Spinners make it two in two for England

England's spin attack, led by Sophie Ecclestone's three-wicket haul, secured their second win in as many games as they beat Ireland at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday (June 16). Unlike their demolition job over Sri Lanka in the tournament opener, England were made to work hard for these two points as they stuttered in a tricky run chase before prevailing by four wickets.

Already under pressure coming into this fixture on the back of their loss to Scotland, Ireland were asked to bat first. England didn't take too long to strike as Amy Hunter was castled by Linsey Smith after she attempted to sweep a delivery too early. In the very next over, Gaby Lewis timed a scoop to perfection but hit it straight to the fielder. Ireland continued to crumble inside the Powerplay as it was now Charlie Dean's turn to strike. After six overs, Ireland were 38/3 with their hopes firmly pinned again on Orla Prendergast to revive them.

While Prendergast continued to bat in fine fashion, Ecclestone came back into the attack to strike and pin Ireland further down. In a bigger blow, the batting side went on to lose the big wicket of Prendergast as she chopped one on to her stumps. At 57/5 after 10 overs, Ireland needed a miracle to storm back into the contest. While Leah Paul and Alice Tector hung in for a while, it was a cameo from Louise Little that actually dragged Ireland beyond 100. Little smashed four boundaries in the final over of the innings after Ecclestone struck twice in the penultimate over.

A target of 119 should have been a cakewalk for a side that posted 219 in their first game. But on this surface, England were made to work hard. Danni Wyatt-Hodge picked up a few boundaries but Aimee Maguire gave Ireland massive hope with her double strike in the fifth over. Both the England openers found Lewis on the field to depart early and in the final over of the Powerplay, Prendergast, bowling a third straight over, was rewarded with Alice Capsey's wicket. England finished the Powerplay with 35/3 - which meant they were on the same boat as Ireland at this stage.

The experienced duo of Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt then got together to put the chase back on track. Sciver-Brunt picked up a boundary each off the next three overs and Knight got going with a sweep behind square that carried England to a strong position at the halfway mark. After 13 overs, England were coasting at 95/3 before Ireland found some hope again. Prendergast came back for her final over and broke the partnership with Knight's wicket.

With only 9 runs needed, Sciver-Brunt decided to walk back retired out after feeling some tightness in her calf. While the England skipper revealed after the game that it was just a precautionary measure, the fact that it was the same calf that has recently troubled her will concern England going forward. Just three balls after she walked off, England lost the wicket of Danielle Gibson as well to a needless run out which caused unnecessary panic in the dugout. However, Dean hit one over the covers for a vital boundary to calm the nerves down before securing the win in the following over.

Brief scores: Ireland 118/9 in 20 overs (Louise Little 26*; Sophie Ecclestone 3-22, Charlie Dean 2-11) lost to England 119/6 in 17.3 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 48; Orla Prendergast 2-17) by 4 wickets