New Zealand 155 to 3 (Devine 60, Kerr 44*) win uk 8-152 (Bush 71, Bates 2-4)
After finishing the drama
There was controversy over the last ball of Devine’s penultimate over, which looked wide but was not called, leaving Danielle Gibson in disbelief. This meant England needed eight runs to score at the end and Devine bowled the ball to the experienced Bates, who had not been used in the innings until then.
Divine matches his gait
New Zealand produced a solid powerplay to score 40 runs without a loss, but England threatened again in the innings with both openers out. Devine and Kerr were initially combined before the captain began to shoulder the ball, including a 15-run over from Linsey Smith’s last over.
Devine floated Dean for the last six overs of the innings to take his side to 50 off 30 balls, but Gibson ended the innings with a superb final over that lost just four runs to keep New Zealand below 160. Overall, they scored 90 from the last 10 overs and 55 from the last five overs, but Devine questioned after the game whether they could have come out stronger earlier.
Bombing of Bush
Sophia Dunkley was run out by a direct hit from Rosemary Mayer in the second over, but Boucher gave England early momentum when he caught Mayer for four consecutive boundaries in the fifth over. By the end of the powerplay, England were a healthy 60-1.
Boucher had not really hit the ground running in the first two games, but here she was very impressive, scoring her maiden T20I fifty off 33 balls. Overall, she scored 11 fours and a six, meaning that 50 of her 71 runs came from boundaries.
Sarah Glenn was replaced.
In the sixth over, Glenn dropped a catch at mid-off and hit her head on the outfield in the process. She did not appear to be checked immediately and went out to bowl in the seventh over, where she stumped Bates to give England their first breakthrough. However, she left the field shortly afterwards and did not return. It was confirmed during the break that she had failed a concussion test and Armitage was replaced, making his T20I debut.
“Sarah Glenn underwent a head injury assessment (HIA) but failed,” an ECB spokeswoman said. “Sarah will undergo an assessment later today to determine the next steps.”
Losing Glenn for a short period will be a huge blow to England’s attack, but the return of Sophie Eccleston, along with a WPL squad that will feature for the fourth game of the series in Wellington, should make up for the loss.
