Nat Sciver secures series win as England women seize their moment on prime-time TV

England (154-6) beat West Indies (134-5) by 20 runs

We’d heard about it, talked about it, perhaps even listened to it in the dead of night. But on Saturday we finally got the opportunity to watch England’s top performer in this year’s T20 World Cup do it all again on prime-time television, free for all to see.

Nat Sciver, wielding her bat like a snooker cue, calculated her angles, each gap in the field pierced with precision as she stroked her way to 82 from 61 deliveries. It was Sciver's top score in a T20 international and the first time this series that England had managed to wrestle the mantle of the game’s highest runscorer from the strong grip of Deandra Dottin. Good timing too, for England to put on a show, as women’s cricket returned to free-to-air television for the first time since the 1993 World Cup Final, a 27-year hiatus.

"It was important that we were ruthless and on it in all skillsets today," said Sciver, who has now hit nine T20I half-centuries and four already in this truncated cricketing year. "The first two games I was going a bit too big too early, which is something we’re working on as a team, but for myself, to build into [my innings] is probably a bit easier. I had a chat about that with some of the coaches, and with Heather [Knight, England captain], and it came off."

Dottin again was the one West Indian to really challenge England’s hold on this series, swatting 69 from 59 before falling to some shrewd bowling from seamer Katherine Brunt, whose fine series continues. Under the powerful opener’s stewardship it looked, for a while, as though the West Indies were on course. While England had stumbled to their lowest powerplay total of the series so far, of 33 for two, the visitors at the same juncture were eight runs to the good, also two wickets down. Crucially, too, they had modified the batting line-up.

In previous matches, two wickets signalled the demise of two-thirds of the West Indies’ premier batters, of Dottin, Hayley Matthews or captain Stafanie Taylor. But on Saturday they tried something different. Matthews, relieved from opening duties, entered instead at number four and duly notched up her highest total, of 21, while Taylor, accustomed to coming in at first change, dropped down to sixth in line. Arguably, that final change was one too many, the West Indies’ dangerous captain not out at the end, her team 20 adrift and she had only faced 13 balls.

There was a feeling, perhaps, that if you are going to shake things up, you had better go all the way and that was the mantra the West Indies loyally followed. They turned to eight different bowlers in a bid to prize Sciver from the crease, the first time they have done so since 2014. However, just like the prize fighters in a heavyweight headline bout, it was a game of dominant all-rounder versus dominant all-rounder, as it was Dottin (yes, her again) who finally bowled Sciver in England’s final over.

Too little, too late and a series win to England with two games to spare. Still, today was about more than just the result and both Dottin and Sciver know of the expectation upon female athletes to perform whenever the spotlight fleetingly shines their way.

"Being on mainstream TV doesn’t come around too often — I’ve been waiting for the BBC to play my best," quipped England’s vice-captain. "The numbers of people who have watched the men’s games on Sky and the BBC this summer so far, the numbers are massive and hopefully we’ve inspired a few people today to pick up a bat and a ball."

More than a few, you would imagine.