First blood for England A in multi-format tour

England A have begun their multi-format series against Australia with a tense three-wicket win in the opening T20I at Hurstville Oval.

With the visitors needing 10 runs off the final three overs, a pair of brilliant overs from Tess Flintoff (four runs) and Heather Graham (three runs) gave the hosts a tiny pulse.

However Bess Heath held her nerve, dispatching Sianna Ginger to the leg-side boundary to seal the win with five balls to spare.

Earlier, it was a disastrous start for Aus A after Tahlia Wilson was given out lbw on the first ball of the match.

The impressive Mahika Gaur (2-10) took that wicket, and led the way as the Aussies slumped to 4-43.

 A 49-run stand from Maddy Penna (27) and Rhys McKenna (25) steadied the Aus A innings before Flintoff and Ginger took 23 runs off the final two overs as the hosts finished on 6-117.

England A started cautiously, scoring 29 runs from their first eight overs as captain Grace Scrivens and Paige Scholfield got used to the pace of the wicket.

A nightmare 25-run over from Amy Smith swung the momentum back in England's favour, with the leg-spinner bowling five front-foot no-balls in the 11-ball over.

To make matters worse, Smith had Scrivens caught and bowled (on 23) off the second illegal delivery.

Scrivens (35) and Scholfield (36) had their side within touching distance of victory, but Lauren Cheatle dismissed them both in consecutive overs to keep the Aussies in the game.

However, with seven wickets in hand the five required runs per over was never going to be enough for Australia to defend, with Heath (18no) calmly handing England A the first points of the series.

The sides will play two more T20s in Hurstville before heading to Cricket Central for three 50-over contests. The series will finish with a four-day match at the same venue from April 12.