Whitewash victory is just the T20 tonic for Keightley

A SERIES that few thought would come to fruition ended in triumph for England who completed a 5-0 whitewash of the West Indies in Derby.

- Ross Lawson

A five-over shootout was not the planned finale but perhaps a rather fitting one in a summer that saw multiple tours cancelled while next year’s 50-over World Cup was pushed back.

Chasing 42 from 30 balls, Heather Knight’s side just about stumbled over the line seven wickets down, with a high, wide no-ball the anti-climactic finish to an excellent fortnight.

West Indies, once again the saviours of the summer, didn’t deserve the eventual scoreline but bubble life in Derby was about far more than the results.

“Women’s sport in general is the concern, we were getting a real momentum across a lot of sports and it seems that bit harder to get women’s stuff up and running,” said England head coach Lisa Keightley.

“From a cricket perspective, there will be countries that can’t afford to do what England and Australia have done in hosting series. We need to make sure teams don’t go for a long period of time without playing.”

As for the 20-over matches that came before, England will take heart from plentiful contributions with Tammy Beaumont, Nat Sciver and Amy Jones each scoring a half-century.

Katherine Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone took six wickets apiece in the series, though the West Indies failed to cause too much concern in Derby.