Maia Bouchier's century powers England to their highest ODI chase against Ireland

England ran down 282 with more than eleven overs to spare at Grace Road, the largest total they have ever chased in a one-day international
England Women beat Ireland Women by six wickets in the first one-day international at Grace Road in Leicester, reaching 283 for 4 in 38.1 overs after Ireland had posted 281 for 5 from their 50.
It is the highest successful run chase England have made in the format. They got there with 71 balls remaining, which is the more striking number of the two, and it was built on an opening stand that had effectively settled the match by the twentieth over.
Maia Bouchier made 104 from 95 balls for her second one-day international century, and Sophia Dunkley 73 from 61.

Ireland build a total that should have been enough
England chose to bowl and had an early wicket, Alice Tector going with 13 on the board. What followed was the innings Ireland will feel they wasted. Gaby Lewis made 69 from 89 balls and Amy Hunter 62 from 90, and the pair added 136 for the second wicket to take Ireland from 13 for 1 to 149 for 1.
Rebecca Stokell then finished unbeaten on 54 from 48 balls to push the total past 280. Charlie Dean took two for 44 and Issy Wong two for 57, but England also conceded 33 extras, 20 of them wides, in an attack missing several first-choice bowlers. Leah Paul's 29 came at the right time, and Ireland's fifth wicket did not fall until the 49th over.

Bouchier and Dunkley take it away early
Chasing 282, England did not build slowly. Bouchier and Dunkley put on 143 for the first wicket inside 20 overs, and Bouchier took four successive boundaries off Jane Maguire in the early part of the innings to set the rate.
Dunkley went for 73 with the stand broken, but by then the required rate had been dismantled. England needed fewer than five an over for the remaining thirty, with nine wickets in hand and a set batter at one end. Jodi Grewcock and Bouchier took it to 173 before the second wicket went down, and by the time Bouchier was dismissed for her 104 the target was within 60.

Capsey and Kemp finish it
Alice Capsey finished 41 not out from 40 balls, having added 50 with Bouchier and then 54 with Freya Kemp, who made 36 from 22. Kemp matched Bouchier's earlier feat by taking four boundaries in a row off Arlene Kelly in the 34th over.
Cara Murray was the only Ireland bowler to make an impression, taking three for 58. Capsey also kept wicket, holding a one-handed catch in the fifth over of the Ireland innings.

What the captain said
Charlie Dean, captaining England, put the win down to the opening pair. "Sophia and Maia did that remarkably," she said, adding that "for Maia to get a hundred was exceptional."
The chase was completed without England needing to take a risk in the last twenty overs, which is unusual for a total of this size and says something about how far ahead of the rate the openers had put them.

Two more to play
England lead the three-match series 1-0. The second one-day international is at Derby on September 3, starting at 1pm, and the third is at Worcester on September 6, starting at 10.30am.
Ireland will take some encouragement from 281 for 5 on a ground where England needed a century to chase it, and from the fact that two of their top four passed 60. What they could not do was defend it.
England go to Derby on Thursday with the series lead and their record one-day chase behind them.

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