Amy Jones at her best, Pakistan's latest leg-spinner and Bismah briefly makes England toil... T20I TALKING POINTS

NICK FRIEND: Having won the preceding ODI series, England's preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup continued in earnest, with a comfortable win over Pakistan in Kuala Lumpur

Amy Jones makes most of opening opportunity

Amy Jones’ curious record of performing better with the bat when selected to keep wicket continued in Kuala Lumpur as she reached a third T20I half century.

With Sarah Taylor now having retired from the international arena, Jones looks set to be unopposed in her quest to become England’s regular wicketkeeper.

She has often found her best form when Taylor has been absent; Jones’ batting average in ODIs when keeping wicket of 32.31 is nine runs higher than when she does not have the gloves. Heading into this T20I series, that figure rises to 13.

“I think Amy and Sarah are the best two wicketkeepers in the world, so I think Amy now gets the chance to show that she is the best wicketkeeper-batsman in the world and really nail that role,” England interim head coach Ali Maiden told The Cricketer before the series began.

“She could easily be best wicketkeeper-batsman in the world and, therefore, among the top ten cricketers in the world. She’s then an allrounder. That’s really exciting.”

In this first of three T20Is, she was mightily impressive on a sluggish surface, especially after the early loss of Danni Wyatt, the side’s regular aggressor.

After she fell – caught and bowled by Nida Dar for six, Jones was brutal and often agricultural in her methods against Pakistan’s spinners. When Aliya Riaz strayed in line and length with her right-arm seamers, Jones caressed her through the off-side at will.

By the time she fell for 53 – a ball after reaching her fifty with a swept boundary – the tenth of her innings, she had – to a certain extent – done her job.

With Fran Wilson initially carded to come in at No.6 and Katherine Brunt’s late-innings hitting even lower still, the makeup of this England side comes with enormous batting depth. Wilson was not required, while Brunt was promoted to make use of that power. Heather Knight’s five-ball cameo brought three fours in succession in the final over.

^{Amy Jones made her third half century in T20I cricket}

It is safe to say that Jones looked more comfortable at the top of the order than she had done when batting at No.5 during the earlier ODIs between the teams. She was able to take stock before looking to attack – a role in which she is far more comfortable than merely having to launch from ball one.

That England were unable to move towards a total of 170 – a figure that looked well in range at one stage – was more than in part the result of a slow, stodgy surface rather than England’s stroke-play which – for the most part – was encouraging in its dominance. It was the same pitch as that used for the first ODI between the sides, making it a challenge to hit cleanly back through the line of the ball.

This was highlighted by the change in pace of the tourists’ innings; their first 30 took 27 balls, before the second required just three overs. However, their third 30 came at well under a run-a-ball.

Syeda Aroob Shah impresses as Pakistan show signs of tangible progress

The Pakistan leg-spinner, on T20I debut, looked a terrific prospect. At just 15 years of age, she bowled with terrific control and no little skill, regularly beating England’s batsmen in the flight.

There was little spin on offer, but Aroob rarely handed England’s batsmen straightforward scoring opportunities; her four overs cost just 21 runs. She eventually got her reward, bowling Jones as she looked to slog-sweep her over deep midwicket.

Of her 24 deliveries, she bowled 13 dot balls, being struck for just two boundaries – a fine effort from a promising youngster.

In the main, her performance was emblematic of her side’s display in the field. Nida Dar took a good catch off her own bowling to dismiss Danni Wyatt, while outfielders threw themselves around without exception. Even when misfields did occur – and they were still more regular than captain Bismah Maroof would want, there could be no accusation of a lack of commitment.

Of more encouragement, England were not handed a single extra by their nominal hosts; they were made to work for their runs, which they achieved on a tricky wicket.

^{Sophie Ecclestone took three wickets for England}

England made to work…briefly

Although England had Pakistan 1 for 2 early on thanks to Freya Davies, Knight’s side were temporarily troubled during the powerplay overs by an enterprising third-wicket fightback. Bismah Maroof and Umaima Sohail looked to drag Pakistan ahead of the required run rate and did so with some considerable success with a flurry of boundaries.

Sophie Ecclestone would soon ensure that this ultimately was nothing but a short blip on England’s part, dismissing Sohail and Nida Dar in her first over. Yet briefly, there was some cause for concern for England’s seamers, with scoring opportunities offered up on both sides of the wicket.

Katherine Brunt leaked 11 runs off the bat in her first over, as well as four byes past a static Amy Jones, while Davies’ third over was also expensive. Brunt’s return was equally costly, conceding 11 more runs as Pakistan tucked into her extra pace on a slow deck.

That this hardly mattered in the grand scheme of things was down, in part, to the lack of depth in Pakistan’s batting. Once Ecclestone had Sohail well caught by Nat Sciver and then Dar trapped in front as she played back to a straight delivery, the game was almost done as a contest.

Bismah played a terrific hand, showing all her class as she almost manufactured a position from which her side could have launched a late victory charge. Yet, she was hardly afforded any assistance until Sidra Nawaz joined her at the end of the eighth over – the pair put on 60 together.

It is one of the major differences between the two sides at the present time – there is no disgrace in that, of course, given the enormous disparity in funding and support given to the growth of women’s cricket in the two countries.

It was of some credit in itself that Pakistan’s batsmen kept on swinging in a futile attempt to overhaul England’s total; in the past, they may well have seen it as sufficiently developmental to nudge and block their way through their 20 overs.

In the end, though, a job well done for England.

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