The keeper equals Sarah Taylor’s dismissal record after saving England with the sticks
Walker Baines
For a long time, Amy Jones was satisfied with the opinion that she was born in the “wrong generation”, as a long-term student of Sarah Taylor, who is considered one of the greatest defenders in the world.
And while it was Jones’ time since Taylor’s retirement in 2019, he crossed a major milestone on Saturday as man-of-the-match in England’s 53-run win over Pakistan in the first of three T20Is at Edgbaston.
It was Jones’ dream 100th international in the format at home, his 37 runs helping rescue the hosts from 11 off 17 balls and his four catches taking him to 75 runs for England Women, behind Taylor. Record 74.
“Sarah’s a brilliant goalkeeper and someone I’ve looked up to a lot and I think has inspired a lot of goalkeepers in England so that’s a cool stat,” Jones said after the match.
“I was wondering if I was ever going to buy gloves. I think there was a long period where, yeah, ‘The Wrong Generation’ was thrown around a lot and it just didn’t click on its own.”
Jones’ knock certainly clicked during England’s recent tour of New Zealand, with scores of 92, 48 and 50 in three ODIs, following a five-match T20I series. He said the turnaround was the result of a new mental approach and he managed to maintain his form despite the considerable hype surrounding the match, in front of more than 12,000 fans.
With her side reeling in the face of impressive bowling from seamer Waheeda Akhtar and left-arm spinner Saeed Iqbal, Jones’ 27-ball knock proved decisive with a 67-run stand with captain Heather Knight one run short of the halfway mark. century. Both could only watch as Dani Gibson smashed 41, the best of her international career, and an unbroken stand of 44 with Sophie Ecclestone saw England post a respectable 6 for 163.
Jones played a similar role in the losing cause during the Ashes last year at the same ground, his 21-ball 40 giving England nothing to defend after another shaky start, while his unbeaten 36 helped South Africa to victory here against South Africa. Commonwealth Games in 2022.
Leg-spinner Sarah Glenn took her best international figures of 4 for 12 to ensure Pakistan were bowled out for 110, giving England victory even if the margin somewhat flattered them with bat and ball after such a poor start. Pakistan started the run chase especially through Sadaf Shamas before losing the last eight wickets for 44 runs.
Jones admitted he felt “a bit of pressure” when he went to bat at No.6 before taking on the rebuilding task with Knight. And those initial nerves didn’t help the focus on his landmark match.
“I don’t know if I even enjoy the first game of the summer, to be honest, every year,” he said. “This morning I was a little nervous around the hotel and as soon as you leave, some thunder. But I paid a lot of attention, which is not my favorite, but I appreciated the love. So, yes, a little extra nerves I would say.
“In the end we won comfortably, but at different times and at the start we had quite a few challenges, so much learning and that’s good, not an outright win, a lot to take away from it.”
The series continues with T20s in Northampton on Friday and Leeds on Sunday before a three-match ODI series.
Walker Baines is the Editor-in-Chief of Women’s Cricket at ESPNcricinfo
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