Sciver and Beaumont fire England into semi-finals
Nat Sciver struck her second century of an increasingly formidable World Cup campaign, as England's women marched into the semi-finals with victory against New Zealand at Derby
Nat Sciver struck her second century of an increasingly formidable World Cup campaign, as England's women marched into the semi-finals with victory against New Zealand at Derby
Scorer: Thilak Ram | Commentator: Alan Gardner
5.25pm: Right, that;'s a wrap from us today. Miller's report will see you right and we'll be back for more on Saturday for a tantalising final-round showdown. Cheerio!
5.15pm: That was a pretty comprehensive job from England, racking up the runs and then defending them with aplomb. Nat Sciver showcased her power (and innovation) again in a second hundred of the tournament and then the bowlers shared the wickets around as NZ struggled to keep up with the asking rate.
Nat Sciver is Player of the Match: "Yeah, pretty high, when I went in I knew we needed a partnership, it was trickier to bat today than in previous games. Not necessarily about a target, just getting a partnership and playing smart cricket. Lots of pre-planning but things can change at any minute. [New shot, the 'Natmeg'] Sounds pretty good, I'm still practising it. Starting is the hardest part, we knew we needed to take it deep."
England captain Heather Knight: "Really pleased, that partnership was brilliant. We were really under pressure, hard to bat when bowlers took pace off. Pleased with how girls went about it and getting to the semi-final. Our batters are standing out, four players have scored hundreds, brilliant work been done with the batters, so nice to see and hopefully continues. Alex Hartley is loving it at the moment, she's bowling brilliantly."
New Zealand captain Suzie Bates: "If one of our top order made a big score we thought it was gettable. But Nat and Tammy played really well. [Sciver dropped on 58] Any drop against a quality side is going to hurt you, you have to take your chances... but it might have made our chase a bit easier. [Hartley?] She almost did me earlier, but that one did me. We've played some really good cricket but lost to England and Australia, so we've got a quarter-final against India, we know we can beat them but we've got to play well because one of us is going home."
HR Huddleston lbw b Hartley 0 (13b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Hartley continues, four overs to go
"Please bowl with Katherine Brunt," wheedles Sanjeev. "My fantasy score is going down...." Are you listening, Heather?
Nat Sciver struck her second century of an increasingly formidable World Cup campaign, as England's women marched into the semi-finals with victory against New Zealand at Derby