That, then is us – check back here and on site for our report, which will soon come. Otherwise, thanks for your company and comments – peace out.
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Back to Knight as captain, she’s really happy with her side. They pulled NZ back after a loose powerplay, the spinners again winning the match for England, and she’s especially pleased for Linsey Smith, taking a wicket with her first ball in international cricket since 2018, and Bell’s slower balls.
As for Sophie Devine, she thinks her side got into winning positions but faded away at the end of the England innings and the middle of their own. NZ will have to play better to beat England, she admits, and though 140 was roughly par, they allowed 20 or 30 more runs than they should and will need to have some honest conversations as a batting group about how they plan to score. Executing, though, is different to talking, and they need to find a way of doing what they need to do.
Heather Knight is again player of the match and says it was an innings in which she had to battle through struggling with the pace of the pitch. But she always backs herself to catch up at the end of the innings, even though it’s tricky trying to score while shepherding the tail – though on this occasion it wagged. She’s been trying to hit down the ground more, as she did today, but also made sure to deploy her strengths square of the wicket, and though you get more nervous as you get older, having experienced the ups and downs of professional sport, she was able to hold it down.
England got 20 or 30 runs more than they ought to have been allowed, but you also have to credit the batting of Heather Knight in particular, but also Danielle Gibson, charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn, who between them added 43 off 32 balls. Suzie Bates and Amelia Kerr, though, both got themselves out playing unnecessarily aggressive shots, and had either one batted a few more overs, this would’ve been very close.
England beat New Zealand by 15 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series!
20th over: New Zealand 134-8 Target 150 (Tahuhu 15, Mair 9) Target 150 It’s Smith bowling the final over and her first three balls go for two twos and a one, meaning legit deliveries will take England home. Mair flips down the ground for a single. Tahuhu then comes down, backing away, crouching, and slappoing a one-bounce four over extra before chipping down the ground for one.
19th over: New Zealand 123-8 Target 150 (Tahuhu 7, Mair 6) Target 150 In comms, Alex notes that NZ have been the better side for most of this match but lost it at the death; I’m not in total agreement with that because I think England have been on top for a while now, but it’s true that the match was settled by the last five overs of the visitors’ innings. Back in the middle, Tahuhu takes a single, then Mair and Jones both miss another slower ball that runs for four byes. A single follows, then Bouchier dives on the deep square fence to save two as they run two; Tahuhu adds one more from the final ball of the over and Bell finishes with 2-24 off her four overs; not bad. New Zealand need 27 runs from six balls.
18th over: New Zealand 114-8 Target 150 (Tahuhu 3, Mair 5) Target 150 Mair backs away and humps her first ball to the square leg fence for four. Two dots and two singles follow, all Dean’s deliveries quicker than all those bowled by Bell last over. New Zealand need 36 runs off 12 balls.
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WICKET! Kerr b Dean 1 (New Zealand 108-8)
Kerr backs away to give herself room, misses, and Dean, with the first ball of a new spell, hits. That’s five wickets for eight runs in 15 balls!
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17th over: New Zealand 108-7 Target 150 ( Kerr , Tahuhu 21) Target 150 Six balls, six slower balls; two wickets and five runs from the over. New Zealand need 42 runs from 18 balls.
WICKET! Gaze c Gibson b Bell 2 (New Zealand 106-7)
Aaaand it’s another” another slower ball, another wicket. Gaze is through the shot early, doesn’t impart the necessary power, and serves up a dolly to long on. Though england were similarly placed at this point, they had a set quality batter, and NZ do not; i’d be staggered if they weren’t beaten, by a way now.
WICKET! Green b Bell 16 (New Zealand 105-6)
The end is coming quickly now, Green looking to lash away outside off only to drag on instead, deceived by a slower ball.
17th over: New Zealand 103-5 Target 150 (Green 15, Gaze 1) Target 150 Lauren Bell returns and concedes singles from each of her first two balls…
16th over: New Zealand 101-5 Target 150 (Green 14, Gaze 0) Target 150 New Zealand get into good positions then find ways to lose, reckons Alex Hartley in comms, but I’m not sure this is a mental thing: rather, they didn’t quite have the bowling to shut England out, nor the batting to attack the spinners through the middle overs. That said, both bates and Devine will wonder if they might’ve played differently because both were out playing the kind of shot necessary if chasing 170+ but not 150. New Zealand require 47 runs from 24 balls.
WICKET! Halliday c & b Glenn 1 (New Zealand 101-5)
Halliday looks to go over the top, but instead flaps a weak return catch, and this match is disappearing fast – with England still having their WPL players to come back.
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15th over: New Zealand 100-4 Target 150 (Green 14, Halliday 0) Target 150 This feels five to over. New Zealand need 49 runs from 30 balls.
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WICKET! Kerr c Bell b Gibson 44 (New Zealand 100-4)
Oh Melie! All that hard work for the tamest of dismissals, a ramp plopping over her shoulder for bell to take on the dive. She knew the fielder was there, but sometimes we just do silly stuff we know we shouldn’t because we can’t stop ourselves. That was that.
15th over: New Zealand 10-3 Target 150 (Amelia Kerr 44, Green 14) Target 150 We saw England up the pace at the death and NZ will back themselves to do the same, Kerr quickly latching on to a straight one from the returning Gibson, pulling four to deep backward square.
14th over: New Zealand 96-3 Target 150 (Amelia Kerr 40, Green 14) Target 150 Green uses feet to come down but drills direct to the fielder, and at some point soon, at least one of these two has to go; as things stands, NZ are subsiding, and sensible cricket won’t get them even close to the win. Dean, back into the attack, sees her first four balls go for four singles and the fifth looks set to do the same, except smith misfields on the fence and the batters take two. New Zealand need 54 runs from 36 balls.
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13th over: New Zealand 77-3 (Amelia Kerr 27, Green 8) Target 150 NZ badly need boundaries now, so after Green takes a single Kerr takes the law into her own hands, skipping down to hoist Glenn back over he heed for a one-bounce four. But look at that! After a single, Kerr strokes a drive that looks to be hurtling past cover to the fence … only for Knight to dive brilliantly to stop it. New Zealand need 61 runs from 42 balls.
12th over: New Zealand 77-3 (Amelia Kerr 27, Green 8) Target 150 Smith starts her over well, three ones preceding two dots. Green the cuts towards the point fence for a further single and that’s another decent over for England. New Zealand need 69 runs from 48 balls.
11th over: New Zealand 77-3 (Amelia Kerr 27, Green 8) Target 150 After a single to Kerr, Green feathers a full toss around the corner for two, and she’s into her knock now, bunting down the ground for one more. Two further singles follow then a three, and a boundary-free over is a result for England given the climbing required rate. New Zealand need 73 runs from 54 balls.
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10th over: New Zealand 67-3 (Amelia Kerr 25, Green 4) Knight into the attack presumably aiming to fiddle a few cheap overs while NZ rebuild. But Kerr isn’t having that, following a single to Green with a swipe over the top for four, and the over concludes with two singles … then a three, Kerr opening the face to guide towards the point fence. This match now appears to rest with her.
9th over: New Zealand 60-3 (Amelia Kerr 16, Green 2) Thinking again about the wicket, Devine was sent wide then cleaned up by a quick, straight one – that’s excellent bowling from Glenn. Anyhow, smith into the attack and Kerr guides a single into the off side, then Green shoves uppishly down the ground, wide of the bowler’s dive, and with a further oine making it four from the over, the squeeze is on and the tourists are on top.
8th over: New Zealand 56-3 (Amelia Kerr 14, Green 0) NZ now need someone to do something decent, and with Bates and Devine gone, they’re not over-furnished with candidates. Three dots follow the wicket, and Egland are suddenly in command of this match,
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REVIEW! OUT!
Yup, three reds, and might that be the crucial blow?
WICKET! Devine lbw b Glenn 17 (New Zealand 56-3)
Devine comes forward, goes down on one knee and looks to sweep across the line, wearing ball on pad instead. She reviews, but that looks plumb to me.
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8th over: New Zealand 56-2 (Amelia Kerr 14, Devine 17) In the first match, NZ struggled through the middle against England’s so we might just be entering the key period of the match. And, as I type, Devine comes down then stretches to carve a wide one to the fence for four; shot, it was hard work reaching that.
7th over: New Zealand 52-2 (Amelia Kerr 14, Devine 13) Glenn and her leggies into the attack, the shortness of her run-up unusual for the batters. After a single and two dots, Devine has an issue with the sightscreen, one of its squares a little lighter than the others, then a cut races towards the rope where Smith dives to save as they run two; a single follows, and this is so tight.
6th over: New Zealand 48-2 (Amelia Kerr 13, Devine 10) Gibson returns and Kerr misses her slash outside off then drives for one. Devine then shoves to cover and they take one more, trying another next ball … but Heath picks up and will shy … she misses, just, and it was dead with a hit. So Devine cashes in off the final delivery of the over, banging to cover where the ball leaps up and eludes the fielder’s dive en route to the fence.
5th over: New Zealand 41-2 (Amelia Kerr 11, Devine 5) I dunno, I know this is T20 so Bates thought she should score, but sensible batting wins this and I thought she’d plan to be there at the end. Two singles and a two follow, Devine now under way, and that’s still six from the over, so NZ are still in a decent position.
WICKET! Bates c Bell b Smith 19 (New Zealand 35-2)
Massive breakthrough for England and it’s Smith with her first ball in international cricket since 2018! Bates goes down on one knee looking to slog-sweep, instead top-edges, and Bell takes a simple catch at short fine leg!
4th over: New Zealand 35-1 (Bates 19, Amelia Kerr 10) Dean replaces Gibson and cedes singles from her first two deliveries, then Bates twinkles down and flicks four through square leg; she’s batting with such confidence and aggression. A single follows, then Kerr swipes square and and Bouchier dives over the ball so that’s a second boundary-four of the over; at the same stage, England were 26-1.
3rd over: New Zealand 24-1 (Bates 13, Amelia Kerr 5) Following a no ball, Kerr’s on to a short one quickly, hauling bell for four over backward square, so Jones comes up to the stumps and a single then a bye complete the scoring for the over. I make NZ slight favourites, but this is very nicely balanced.
2nd over: New Zealand 17-1 (Bates 13, Amelia Kerr 0) Gibson strays straight so Bates flicks off her toes for four to deep backward, and already it looks like the match is on her bat: if she scores, her team win and if she does’t they probably don’t. Looking again at the wicket, Gibson was actually in Bezuidenhout’s road; had she not run around her, she’d have made her ground. Amusingly, she then gave Bates the thumbs-up – who, as I type, frees arms to slash over backward point for a second four of the over. She’s in nick!
WICKET! Bezuidenhout run out (Glenn) 1 (New Zealand 8-1)
Yup, this only needs one watching, and that’s terrific work from Glenn, but also from England’s late-order batters, whose sensible batting brought the pressure that prompted that attempted single – though why didn’t Bezuidenhout dive?
2nd over: New Zealand 8-0 (Bates 5, Bezuidenhout 1) Danielle Gibson played an important innings so should be feeling good about herself, and when Bezuidenhout comes down to thrash, edging to mid off, they try and skank a single … but a direct hit from Glenn, and we go upstairs!
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1st over: New Zealand 8-0 (Bates 5, Bezuidenhout 1) Big shape for Bell first up, Bates missing her turn around the corner first time but not second, the ball rushing away for four through finest leg. A single and a leg-side wide follow … then another, before a much better ball just outside off, fifth-stump line, followed by an even better than that, moving in through the air then jagging in off the pitch; Bezuidenhout defends well, then turns into the on side for one more.
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Lauren Bell has the ball…
Out come the NZ openers…
England, meanwhile, would’ve wanted more but given how the innings went, will be chuffed with what they’ve got and will fancy themselves to defend it. I’ll be back shortly for the chase.
This is set up isn’t it?! NZ started really well and will be disappointed with how they let England get away at the end, but they’ll also recognise Knight as fine player in top form and fancy themselves to chase down a total they’d probably have accepted at the start.
England set New Zealand 150 to win the second WT20i!
20th over: England 149-7 (Knight 56, Glenn 13) Devine hangs one outside off so Knight swipes to the fence; great start to the final over, and a high no ball means England have a free hit. So Devine goes outside off again and Glenn frees arms, slicing over the infield as Jess Kerr chases, dives … and England add four anyroad. They’ve come back superbly at the death and when Glenn digs one out of the block hole, the ball speeds away fo fo mo! Already, this is a big partnership, a single making it 24 from 10, then Knight picks out the fielder with a glance behind and they run one more. Glenn has done really well since coming in, she again goes over the top when Devine slings down the last delivery of the over, and England will be relatively happy with their total, having fought back from 77-6 off 13. Well played them and well played Heather Knight in particular.
19th over: England 131-7 (Knight 50, Glenn 2) Can Glenn get the ball to the fence or herself down the other end? Mair sends down a fine yorker to begin but she manages a single, Knight halfway down the track art the point of impact to make sure she’s on strike. And served a full toss, she doesn’t miss out, helping it on its way to the fence at deep backward square then going down the ground for one; this is another fine knock from the England captain, who’s found the fence when she’s really needed to and is the main reason her side are posting a competitive total. A wide follows, then Glenn bunts back to her and she could run to the stumps as the batters chase a run, but instead underarms a throw and misses! Goodness me that’s a shocker, and Knight then raises her fifty with a further single – a terrific knock.
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WICKET! Dean b Mair 16 (England 122-7)
Dean looks to play a reverse-ramp, misses, and Mair hits. She’s now got 2-16 off 3.1, and that might be a crucial breakthrough.
18th over: England 122-6 (Knight 42, Dean 16) Knight’s enjoying this now, down on one knee to force Jess Kerr around the corner for four via reverse; she’s showing her young team the way, but so far none have been able to put pressure on the WPL absentees. Three singles follow, and England will want another boundary from the two remaining balls, but have to make do with a one and a two, Knight top-edging over the keeper only for the ball to plug not run away. Still, 10 from the over and that 140 is now within reach.
17th over: England 112-6 (Knight 36, Dean 14) A single then one slips out of Kerr’s hands and lands in the slot so Knight again slashes over the infield on the off side, earning four. Another single follows, then Dean edges two behind the wicket before yanking four through square leg; this partnership is now worth 31 off 22, and NZ could use a wickert
16th over: England 100-6 (Knight 31, Dean 7) England need to get a wriggle on now, so Knight slaps Jonas over extra for six and two singles then a two raise their hundred; they’ll feel another 40 from here will be competitive.
15th over: England 90-6 (Knight 22, Dean 6) Mair returns and each of her first three deliveries goes for one; she’ll be happy enough with that. Knight then turns to wide long on and Green dives to save four as the batters run two, so next ball she slashes over the top – that’s a good shot – but Jess Kerr chases and times her dive well, scooping back as they run three. So Dean goes again, coming down to haul from outside off to midwicket, but picks out Kerr on the fence and Gaze doesn’t handle to return well, allowing two when there was run-out potential. Ten off the over.
14th over: England 80-6 (Knight 16, Dean 2) Dean quickly gets off the mark a d now Knight’s decision is probably made – she needs to bat through, scoring safely where possible. And she gets lucky here! An inside-edge misses stumps by a fraction, so they run one, then another to mid on, and NZ are all over England now.
WICKET! Heath c Gaze b Jonas 2 (England 77-6)
Yup, a ball that was fuller than Heath expected, dipping a little too, and she misreads the flight before feathering behind. Great review, though I’m surprised the umpire missed it because it looked clear in real time.
14th over: England 77-5 (Knight 15, Heath 2) Jonas cramps Heath and beats her drive outside off; was there an edge? The umpire says not, the fielders look convinced, and we go upstairs.
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13th over: England 77-5 (Knight 15, Heath 2) heath carves into the off side for one and two more singles follow. Meantime, Knight has a question: does she bat through and help her team struggle to whatever they end up with, or does she push it at risk of collapse?
WICKET! Gibson b Amelia Kerr 14 (England 74-5)
Gibson backs away again but this time, Kerr sends down a wrongun and she can’t impart bat to ball. England have a problem.
13th over: England 74-4 (Knight 14, Gibson 14) Gibson backs away, cutting hard for four…
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12th over: England 70-4 (Knight 14, Jones 10) I’ll level with you: I’ve not bought any crisps, sweets or chocolate to sustain me here, and I’m regretting my good health decisions. Meantime, Jess Kerr comes into the attack and after Knight takes one, Gibson misses her glance … but Gaze misses her grab, losing a stumping chance in the process. Immediately, due punishment is administered, Gibson going DTG and OTT for four, before a single completes the scoring from the over.
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11th over: England 63-4 (Knight 13, Gibson 5) Amelia Kerr into the attack and this is a great match-situation for her. Her first ball goes for one, then Gibson takes two twos into the leg side and two singles into the off.
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10th over: England 57-4 (Knight 11, Gibson 0) It feels like a commanding total is already out of England’s reach; can they manage a competitive one?
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WICKET! Jones c Green b Tahuhu (England 57-4)
Wickets at regular intervals! Jones waits for Tahuhu and looks to go the aerial route but attacking the long boundary at midwicket, she doesn’t put enough weight behind her shot, picking out the fielder who takes a straightforward catch via reverse-cup. England are in trouble.
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10th over: England 57-3 (Knight 11, Jones 9) Tahuhu returns and Jones goes back to turn into the on side, sprinting through for two before standing tall to slam on the up and down the ground for four; great shot. Tahuhu, only two balls into her second over, has already conceded 19, and England will want to increase the pressure now, though perhaps not quite hit her out of the attack – it’s a fine balance…
9th over: England 49-3 (Knight 10, Jones 3) Knight’s seen enough, twinkling down to hoist Jonas over her head for what looks like six … but the umpire signals four, until telly proves to the contrary. Pressure back on the bowler, so this time Knight glances her behind for a single and two more follow, the rebuild now well under way; 10 off the over.
8th over: England 39-3 (Knight 2, Jones 1) Jones gets off the mark with a single into the off side, then Knight is beaten outside off looking to score. Already, she’ll know that she needs to take some responsibility here – again – but NZ are looking to bowl a little fuller at her, pinning her on the crease. So she flays to long off for one, and with two runs and a wicket coming from the over, that’s excellent work from Mair.
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WICKET! Bouchier c A Kerr b Mair 12 (England 37-3)
About that pressure: Bouchier steps away to try a reverse-ramp, Mair pushes the ball a little wide, and the attempted flick goes straight to the fielder at point. The White Ferns are on a roll! England are in trouble!
7th over: England 37-2 (Bouchier 12, Knight 1) It’s time for spin, Jonas into the attack, and the batters have a good look at her, taking just three singles from her first over. With Beaumont gone, the pressure is back on the batters…
6th over: England 34-2 (Bouchier 10, Knight 0) A terrific over from the returning captain, and the match swings towards the home side.
WICKET! Beaumont b Devine 19 (England 34-2)
There’s not much special about this ball other than that it’s straight, but it totally flummoxes the hitherto impressive Beaumont, who allows it to get big on her and can’t get her hands into position to keep it out so finds herself almost bent double as the stumps rattle behind her.
6th over: England 33-1 (Beaumont 19, Bouchier 9) A single to each batter at the start of the over as Devine returns, then another to Bouchier…
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5th over: England 31-1 (Beaumont 18, Bouchier 8) Bouchier hits Mair hard to cover and she wants one, but she’s sent back by Beaumont, the throw is good, and she dives full-length as the bails come off; we go upstairs and see that her dive took her well in. Lucky as far as England are concerned because two balls later she flays a wide one for four through point, then wears one on the pad; there’s a brief appeal but that was gooing down and they run a leg bye,.
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4th over: England 26-1 (Beaumont 18, Bouchier 4) Tahuhu into the attack, Devine’s work done, and Bouchier laps her to deep square for one. With the keeper standing back, Beaumont then premeditates a come-down, flicking uppishly around the corner for two, then does similarly next delivery, before pulling hard for four to wide long off. She’s into this now, and when she gets one on her pads, she again flicks it away, this time for four through deep square. Thirteen off the over, and a question for Devine to answer.
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3rd over: England 13-1 (Beaumont 6, Bouchier 3) Kerr finds a decent line, outside off, and does Bouchier, wafting at one, edge? Either way, Gaze drops it – looking again, there was no nick – Bouchier’s nurdle the only run from the over.
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2nd over: England 12-1 (Beaumont 6, Bouchier 2) In the field, Bates thinks it’s a little soft and sticky, so NZ should be able to up the pressure. Bouchier takes one, then a legside wide adds another. Beaumont then turns away on the on side for one more, a whip to fine leg earns a further single, and after another wide, the same shot goes wide of the fielder for the first four of the match. Decent over from England besides the wicket, nine from it.
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WICKET! Dunkley c Halliday b Devine 3 (England 3-1)
Ohhh, this is soft. The ball’s perhaps a little fuller than Dunkley was expecting but still, no need for her to chip to short midwicket, which is what she does, lost in the supermarket unsure whether to backwards or forwards. The skipper strikes with her first ball back!
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1st over: England 3-0 (Dunkley 2, Beaumont 1) As luck would have it, my browser crashes, returning to show me that England have made a steady start, taking three from Keer’s opening over.
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Out come our players…
It’s a lovely day in Nelson, where the square boundaries are a bit shorter than the straight. Craig McMillan’s expecting a lot of balls to reach the rope, the outfield being quick, and says 20s and 30s won’t be enough from the batters.
Dunkley loves her new role at the top, especially during the powerplay. Rather than try for the WPL, she wanted to focus on England, especially because of the World Cup coming up in September. The Dunedin pitch was a bit two-paced she says, so it’s just about reading the track and getting on with it; otherwise, she’s also hoping to turn her arm over.
I’m looking forward to seeing how Sophia Dunkley goes today and not just because she spent some of her youth round my way. She was very good in Dunedin, and at 25, her career might just be coming to the boil.
I’ve not been to either Nelson, but this one is arguably more picturesque than its Lancashire namesake.
Though Heather Knight would’ve bowled, she’s not too fussed, and though she’s not played in Nelson before, in the last game her side evaluated the surface well. She was really pleased with how her young side played the other day, and though NZ have players to come back, she’s happy with her side. In Dunedin, the track was a bit tacky, so they bowled into the pitch, but today might be different. Otherwise, Linsey Smith replaces Lauren Filer.
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New Zelaand win the toss and field!
It’s a flat track, so Sophie Devine opts to chase; she and Amelia Kerr replace Hannah Rowan and Mikaela Greig, while Bernadine Bezuidenhout is in for Georgia Plummer.
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Preamble
Hello there and welcome to New Zealand v England – the second of five T20 internationals.
England, of course, won the first – thanks, in particular, to a skipper’s knock from Heather Knight, the way already shown when she lozzed the WPL to do what she does best.
However, there is no more capricious form of sport than T20 and for today’s match, the hosts should welcome back Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr, both returning from India, while England must wait another before calling upon Danni Wyatt, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Eclcestone and Alice Capsey.
In a tight contest – and these are two well-matched teams – fresh impetus might make the difference. Or, well, it might not, because be very sure, each side already has plenty players plenty good enough to define this contest; it should be a goodun.
Play: 1pm local, 12am GMT
