Mahika Gaur Re-writes History On Representing Two National Teams at 17 years of age

The opening T20I match between England and Sri Lanka in Hove was all about teenage kicks, regardless of the constant drizzle and chilly autumn air. Freya Kemp, 18, shone in her batting cameo, and Alice Capsey, who recently turned 19 years old, made a star turn with her second international fifty, but Mahika Gaur, a 17-year-old debutant who took her first England wicket with the final ball of the evening, may have received the loudest applause.

Mahika Gaur, a cricketer who made her first international debut at the age of 12, made history on Friday when she made her second international debut, this time for England.

Mahika was included in the starting lineup as England played Sri Lanka in a Twenty20 match. The skilled left-arm seamstress, Mahika also won her first international wicket on her big day, dismissing Chamari Athapaththu. Mahika could have taken more wickets, but the weather played spoilsport.

Teenager Mahika Gaur receives multiple praises after her maiden Int’l for England

England captain Heather Knight was full of praise for the 6ft 3 inches tall Mahika after the match. “Mahika was brilliant on her debut,” said Knight. “She had to move to death bowling after the rain and she executed her plan perfectly. At that height, she gets real late swing which is quite a weapon.”

“I think her previous ball, her bouncer was superb,” said young England star Capsey. “I think that really set up the wicket and yeah, obviously her first England wicket, you can’t go past that. It’s an incredible achievement and no one can take that away from her.

“We’ve all got along with her really well. She’s fitted in perfectly, she’s just a really good human. She’s just someone who doesn’t take too much fuss. She gets on with it, she works really hard and I’m not surprised how well she went out there and bowled today. It was probably a different role to what she was expecting, having to go to her death overs pretty quickly but she took that role on really well and it shows her character.”

“It’s a young squad but a really exciting squad,” Capsey added. “You look at Mahika coming in and making a difference and you’ve got players like Bess Heath and Issy Wong on the sidelines who are extraordinary cricketers who can change the game just like that so yeah, it’s nice to obviously be in the XI and but you’ve always got people coming up behind you and putting pressure on you which is which is great for the women’s game and English cricket.

Danielle Wyatt and Alice Capsey scored the most runs for England, which batted first, scoring 186 total runs. When the game was called off due to rain, Sri Lanka was 55/3 in 6 overs while chasing the score. By using the DLS system, England was adjudged the winner by 12 runs.

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