Cricket comes home: England’s ODI victory over New Zealand
England women have kicked off their home campaign against New Zealand with a massive victory as Heather’s Knight’s team stormed their three ODI games resulting in a 3-0 win to England.
The series began on the 26th of June in which Charlie Dean’s standout spell of 4 wickets from 9 overs alongside a solid 76 not out from Tammy Beaumont helped England secure a win. The series continued to show excellent bowling figures for veterans Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone as well as young talents Lauren Bell and Alice Capsey.
Bell’s performance in the 3rd ODI was a standout performance resulting in 5 wickets in her 9 overs with batters managing just 37 runs. Bell not only achieved her career best bowling figures but also confidently broke a 68 run stand from New Zealand captain Amelia Kerr and Sophie Devine.
The first Test-20 saw England clutch a comfortable victory smashing 197-3, although some dropped catches in the middle of the field did draw some lows for the ladies as trying to remove Jess Kerr from her confident knock seemed almost impossible with the ball slipping between Lindsey smith and Nat Sciver-Brunt’s hands.
A rain delay in the second T-20 saw the overs limited to 9 a side, but did not stop the women from smashing and defending a solid 89 runs only conceding 6 wickets with a standout smack from Alice Capsey scoring 28 runs from just 15 balls. With the rain winning over the match in the end, England saw victory once again.
The third in the five game series once again saw England clutch victory reducing the kiwis to a solid 141-8. Highlights came from England’s defending bowling attack of Sophie Ecclestone (4-25), Lauren Filer (2-17) and Sarah Glenn (1-14). Capsey’s confidence with the bat helped England cross the finish line with 67 runs, winning with four balls to spare.
As the series continues with the final two matches occurring on the 13th and 17th of July, there seems to be nothing stopping England’s storm of victory. There is little the Kiwi’s can do at this stage to snatch back the series from England however, they aren’t the type to give up easily. The last two matches are sure to be a fight worth watching.
Photo from @englandcricket
