ICC Women World Cup: Top Five Knocks

#3 Sarah Taylor - 147 runs off 104 balls. Vs South Africa, July 5

Brutal and beautiful: Taylor, the tormentor, against South Africa

Sarah Taylor, a crucial cog in England’s women cricket team, exhibited her batting skills at Bristol by amassing 147 runs from just 104 balls against South Africa.

The English wicket-keeper took complete advantage of the flat surface and blasted 24 fours in her innings. She was in control of the drives and cuts and at the same time made creative use of reverse sweeps and paddle sweeps.

The South African bowlers looked toothless on the flat surface and Taylor punished them for every mistake. Tammy Beaumont gave able company to the English wicket-keeper as the two added 275 runs for the third wicket.

Taylor’s dominance in the game was reflected when she took on the fastest South African bowler Shabnim Ismail in the 40th over.

After flicking the first ball for a boundary, Taylor walked across, exposing all her stumps and fetched the next two balls from outside off stump for consecutive fours. A flick behind square and a nonchalant pull followed to make it five fours in five balls.

Taylor’s magnificent innings enabled England to pile up 373 runs, the highest team score in the 2017 World Cup.