Nat Sciver-Brunt ton inspires England to Women’s World Cup win over Sri Lanka

Nat Sciver-Brunt’s record one-day international century propelled England to an 89-run victory over Sri Lanka in Colombo.

The England captain became the first batter to record a fifth hundred in Women’s World Cup history as she fired a magnificent 117 off as many deliveries.

Sciver-Brunt’s knock helped England reach 253 for nine from their 50 overs before Sophie Ecclestone starred with the ball, ending with figures of four wickets for 17, as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 164.

The victory was England’s third in a row as they moved to the top of the table, while Sri Lanka remain winless.

Sciver-Brunt was dropped on three by Udeshika Prabodhani and that mistake came back to haunt the hosts.

There were cameos at the top of the England order, with Tammy Beaumont (32 off 29 deliveries) and Heather Knight (29 off 47) both contributing, while Inoka Ranaweera led Sri Lanka’s attack with three for 33 from her 10 overs.

But it was Sciver-Brunt who led the way when she brought up her 10th ODI hundred – just the fifth woman to do so – off 110 balls.

She hit two sixes, as well as a hat-trick of consecutive fours in the final over, to put England in the driving seat.

Commenting on her match-winning innings, Beaumont said of Sciver-Brunt: “She is just unbelievable. She doesn’t seem to feel pressure when she is batting.

“She started off aggressively when the ball was skidding on, and then stayed composed and shuffled that lower order. It shows how good she is and how lucky we are to have her in the team.”

In response, Charlie Dean removed Vishmi Gunaratne (10) with her first delivery. Sri Lanka steadied the ship to reach 95 for one before Ecclestone dismantled the top order.

Hasini Perera (35), Harshitha Samarawickrama (33), Kavisha Dilhari (four) and Chamari Athapaththu (15) were all bamboozled by Ecclestone’s excellence.

Sciver-Brunt then got in on the act with the ball to trap Anushka Sanjeewani lbw to leave Sri Lanka six wickets down and 100 off their target.

Sciver-Brunt had her second victim when she removed Dewmi Vihanga following a fine catch by Dean, who would also end the evening with two wickets after she clean bowled Sugandika Dasanayaka.

England play Pakistan next on Wednesday before additional group tests to follow against India, Australia and New Zealand.