uk 142 to 2 (Bush 100*) win New Zealand 141 (A Kerr 43, Ecclestone 5-25) 8 wickets
Eccleston scored five of 25 runs from nine overs to play a key role in New Zealand’s second successive under-average total defeat, this time 141 runs from 41.5 overs, with Boucher guiding England to victory with 25.3 overs remaining.
Quick-fire scores from Kate Cross and Lauren Filer put New Zealand up 10-2 in the sixth.
Eccleston came into the attack in the 12th over, but it was not until the 18th that she broke the calm partnership of 46 runs from 72 balls between Sophie Devine and Amelia. Her beautiful delivery lured Devine down the pitch, then she ducked and turned to bat as Amy Jones swatted the ball away.
Maddie Green faced 28 balls for four runs before doubling her score with a long-on float from the penultimate over from Cross. Green was on 30 from 48 when Charlie Dean caught her on her pads, and the ball turned sharply outside the stumps to end Kerr’s 58-run stand.
Her dismissal brought Brooke Halladay into the crease, and she was outstanding, scoring 50 in an otherwise poor display by New Zealand’s batsmen who lost by nine wickets on Wednesday. But Halladay was unable to repeat the innings as she was released while trying to sweep Ecclestone’s delivery for six, which fell on the off-stump.
Ecclestone took two wickets in four balls and in the next over she bowled Lauren Downe with a superb ball that went over the bat and over the top of middle stump. It was Downe’s first international appearance since giving birth to daughter Ruby in January.
Amelia scored off 86 balls, and in the process passed 2000 ODI career runs, but her innings was otherwise uneventful, and her dismissal by Dean via a return catch came as she conceded 27 runs for seven wickets in 10.4 overs, while Ecclestone also removed Easy Gaze and Molly Penfold.
Alice Capsey took the final wicket when Nat Skipper-Brunt caught Jess Kerr with a deep sweep over midwicket, taking her fifth ball of the day for 14 runs.
Tammy Beaumont survived a review by New Zealand after being adjudged not out lbw on the first ball of the run chase. The ball, which Jess hit on the pad, moved inside but was found to have been tracked towards the leg side.
As at Durham, Beaumont and Boucher broke the back of the target this time with a partnership of 73 runs from 80 balls. Boucher took the lead here, and even more so when Beaumont was run out by the best margin of 28 runs. Boucher hit Amelia to cover, and Susie Bates collected and threw the ball back to the bowler, who caught Beaumont short despite diving.
Bouchier was on 42 at the time, but after Beaumont was out, he hit five boundaries in eight balls, four of them in Devine’s overs. Just before Heather Knight gave Halliday the only six of the match by slamming him to deep square leg, she slammed another ball through Amelia’s leg side. Knight died for nine, spooning Halliday straight to Amelia at midwicket.
Bush was given 92 for failing to get a catch from Jess, but Jess’s ball struck low on the back pad and the umpire’s decision to overrule New Zealand’s review allowed the century to stand.
Bush then skied the next ball but missed the long-off. She and Skever-Brunt then went for two and with two singles, she surpassed her previous best of 95, made in the third ODI against Sri Lanka in September.
With four more runs needed to win, Sciver-Brunt saved the remaining four balls of Penfold’s over, one of which was a full toss. Bouchier hit Jess’ first ball backwards square leg and ran for two more. Then, after a dot ball was poked to point, Bouchier hit the next ball through midwicket into space to reach the first run and run for the two runs needed to complete England’s victory.
Valkerie Baynes is the Women’s Cricket Editor-in-Chief at ESPNcricinfo.
