England overcame a terrible start against Pakistan thanks to a match-saving partnership of 67 between Amy Jones and Heather Knight, followed by a four-wicket haul from leg-spinner Sarah Glenn, to win the opening match of their home international summer.
In front of a crowd of 12,241 at Edgbaston, Jones and Knight rescued the hosts from 11 for 4 after 17 balls of the first T20I. A powerful 41 not out off just 21 deliveries from Dani Gibson helped lift England to 163 for 6, a total that looked unlikely in the third over following a top-order collapse and one that will leave England with plenty to work on despite the result.
Glenn, playing her first match in an England shirt since suffering a concussion during the recent tour of New Zealand, kept Pakistan in check after they made a spirited start to the run chase. She finished with 4 for 12 from her four overs, while seamer Lauren Bell took three wickets, and left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone and off-spinner Charlie Dean took one wicket each.
England's disastrous start
Alice Capsey's head drop said it all. The ball had barely reached its zenith and begun to fall into the hands of Sidra Ameen, but she knew the outcome and its implications. England were 11 for 3 after just 2.1 overs and there was worse to come. With Tammy Beaumont and Sophia Dunkley overlooked for this series, Maia Bouchier carried plenty of hope into the middle after staking her claim as an opener with an excellent tour of New Zealand in March. Bouchier flicked Waheeda Akhtar's third delivery to the fine-leg boundary, but the next delivery was flicked straight to Nida Dar at mid-off. Danni Wyatt then edged Sadia Iqbal to mid-on and Capsey followed to leave England in deep trouble.
England were without Nat Sciver-Brunt, who joined her team for the warm-up despite being ruled out on the eve of the match to recover from a medical procedure. Her absence paved the way for Freya Kemp to come in at number five and play as a batsman after returning from a back problem. But Kemp was part of a terrible mix-up with Knight, who was unmoved when Kemp drove an Akhtar delivery back to the bowler for a run, Akhtar throwing to wicketkeeper Muneeba Ali, who whipped off the bails as Kemp retreated too late.
Rebuild the middle-order
At 11 for 4, still in the third over, it fell to Knight and Jones to rebuild. Jones, playing her 100th T20I on her home ground, survived a tough chance at point off Akhtar when she was on 2, and by the time she drove Fatima Sana through midwicket for four, she and Knight had taken England to 29 for 4 at the end of the powerplay. Jones then swung back to pull Akhtar for four in the next over, and back-to-back fours off Rameen Shamim to Knight, who cleared extra cover and swept through square leg, suggested the home side's recovery was well underway. Knight missed a reverse drive off Dar and was struck on the back knee, but her lbw decision was overturned when the ball was adjudged to have hit her outside the line of off stump.
Knight didn't stop when wrist-spinner Tuba Hassan was introduced, thundering a drive over long-on, while Jones pulled and swept Rameen for two fours at the start of the next over to leave England 63 for 4 midway through the innings. Jones had been excellent with the sweep, but it proved her undoing when she top-edged a Sadia full toss to deep square leg where Natalia Pervaiz took a cool catch to end her innings on 37 off 27 balls.
Knight cleared the covers to bring up England's 100 and she and Gibson added 41 runs between them before Knight fell one run short of her half-century, Tuba making the breakthrough when Knight skied the ball to Gull Feroza at mid-on. Ecclestone was dropped on 11 by Gull at deep midwicket and Gibson drove Rameen's next ball to the deep square-leg boundary for her fourth four, with another to follow through extra cover in the same over as Gibson made her impact felt. She and Ecclestone put on an unbroken stand of 44 for the seventh wicket.