Series: France Quad-Series May 2022
Venue: Dreux Sport Cricket Club Ground
Format: T20I
Toss: France
Result: France by 59 runs

France Completes the Day With Two Wins and 330 Runs

If team France had taken a dose of batting vitamins in the earlier match they doubled the dose in the second encounter, reaching a new team high score as they toppled Austria.

Marie Violleau won the toss for France and chose to bat and if there were signs of weariness from the earlier match it wasn’t on show, for the openers began by scoring a century opening partnership, the highest opening stand ever by France. Both openers, Tara Britton (68*) and Lara Armas (39) reached personal highs. Britton’s innings is a new high for France.

Once Armas was runout, Alix Brodin (22) played a neat cameo before she became the only wicket by a bowler in the innings, bowled by Mahadewa Pathirannehelage. Lydie Wykes-Templeman (2*) finished the innings with Britton to leave France with a handsome total of 167/2.

Pathirannehelage finished as the best of the Austrian bowlers with 1-24. Aside from her and Valentina Avdylaj there was not much joy, with wides and no-balls a contributing factor.

It was Pathirannehelage with the bat too, scoring a breezy 20 before being the first wicket to fall. After Busra Uca (5) was dismissed, reaching exactly 200 career runs in the process, bowled by Poppy McGeown (2-18), Gandhali Bapat fell the same way in the next delivery. McGeown was on a hat trick but a close LBW call was turned down, denying the bowler.

Priya Sabu (19) tried to rebuild with Rezarta Avdylaj (6) but the scoring rate was abysmal and the match effectively over at that point. Lydie Wykes-Templeman (2-18) and Cindy Breteche (2-21) joined McGeown in taking a double, Austria dismissed on the final delivery of their allotted overs for 108.

France, winless in their first two matches came home with a wet sail winning both of their last two, victory over Austria by 59 runs, their second best of all time. The win secured the team second place in the tournament behind Jersey.

Scores:

France 167/2 (Tara Britton 68*, Lara Armas 39, Alix Brodin 22, Mahadewa Pathirannehelage 1-24) 20 overs
Austria 108 (Mahadewa Pathirannehelage 20, Priya Sabu 19, Poppy McGeown 2-18, Lydie Wykes-Templeman 2-18, Cindy Breteche 2-21) 20 overs

Player of the Match: Lydie Wykes-Templeman