NZW vs ENGW. (Photo Source: Getty Images)
It was another effortless victory for England Women, who convincingly outclassed New Zealand in a dominant display, this time securing the win with nine wickets in hand and a large-scale 25.3 overs remaining.
The second game of the three-match series unfolded in a manner mirroring the first, where the White Ferns, dismissed for 156 in the Chester-le-Street opener, could muster only 141 runs this time in 41.5 overs, this time in Worcester.
Early breakthroughs by Kate Cross and Lauren Filer left New Zealand reeling at 10/2 by the sixth over. Sophie Ecclestone was brought into the attack in the 12th over, yet it wasn’t until the 18th over that she dismantled a steady partnership of 46 runs off 72 deliveries between Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr. Her exquisitely flighted delivery enticed Devine forward, only to dip and turn sharply, evading the bat as Amy Jones swiftly removed the bails.
Amelia accumulated her 43 over 86 deliveries, surpassing 2000 career ODI runs in the process, but her innings was otherwise a tad bit mundane. Her dismissal, caught by Dean off a return catch, marked the beginning of a collapse, where her side lost seven wickets for 27 runs in 10.4 overs. During this period, Ecclestone also accounted for the dismissals of Izzy Gaze and Molly Penfold, finishing with superlative figures of 9-3-25-5, with this instance being only the second time she secured a five-wicket haul.
Then began the chase, and Tammy Beaumont, who topped her team’s batting in the first ODI, was dismissed for just 28, narrowly run-out through a coordinated effort by Suzie Bates and Kerr, leaving her side at 73/1 in 13.1 overs. Despite this setback, Maia Bouchier showed no signs of slowing down and continued to assert her dominance in the run-chase with her elegant strokeplay. A standout moment was her scoring 16 runs off a single over bowled by Devine, which marked her third half-century in 11 ODIs.
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As the match approached its conclusion, Natalie Sciver-Brunt played a pivotal role by strategically preventing singles and defensively managing deliveries to keep Bouchier on strike. She fulfilled this responsibility wholeheartedly, culminating in her maiden ODI century achieved with a double through the vacant midwicket area, which eventually led her to claim the Player of the Match award for an innings which encompassed 17 fours.