Global Gold for England winning ODI and T20 Titles
Ronnie Jackson and Jonathan Gale hit fifties as the England side secured the gold medal at the INAS Global Games with victory over Australia at Allan Border Field, Brisbane.
Captain Chris Edwards lost his first toss of the tour and the hosts chose to bat first. But England, once again, bowled tight lines to restrict the Australians’ scoring.
The top six Australian batsmen all reached double figures but none were really able to push on to a big score, with opener Boyd Duffield’s 26 the top score of their innings of 126/7. England’s bowlers shared out the wickets, with Tom Wilson taking two for 20 from his four overs, while Edwards, Kieran McKinney and Kester Sainsbury took one each.
In reply, Jackson set off at a blistering pace, hitting 10 fours and a six in his 22-ball half-century. He fell in the sixth over with the score already on 71. Then it was Gale’s turn to shine, bringing up his own 50 in 31 balls.
Fittingly, Edwards hit the winning boundary to seal the win by seven wickets and secure the gold medal, with the skipper enjoying a fine series with both bat and ball.
Chris Edwards said:
“I came out with a positive mindset today. I had a feeling I was going to do well and it turned out that I did alright! I hit a four on ball one and it just carried on from there.
“At first it was a bit surreal to play on a first class ground but when I was out in the middle I forgot all about it and just focussed on the ball.”
Having won the ODI series 3-0, England take an unassailable three-game lead in the five-match IT20 series, with the remaining games taking place on Thursday and Friday
Remaining fixtures
Thursday 17 October: 4th IT20 v Australia – Allan Border Field, Albion
Friday 18 October: 5th IT20 v Australia – Allan Border Field, Albion
Saturday 19 October: INAS Global Games closing ceremony
Cricket is joined by British athletes in tennis, athletics and cycling this week, all vying for the podium and British success at the 2019 Inas Global Games.
The Inas Global Games is host to almost 1000 elite athletes with intellectual impairment from across 47 countries worldwide competing in fierce competition until Sunday 20 October.
You can follow all the action by following the UK Sports Association on Twitter and Facebook.
The UK Sports Association is the official Great Britain member of Inas. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) manage the England Squad (learning disability) and through a collaboration with the UK Sports Association access international Inas events.
