England Women began their batting and spin bowling camp in Colombo with a low-scoring 10-run win over Sri Lanka A.
England had looked in trouble when Danni Wyatt’s 69 from 74 balls was the lone hand in a total of 151 before Sri Lanka coasted to 92 for two in reply.
Slow left-arm orthodox Alex Hartley swung the game, however, as she claimed three quick wickets to prompt a collapse of eight for 48 from the hosts.
“We had a few dropped catches in the first few overs which made it look like they got off to a flier,” Hartley told ecb.co.uk.
“A couple of the senior girls were saying that once we got a few wickets then we would be in the game.
“It was great to come on and then bring us back into the game. It was a fantastic win.”
Hartley struck twice in her opening two overs and at one stage had figures of three for six from four overs.
Watta win in our first game in this sauna! well captained @KBrunt26 pic.twitter.com/ut0H5Kscsk
— Danielle Wyatt (@Danni_Wyatt) April 23, 2015
It was another impressive outing from the 21-year-old Middlesex spinner after she enjoyed a good series for the England Academy against Australia in Dubai earlier this month.
“I bowled really well,” she said.
“I had a short-leg in for the first time. That was an experience. It was good to bowl well in different conditions. They had a team of lefties, which helped.”
England mainly looked to use their spinners, on a tour geared towards developing their slow-bowling stocks, and Sophie Ecclestone also chipped in with a couple of wickets.
“We bowled only two pace bowlers today and the rest were spinners,” Hartley added.
“That’s the focus of the tour and I’m just trying to get as many overs under my belt.
“It spins quite a lot out here so I can work on a few variations and try them out.
“I’m trying to bowl one that comes out the front of my hand that skids on a bit. I’m trying to get that right but today unfortunately it went wide.
“I’d rather make the mistakes now rather than the county season.”
Hartley embarked on her first major tour with England during the trip to the United Arab Emirates and after flying out to Sri lanka for this 12-day camp she is revelling in the chance to test herself in new conditions.
“It’s great. There’s nothing better than playing cricket in the sun,” she said.
“You’ve just got to get used to the heat and you’ve got to get used to sweating a lot of the time.”
The second match of the three-game series will take place in Colombo on Sunday.