Dominant England seal T20 series win over Pakistan

Second T20, Northampton

England 144-6 (20 overs): Sciver-Brunt 31 (21); Dar 2-33

Pakistan 79 (15.5 overs): Riaz 19 (17); Ecclestone 3-11, Capsey 2-4

England won by 65 runs; lead series 2-0

Scorecard

England sealed a series victory against Pakistan with a crushing 65-run victory in the second T20 in Northampton.

Chasing 145 to keep themselves in the series, the visitors slumped to 79 all out in 15.5 overs.

Spinner Sophie Ecclestone finished with 3-11 in a complete bowling effort that saw England dominate throughout.

Earlier, England reached 144-6 after Pakistan squandered a positive position.

They were in the game with England 127-5 at the start of the final over, but all-rounder Danielle Gibson provided a crucial 18 not out from nine balls to shift the momentum.

Nat Sciver-Brunt made a fluent 31 upon her return after egg-freezing treatment, while number three Capsey cracked the same score and opener Maia Bouchier hit 30.

While the total felt too much for Pakistan at the halfway mark, their meek response was disappointing, with no batter making it to 20 amid a cluster of soft dismissals.

The final match of the T20 series is at Headingley, Leeds on Sunday.

Stop-start England still win convincingly

It was a peculiar batting display from England, whose total proved to be ultimately match-winning, but moments of brilliance were interspersed with frustration.

Bouchier and Capsey helped England start rapidly, with the former batting beautifully before Diana Baig's sensational one-handed scoop at cover saw her run out through no fault of her own.

Capsey struggled for her usual destructive fluency but still managed to smash five fours in one over, while Sciver-Brunt looked like she had never been away.

The all-rounder smoked her first ball for four and added five more, before she was dismissed by the economical spin of Sadia Iqbal, who took 1-20.

But there was another disappointment for opener Danni Wyatt, who was bowled for six, while Knight and Amy Jones made four and 15 respectively after their heroics at Edgbaston.

Gibson's finishing ability proved crucial again, however, smashing a six and a four from the final two balls to dent Pakistan's confidence after a much-improved performance in the field that was in vain after another woeful batting effort.

England bowlers peak at the perfect time

With preparation for the autumn's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh dominating this series' narrative, England's spinners are consistently performing at a very convenient time.

Ecclestone, at the age of just 25, overtook Katherine Sciver-Brunt as England's leading T20 wicket-taker with her three-wicket haul taking her overall tally to 137.

Sarah Glenn shone with 4-12 at Edgbaston and backed it up with 2-10 here, while seamer Lauren Bell continues to lead the seam attack with great maturity, finishing with 2-20.

Capsey also chipped in with one over and took two wickets in it, adding another valuable aspect to her game in what should be spin-friendly conditions in the subcontinent, while it was a rare wicketless day for off-spinner Charlie Dean.

There is the caveat that Pakistan were poor - they gifted England most of their wickets with loose shots, chipping the ball aerially for simple catches in the ring and swiping across the line regularly.

But with Dean, Glenn, Bell and Ecclestone all featuring in the top 10 in the ICC's bowling rankings, they are shaping up as arguably the world's most complete bowling attack.

'Spin is our strength' - what they said

England captain Heather Knight: "We bowled lots of spin, obviously it's our strength, but they had to deliver.

"It was one of those wickets where you felt if you just bowled straight, made it hard for the batter and took a bit of pace off it was quite tricky. It was a little bit deceiving, maybe a bit more like Bangladesh than we thought!"

Pakistan captain Nida Dar: "The batting part is not working well. We have tried a lot of combinations before this series, we are working on it and will talk about it for the next game."

Ex-England spinner Alex Hartley: "England have been far too good today but Pakistan have been poor. There were too many soft dismissals."