 off just 71 balls – a knock that included the most number of sixes in an ODI innings: 17. Morgan helped England roll over Afghanistan in Match 24 of the ICC World Cup 2019, at Old Trafford.

Batting first after winning the toss the hosts racked up 397/6, also helped by Joe Root’s 88 and Jonny Bairstow’s 90. But Morgan was the star of the day as England hit 25 sixes – the most hit by any team in an ODI innings – even as Rashid Khan went for the most expensive figures by any bowler in World Cup history: 9-0-110-0. Amidst the carnage, Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib stuck it out with the ball, returning 3 for 68 runs from his 10 overs.

In reply, Afghanistan managed to bat their 50 overs for the first time in this tournament but fell woefully short of their target, finishing on 247/8 with Hashmatullah Shahidi top-scoring with 76. Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid got 3 wickets apiece; Mark Wood returned 2/40.

Mali Women bowled out for 6

Mali Women were bowled out for the lowest total in Women’s T20Is, 6, against Rwanda Women in the Kwibuka Women’s T20 tournament played in the Rwandan capital Kigali City on Wednesday, 18 June. Rwanda took just 4 balls to chase down the target of 7 and win by 10 wickets.

Before this game, the lowest ever recorded total in Women’s T20Is was China’s 14 against UAE in January this year in reply to UAE’s 203. China were bowled out in just 10 overs. Rwanda now hold the record for the largest margin of victory in terms of balls left – 116 – in Women’s T20I cricket.

Five of the six runs scored in Mali’s innings came off extras as only one bat, Mariam Samake, got off the mark. There was a series of ducks as Rwanda pacer Josiane Nyirankundineza got 3 for 1.

Ed Joyce appointed Ireland Women interim coach

Ed Joyce has been appointed interim head coach of Ireland Women. He replaced Aaron Hamilton, who was in charge of the women’s team for more than four years. Joyce took over just two months before the World T20 Qualifier in Scotland and will stay on until the end of that tournament.

 After his retirement from international cricket in May 2018, Joyce has worked as a batting coach in the Ireland performance system and also assumed a role overseeing leadership development. Hamilton’s exit comes in the wake of the Ireland Women’s 8 consecutive losses in T20Is, including all 4 of their games in last year’s Women’s World T20 in the West Indies.

“I’m excited by the talent and potential of this young squad – there were some extremely encouraging performances from several players during the West Indies series and this bodes well leading into potentially more important games later in the summer,” Joyce said. “It’s a great opportunity for me to further my journey in coaching, albeit on an interim basis until the end of the T20 World Cup qualifier.”

No-show in first England-West Indies Women’s T20I

Rain had the final say in the first Women’s T20I between England and the West Indies in Northampton as the game was abandoned without toss. When the scheduled 7 PM (local time) start was delayed due to heavy rain, the latest the match could begin for a five-overs-a-side contest was 9.15 PM.

But an hour before, at 8.15, umpires Jeremy Lloyds and Rob Bailey inspected the ground even as the rain continued to pour down and decided that no play was possible for the night. The second T20I will be played on June 21 at the same venue.