Sure enough, Atapaththu is the Player of the Match. She accepts a bottle of champagne and a glass disc, drops them off in the dug-out with no fuss, and goes straight to chat to a cluster of Sri Lankan fans. She gives some fist-bumps, signs some autographs and takes some selfies. She has a big smile on her face, and there’s nothing forced about it. She’s been a joy to watch.
Time for me to clock off. Congrats to Sri Lanka on their historic win, commiserations to England on a rare defeat at fortress Chelmsford, and thanks to you for your company as ever. The OBO will be back at 1.30pm tomorrow to see if England’s men can go one better than the women and wrap up their T20 series.
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So the series is beautifully poised, one-all with one to play, at Derby on Wednesday. Sri Lanka have bounced back from a hard day’s night in Hove by bossing this game in Chelmsford from start to finish. England had a seriously bad day: only Charlie Dean made an impression with the bat, and only Sarah Glenn and Alice Capsey escaped a hiding with the ball. The day belonged to Chamari Atapaththu, who bowled well, captained very well, and batted even better. If she’s not the Player of the Match, I will eat my laptop.
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