Bouchier century sets England up for record 282-run chase against Ireland

Innings break Ireland 281 for 5 (Lewis 69, Hunter 62, Stokell 51*) vs England

Fine half-centuries to Gaby Lewis, Amy Hunter and Rebecca Stokell drove Ireland to an imposing total, setting England 282 to win the first of three ODIs between the teams at Leicester.

After winning the toss and opting to bowl, the hosts struggled to crack a century stand for the second wicket between Hunter and Lewis then Stokell fired off a 43-ball fifty meaning that England would need to stage their highest successful run chase in ODIs.

Makeshift wicketkeeper Alice Capsey, taking the gloves for a rested Amy Jones, took an excellent catch dive-rolling to her right to remove Alice Tector off an edge from Issy Wong to put Ireland at 13 for 1 in the fifth over.

But then Hunter and Lewis settled into their stubborn stand worth 136 runs off 152 balls, negating the hosts' three-pronged spin attack with ease and showing little mercy to the seamers either.

The duo reached half-centuries within a few strokes of one another, Hunter first off 67 balls with a swept four over midwicket followed by a leg-side single off Mady Villiers, the off-spinner playing her first white-ball international in two years. Lewis raised her fifty off 66 balls by pulling a short ball from Lauren Filer for four.

Wong returned to the attack in the 30th over and struck with her third ball back, a fuller one which jagged in through the gate and clattered into Lewis's stumps to break their union.

Tilly Corteen-Coleman was expensive in her fifth match for England, coming after she had warmed the bench in the shadow of fellow left-arm spinners Sophie Ecclestone and Linsey Smith during the T20 World Cup.

Orla Prendergast took a liking to her, clubbing three boundaries in four balls, clearing mid-on and piercing the covers for four off a no-ball then dispatching the free hit over long-on for six.

But after a 17-ball 19, Prendergast miscued a Villiers delivery to deep midwicket, where Maia Bouchier took a strong diving catch.

Hunter must have held her breath when, on 59, she skied Corteen-Coleman over mid-off but Jodi Grewcock couldn't take a difficult opportunity over her shoulder running back.

With Corteen-Coleman having conceded 53 runs off seven wicketless overs, England skipper Charlie Dean deployed her offspin to prise out Hunter, luring her down the pitch with one that slid past the inside edge and turned onto leg stump.

Stokell had raced to 46 off 37 balls when and was still on the cusp of her half-century when she overturned an lbw dismissal to Dean, with replays showing the ball pitched outside leg stump. She brought up the milestone with a single back over the bowler's head in Dean's next over, then Dean bowled Leah Paul next ball to claim her second wicket.

Wong should have had another wicket on the penultimate ball of the innings when she struck the base of Stokell's leg stump, but while the bails moved, they weren't dislodged and the batter finished unbeaten.