Player of the Match
Player of the Match

8.45pm England have cruised home but at one point, the chase was wobbly. But they found a saviour in Nat Sciver-Brunt whose partnership with Amy Jones proved game-changing. When Jones fell, New Zealand may have smelt a whiff of an opportunity, but they couldn't quite capitalise. Plummer put down Sciver-Brunt in the same over with England needing 49. It may have just cost New Zealand a morale-boosting win.

But they can be encouraged by this performance. For the first time in the series, New Zealand's batting challenged England. They kept counter-punching despite losing wickets to post 211 in a rain-shortened game. Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr led their recovery after a top-order wobble yet again, before Lauren Bell left her mark on the game with a maiden five-for in ODIs to restrict them.

For her series tally of 186 runs including a maiden ODI century in the second game, Maia Bouchier is the Player of the Series. "One of the bigger strengths of my game is timing, try not to force it on wickets like that. For me going into this last game, wanted to keep that consistency going. I love batting with Tammy, she's so experienced and fun to bat with, good communication in the middle, we run well between the wickets too. I dreamt of the hundred for a long time, for it to come in the 2nd ODI, couldn't be happier."

Lauren Bell is Player of the Match for her 5 for 37, which included the wickets of Amelia Kerr and Sophie Devine. "They built partnerships really well, but I was clear about what was needed on this wicket. Have made a few changes to the mental side of my game, the skill's been there. Sophie having a rest today meant few of us had a big job to do."

England captain Heather Knight: "Really happy, handled pressure well after the Kiwis bowled really well in the powerplay. Partnership between Amy and Nat, they pulled us out of a tricky spot. Capsey finished off the game, she was also quite tight with the ball. Lovely to have that attack, Lauren has been bowling well last couple of games."

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine: "We showed a bit of resilience in this game. Spoken of how hard we've worked over the past 2-3 months, a couple of results don't define us as a team. We had to be at out best today. We've spoken openly about development phase, younger players, we need to start asking a lot more of them and they've been open to it. Lot of players are learning on the job, some of them have played just 1-2 seasons of domestic cricket, they have my full backing, we are getting better, just need a bit of time. T20 cricket brings teams closer, looking forward to it."

38.4
1
Devine to Nat Sciver-Brunt, 1 run, on the pads, NSB tucks it past square leg as England secure a comfortable win to take the series 3-0
38.3
0
Devine to Nat Sciver-Brunt, no run, drilled straight to mid-off as Devine bowls a cutter
38.2
0
Devine to Nat Sciver-Brunt, no run, reaches out to squeeze this back to Devine off the inner part of the bat
38.1
0
Devine to Nat Sciver-Brunt, no run, punched straight to short mid-on

END OF OVER:
38 | 14 Runs | ENG-W: 211/5 (2 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 5.55, RRR: 0.50)

  • Alice Capsey35 (30b)
  • Nat Sciver-Brunt75 (80b)
  • Molly Penfold8-1-45-1
  • Sophie Devine6-0-28-0
37.6
2
Penfold to Capsey, 2 runs, slashed away down to square third, they will scamper back for the second as scores are level
37.5
2
Penfold to Capsey, 2 runs, whipped down to fine leg, two more that leaves England one blow away from a 3-0 sweep
37.4
4
Penfold to Capsey, FOUR, backfoot punch right out of the top drawer. Not a lot of width on it but Capsey managed to hold her shape and use her forearm strength superbly
37.3
0
Penfold to Capsey, no run, full on off, defended
37.2
4
Penfold to Capsey, FOUR, delightful pull shot! Sat up nicely for her to rock back and roll her wrists nicely on the stroke. Pinged the middle of the bat as it sped away. Target down to single digits
37.1
1
Penfold to Nat Sciver-Brunt, 1 run, width outside off on this length ball, flayed to deep point
37.1
1w
Penfold to Nat Sciver-Brunt, 1 wide, dug in short but ends up slipping it down leg, wide called

END OF OVER:
37 | 4 Runs | ENG-W: 197/5 (16 runs required from 30 balls, RR: 5.32, RRR: 3.20)

  • Alice Capsey23 (25b)
  • Nat Sciver-Brunt74 (79b)
  • Sophie Devine6-0-28-0
  • Molly Penfold7-1-31-1
36.6
0
Devine to Capsey, no run, floats it full on off, defended from the crease to cover
36.5
1
Devine to Nat Sciver-Brunt, 1 run, whips this down to deep square leg
36.4
0
Devine to Nat Sciver-Brunt, no run, worked into the leg side

ENG Women 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st0TT BeaumontME Bouchier
2nd29HC KnightME Bouchier
3rd4Nat Sciver-BruntME Bouchier
4th39Nat Sciver-BruntSIR Dunkley
5th90AE JonesNat Sciver-Brunt
6th50Nat Sciver-BruntA Capsey