ENGLAND made a winning start to their T20 International series against Pakistan with a 29-run victory in Kuala Lumpur as they continued their Women’s T20 World Cup preparations.

Opener Amy Jones struck 10 fours in her 39-ball 53 to lay the foundations for England’s 154 for four at the Kinrara Oval.

Nat Sciver (34 not out) and Tammy Beaumont (30) were also among the runs after England, who defeated Pakistan 2-0 in the one-day international series between the two teams, had been sent in to bat.

With next year’s tournament edging closer, captain Heather Knight was pleased to get the win under their belt and build up momentum ahead of Australia 2020.

She said: “Pakistan put us under pressure at times, which was obviously quite a nice thing from out perspective and for our bowlers, and I thought we responded brilliantly.

“I thought Sophie Ecclestone was really outstanding today. T20 is her favourite format, so to see her bowl like she did and back at her best was brilliant.

“With the bat we probably left a few out there, to be honest. We started brilliantly and batted outstandingly. Probably got a little bit stuck in the middle on a slow wicket but really happy to get the win on the board and good preparation all around.”

Despite the win, Jones was honest in her analysis of the game, admitting that this wasn’t the perfect display from her and her teammates.

“It was a good fun opening and going out there with Dan [Wyatt], on this wicket is the best time to bat and definitely an area we need to exploit in the next few games — it seems to get harder the longer we go through the innings, so that will be key going forward,” she said.

“I think there’s room to improve.  I personally let [their spinners] bowl at me too long and I think being a bit more proactive with our game plan and how we are going to go about it [will help].

“In Australia, it’s different wickets east to west, so there’s going to be a lot of adapting that we need to do out there, so [it’s] good learning on this trip, hopefully.

Pakistan were always up against it in their run chase after losing openers Nahida Khan and Javeria Khan for ducks in Freya Davies’s opening over.

Captain Bismah Maroof kept her side in contention with a patient 60 but she was one of only three players to reach double figures as two batting collapses ultimately put paid to Pakistan’s chances.

They slumped from 47 for two to 61 for six, and then lost their last four wickets for the addition of just four runs in eight balls as they were dismissed for 125 — Maroof’s being the last wicket to fall.

All-rounder Sciver followed up her contribution with the bat by taking two for 12 off three overs, while Sophie Ecclestone finished with three for 21 as England went 1-0 up in the three-match series.

In the remaining matches against Pakistan and the tri-series against India and Australia, Knight said it was crucial that the team is able to build some momentum heading into the T20 World Cup and figure out the best squad for spring tournament.

“I think it’s working out what our best 11 is. We’ve given a little bit of opportunity on this trip: Sarah Glenn is an example of someone that has come in and bowled very well and made it very hard for us to leave her out.

“It’s obviously [about] finalising the final squad places as well and making sure our key players are performing at the right time and peaking into that World Cup —  there’s not a huge amount of time left and then there’s Australia; you probably want to play our best team as much as we can leading up to the start of the summer.”