Warwickshire's Amy Jones celebrated her 26th birthday in style in Chelmsford, scoring 80 runs and picking up the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards as England Women completed a Royal London One-Day Series clean-sweep of the West Indies.
Wicket-keeper/bat Jones put on 84 with Tammy Beaumont (46) for the first wicket and 87 with Sarah Taylor for the second before an excellent catch in the deep by Britney Cooper saw her dismissed.
Taylor kept the run rate high, hitting 70 off 61 balls to see England past the 200 mark and to take her personal tally past 4,000 runs in ODI cricket. Some ferocious hitting by captain Heather Knight (40* off 19 balls) took the total to 258/4 from the rain-adjusted 39 overs.
Set 267 to win from 39 overs the West Indies innings started in jaw-dropping fashion. Hayley Matthews hit a huge six over long-on in the second over but then fell to a stunning diving catch by Fran Wilson at cover the very next ball.
Debutant Bryony Smith picked up her first international wicket with the dismissal of Natasha McLean and finished with 1/20 from eight overs as the visitors’ chase failed to gain momentum.
The win gives England their 13th in a row in all competitions and, more importantly, moves them a step closer to qualification to the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup. England move to the top of the ICC Women’s Championship with 24 points.
Jones was the leading run scorer for England in the three-match ODI series with 189 at an average of 63, following scores of 91 and 18 alongside her 80 in the final match of the series.
