The T20I leg of the white-ball series between hosts England and New Zealand side reached a decider in the 3rd T20I at County Ground, Hove on 25th May 2026. New Zealand had bounced back with a series-levelling 14-run win in the 2nd T20I at Canterbury on 23rd May 2026.
Both sides had a few changes; the only change for the Charlie Dean-led home side was the return of the left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone in the starting 11, replacing Lauren Bell. The White Ferns made a couple of changes. Suzie Bates returned to the side, replacing Georgia Plimmer, and Rosemary Mair replaced Lea Tahuhu for the visitors in the 3rd and final T20I of the three-match series.
The visitors suffered another top-order failure after skipper Amelia Kerr won the toss and opted to bat first at Hove. Suzie Bates (3 off 11 balls) return to the side didn’t go as per her expectations, as she was dismissed by the left-arm spinner Linsey Smith in the 3rd over of the innings to provide the first breakthrough for the home side.
Skipper Amelia Kerr joined the wicket-keeper batter Issy Gaze at the crease, and the duo led some sort of a recovery with a much-needed 22-run stand for the 2nd wicket. The departure of Issy Gaze (17 off 13 balls) in the final over of the powerplay, with stand-in skipper Charlie Dean providing the 2nd breakthrough, triggered a collapse. The White Ferns lost their next four wickets for just 4 runs. Jess Kerr (20 off 27 balls) joined Maddy Green (14 off 18 balls) at the crease, and the pair took them past the 50-run mark with a crucial 25-run stand for the 7th wicket.
The New Zealand innings folded for just 80 runs with five balls to spare. The innings had as many as 10 extras. Linsey Smith (4-0-15-2), Sophie Ecclestone (4-0-11-1), skipper Charlie Dean (3.1-0-13-3), and Danielle Gibson (4-0-14-3) were the top performers with the ball for England.
Nensi Patel gave the visitors some hope by dismissing Alice Capsey in the 3rd over of the innings to provide the 1st breakthrough for New Zealand. Sophie Dunkley (22 off 21 balls) and Maia Bouchier settled the nerves with a crucial 25-run stand for the 2nd wicket. Bree Illing dismissed the opening batter, Dunkley, in the final over of the power play. Another decisive 35-run stand for the 3rd wicket between Heather Knight (18 off 22 balls) and Maia Bouchier (19* off 29 balls) took them on the brink of another impressive win.
The pair of Freya Kemp and Maia Bouchier saw the home side over the line with 7 wickets in hand and 37 balls to spare. The innings had as many as 12 extras. Skipper Amelia Kerr (3-0-18-1), Nensi Patel (2-0-7-1), and Bree Illing (3.5-0-20-1) were the only wicket-takers with the ball for New Zealand. Rosemary Mair (3-0-15-0) was impressive in her spell. Danielle Gibson was awarded the Player of the Match for her impressive spell with the ball.
Linsey Smith was awarded the Player of the Series as she ended as the leading wicket-taker of the series with 6 wickets at an average of 8.33 and an economy of 4.16 in three innings with the ball for her side in the series, playing a crucial role as England sealed the three-match T20I series with a comprehensive win.
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