England Women win T20 opener

England Women beat Pakistan Women by 43 runs in their first match of the ICC World T20 at Galle International Cricket Stadium.

England were put into bat and after roaring to 102 without loss will have been slightly disappointed to reach only 133-6 from their 20 overs.

Laura Marsh hit seven boundaries and two maximums on the way to a career best T20 score of 54 in a 102-run partnership with captain Charlotte Edwards. The skipper made 45 with five boundaries as the pair attacked from the first ball.

Wickets tumbled as England looked to attack in the latter stages of the innings, but their total proved more than enough as Pakistan were spun out for 90.

Holly Colvin took career best figures of 4-9 and Danielle Hazell 2-19. Player of the match Marsh also contributed with a wicket maiden in her first over.

England Women will play India in their second group match at Galle International Cricket Stadium on Saturday at 1.30pm local time.

Player of the match Laura Marsh said: "We were pleased to get off to a good start today. We played positive cricket and that's how we play our game.

"It's always good to contribute, we look to go out there and hit boundaries and Charlotte and I did that. We've worked hard as a team on knocking the ball into the outfield even when there isn't so much pace on it, so we are not concerned about facing spin.

"All the bowlers bowled well today and there was another good team performance in the field. We're all happy with our positive start to the competition and look forward to playing India on Saturday."