Innings break New Zealand 141 (Kerr 43, Ecclestone 5-25) vs England
Ecclestone’s 5 for 25 from nine overs was instrumental in bowling the White Ferns out for 141 with 8.2 overs to spare on a cool, cloudy Sunday in Worcester. Only four New Zealand batters reached double figures, led by Amelia Kerr’s 43, but, as in the opening match of the series in Durham when they were bundled out for 156, it didn’t look like nearly enough.
Early incisions by Kate Cross and Lauren Filer had New Zealand floundering at 10 for 2 in the sixth over.
Alice Capsey, back in the side along with Cross after legspinner Sarah Glenn and seamer Lauren Bell made way, appeared to bump her head as she tumbled over the boundary rope saving a four from Kerr but remained on the field after undergoing medical checks.
Ecclestone was introduced to the attack in the 12th over and Nat Sciver-Brunt in the 13th but it wasn’t until the 18th that Ecclestone broke a sedate partnership of 46 in 72 balls between Sophie Devine and Kerr, her beautifully flighted delivery luring Devine well down the pitch then dipping and turning to beat the bat as Amy Jones whipped off the bails.
Maddy Green had faced 28 balls for her four runs before doubling her score by lofting the penultimate ball of Cross’s allocation to long-on. Green struck two more in four Charlie Dean deliveries next over, clearing mid-on and going down the ground. Green had reached 30 off 48 when Dean pinned her on the pad with one that turned from outside off stump to end a 58-run stand with Kerr.
Her dismissal brought Booke Halliday to the crease, the standout performer with her half-century in an otherwise poor display by New Zealand’s batters in their nine-wicket defeat on Wednesday. But Halliday couldn’t repeat her innings after she was undone on 6 attempting to sweep an Ecclestone delivery which clattered into off stump.
Ecclestone made it two wickets in four balls and three for the match when, next over, she bowled Lauren Down for a duck with an excellent ball that turned past the bat and crashed into to top of middle stump, ending Down’s first international appearance since giving birth to daughter Ruby in January before it had begun.
Kerr ended up top-scoring for the White Ferns with 43 off 86 balls, passing 2000 career ODI runs in the process, but her innings was otherwise uneventful, her dismissal via a return catch to Dean coming amid a collapse of seven wickets for 27 runs in 10.4 overs. During that time, Ecclestone also removed Izzy Gaze and Molly Penfold.
It was Capsey who took the last wicket, returning after a spell off the field to have Jess Kerr caught slog-sweeping to deep midwicket by Sciver-Brunt for 14 with only her fifth delivery of the day.
Valkerie Baynes is a general editor, women’s cricket, at ESPNcricinfo