Unexpectedly, a record 130-run partnership helped the visitors win in Wellington.
England defeated New Zealand 207 (Bates 50, Bell 3-41, Dean 3-57, Cross 2-24) by four wickets with 209 for 6 (Jones 92*, Dean 42*).
In the opening match of their ODI series in Wellington, England defeated New Zealand thanks to a remarkable combination between Charlie Dean and Amy Jones that pulled them out of a terrible situation.
The two helped their side recover from 79 for 6 with an unbroken 130-run stand, the greatest for the seventh wicket or lower in women’s ODIs, thanks to Jones’ unbeaten 92 and Dean’s 42 not out. Despite Suzie Bates’ half-century, Kate Cross, Lauren Bell, and Dean had bowled New Zealand out for 207 in 49 overs.
The match’s MVP In women’s ODIs, Jones was outstanding, scoring the second-highest score by a hitter ranked No. 7 or lower.
Before the Kerr sisters, Amelia (captaining for the injured Sophie Devine) and Jess, joined Lea Tahuhu to go through the England line-up, New Zealand’s total seemed much below average. On the seventh delivery of the run chase, Jess Kerr bowled Tammy Beaumont for a duck with a full toss. She then claimed her second wicket when Heather Knight spooned one straight to Maddy Green at midwicket, bringing the score to 37 for 2.
With the seventh delivery of the encounter, Tahuhu dismissed England’s in-form opener Maia Bouchier, caught by Green at square leg. Amelia Kerr then had Alice Capsey leg before wicket while attempting a reverse sweep, leaving the tourists at 55 for 4.
With a short sharp delivery to start, Tahuhu got Danni Wyatt to jump, and two balls later, Nat Sciver-Brunt was out for just 12, taking England down five wickets in 14 overs. After the home team’s innings, Amelia Kerr’s googly went straight past Wyatt, causing the stand-in captain of New Zealand to ecstatically exclaim, “Come on!” as he sensed a win that had seemed implausible.
However, Jones and Dean formed a composed, unwavering alliance to stabilise England. Jones reached her fifty off 52 balls with a four from Tahuhu over deep midwicket, and she ended up two runs short of her highest ODI score when Dean hit the winning four off Fran Jonas.
England had kept a lid on New Zealand and taken wickets at regular intervals while bowling with discipline and authority, putting down 169 dot balls. While Bell and Dean both took three wickets, Cross stood out as the most effective.
After warming the bench for RCB during the WPL, Cross hadn’t played for England since the December Test against India and had only participated in one white-ball match, for England A, four days ago in Nelson. However, she didn’t display any signs of weakness as she went 2 for 24 on the powerplay, with an economy rate of 2.40, and two important maidens in a six-over span.
Bates took advantage of two early England blunders: Sciver-Brunt wasted a simpler chance at midwicket off Bell’s opening delivery in the next over, and Sophie Ecclestone looked to dive over a ball from Cross that eventually dropped just short of her at mid-on. After surviving another opportunity on 17, when England chose not to review a Bell yorker that replays revealed had struck Bates’ toe first and was headed for leg stump, Bates controlled a 90-run opening stand with Bernadine Bezuidenhout.
After facing 12 balls to get going, Bezuidenhout finished with 4 off 25 as New Zealand edged to 30 overs without losing. The breakthrough came from offspinner Dean, who drew Bates down the field with a ball that was spun away slightly and found an edge, which was collected by Jones behind the stumps. Bates reached her fifty off 73 balls with a single from Ecclestone. Bezuidenhout persevered to score 35 runs off of 62 deliveries, but when she tried to sweep Ecclestone, she was hit in the rear thigh, resulting in a 100 for 2 score for New Zealand.
Cross bowled with remarkable length and line. She also trapped Amelia Kerr lbw after striking Georgia Plimmer high on the back pad and New Zealand’s inaction in not reviewing to make sure she was sent packing for 17.
Dean let up 15 runs in her fifth over, which featured three wide deliveries, but in her 26th match, she took her 50th ODI wicket—becoming the fastest woman to do so—with a superb comeback to Brooke Halliday’s sharp four through long off, finding an edge that Jones snagged. In the space of eight overs, New Zealand had lost four wickets for just twenty runs when Green looped a straightforward catch off a slower ball by Bell back to the bowler, putting them six down.
Izzy Gaze, who had just scored her first-ever half-century for her country in the fifth and final Twenty20 International, and Hannah Rowe put on a 32-run partnership for the seventh wicket, but Sciver-Brunt had Rowe caught by Knight and Bell yorked Gaze for eighteen, trying her go-to lap shot.
The hosts were in danger of being bowled out within 50 overs when Dean got her third, Tahuhu holing out to Wyatt sprinting to her right from long on. Bell made sure that didn’t happen with another brilliant yorker that slammed into Jess Kerr’s middle stump.