'Superb for openers'

Guha: 'Windies failed to test England whatsoever in opening match'

England's Women were at their ruthless best, said Isa Guha, as they romped to an eight-wicket win in the opening match of their Twenty20 series against the West Indies.

"It was a very convincing win by the girls and they've just stamped their authority over the whole of this series."
Isa Guha Quotes of the week

The visitors slumped to 7-3 before recovering to 71-8 off 20 overs - a score that England surpassed off 9.4 overs after skipper Charlotte Edwards (27no) and Laura Marsh (31) shared a stand of 59.

"It was a very convincing win by the girls and they've just stamped their authority over the whole of this series," said former seamer Guha, who won the 2009 ICC Women's World T20 with England.

"They'll feel pretty pleased with their performance today. They were ruthless in all facets of the game.

"The West Indies have to get better because really they haven't tested England whatsoever today and it's very frustrating. They are an inconsistent side but on their day they are capable of beating the big sides.

"They got to the semi-finals of the World T20 and earlier this year they beat the likes of India and Sri Lanka, so they are capable of some good things.

"I'm wondering whether the lack of Stafanie Taylor had a bit of a psychological impact on the team today but she'll be back into the side for the third game."

Quality

The early damage was done by seamers Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole, who reduced the West Indies to 7-3 before England's spinner Holly Colvin (2-5) got stuck in.

"Traditionally England have always gone with a seamer and a slower bowler at the other end to take pace off the ball and ask batsmen to come out and hit them," said Guha.

"But these two are quality bowlers. Katherine Brunt has been the spearhead of England's attack for years now.

"They really do complement each other as well. They are a force to be reckoned with. Brunt generally gets the ball to go away, while Shrubsole gets it to come back in. They are probably two of the quickest bowlers in the world at the moment.

"Shrubsole had a fantastic winter away in New Zealand. They didn't know how to play her. She has that extra bit of height so she can extract a little bit more bounce off the pitch."

Catch the second T20 international between England Women and the West Indies on Monday, from 2pm on Sky Sports 1 HD.