Stats: Meg Lanning’s record knock breaches England’s fortress

Australia Women continued their unbeaten spree in the Women’s Ashes as they defeated the hosts by 93 runs in the first game of the 3-match T20I series. Skipper Meg Lanning scored a record unbeaten 133 from only 63 deliveries with help of 17 fours and seven maximums. Beth Mooney scored a 33-ball 54 to add 134 for the 2nd wicket with Lanning in only 11.4 overs as the visitors finished with 226/3 in their 20 overs. England’s chase began with both openers getting out on a duck and never recovered as they finished with 133/9.

All the stats and numbers created by Australia Women and Meg Lanning in Chelmsford:

The record-breaking knock:

133* – Meg Lanning’s unbeaten 133 is now the highest individual score in Women’s T20I cricket. The previous highest T20I score in Women’s cricket was 126 also by Lanning in the 2014 WT20 game against Ireland while Sterre Kalis of Netherlands scored 126* last month against Germany.

133* – Lanning’s 133* is also the 2nd highest individual score in Women’s Twenty20 cricket. Lizelle Lee scored an unbeaten 169 off 84 balls in the 2013 CSA Women’s Provincial T20 Cup for North West against Mpumalanga. (Note: Scorecards of some Women’s Twenty20 matches are missing)

14 – Number of centuries by Meg Lanning in International cricket – 12 in ODIs and 2 in T20Is; the most by any player in Women’s International cricket. She went past Charlotte Edwards’ 13 tons (4 in Tests, 9 in ODIs) with this hundred. Lanning is also the 3rd Woman cricketer to score two centuries in T20Is after Danielle Wyatt and Deandra Dottin.

The fortress gets breached:

1 – England Women lost an International game for the first time at the County Ground in Chelmsford. England Women won all the six ODIs and eight T20Is they played at this venue prior to this game including two ODIs and two T20Is against the Southern Stars.

The record total and a record win:

226/3 – Australia’s total of 226/3 is their highest T20I total and overall the 5th highest team total in Women’s cricket. Their previous highest total was 209/4 during the T20I Tri-Series final last year in India which also against England. These two are the only instances of Australia Women scoring 200+ in T20Is and England Women conceding the same in this format.

93 – The 93-run loss in this game is England’s biggest defeat in terms of runs in Women’s T20I cricket. Their previous biggest defeat was by 57 runs also during the T20I Tri-Series Final in 2018 against the Southern Stars. This is also the 3rd biggest T20I win in terms of runs for Australia Women.

The game of boundaries:

40 – Number of boundaries by Australia Women (31 fours and 9 sixes); the 2nd most by a team in a Women’s T20I. England Women hit 42 boundaries (33 fours & 9 sixes) when they took on South Africa Women during last year’s tri-series at home.

110 – Runs Meg Lanning aggregated through boundaries in this game; the first Woman to score 100+ runs in a T20I innings via boundaries. Previous most runs in boundaries in a Women’s T20I innings were 96 runs by Lanning during her 126 and Tammy Beaumont during her 116 last year against South Africa.

The six-hitting spree:

7 – Meg Lanning hit seven sixes in this game; the 5th most by any player in Women’s T20I innings. She is also the first Australian Woman to hit more than five sixes in any T20I innings. Elyse Villani struck five maximums during her unbeaten 90 in 2014 WT20 against Pakistan. No player other than Lanning and Villani hit five or more sixes in an International innings for Australia Women.

9 – The nine sixes hit by Australia Women are the most for them in a T20I inning. The previous most by them were 8 maximums during the 2014 WT20 game against Pakistan.

A tough day for Shrubsole:

50 – Anya Shrubsole became the first England player to conceded 50 runs in a Women’s T20I. Shrubsole conceded 50 runs in only three overs she bowled in this game. Jenny Gunn conceded 49 runs in her four overs during the last year’s T20I Tri-Series game against India.

16.67 – Anya Shrubsole’s economy rate of 16.67 is the 3rd worst economy rate in a Women’s T20I innings of three or more overs. Mali’s Oumou Sow had an economy of 27.33 (0/82 against Uganda in three overs) and 22.33 (0/67 against Rwanda in three overs) in consecutive days in last month.

A poor start:

1 – Amy Jones and Danielle Wyatt were dismissed for a duck recording the first instance of both England openers bagging ducks in a Women’s T20I innings. Overall, this was the 14th instance of both openers getting dismissed for a duck in a Women’s T20I innings.