Skipper Heather Knight finds her groove amidst chaos as England whitewash New Zealand in the T20I series
The England spinners continued their domination against the touring White Ferns as the home side completed another comprehensive seven-wicket victory in the 4th T20I to go 4-0 up in the T20I series. Leg-spinner Sarah Glenn was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning spell (4-0-19-4) with the ball.
The New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine won the toss and opted to field first in the 5th T20I at Lord’s London. The visitors, New Zealand, stuck with the same side. While the home side made four changes to their side. Maia Bouchier replaced Sophia Dunkley, Freya Kemp replaced Sarah Glenn, Charlotte Dean replaced Linsey Smith, and Lauren Filer replaced Danielle Gibson in the side for England.
After being inserted to bat first, England got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of Danielle Wyatt on the first ball of the innings. Fran Jonas provided the first breakthrough for New Zealand. Alice Capsey joined Maia Bouchier at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 28-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to lead some sort of recovery for England. Fran Jonas came back and picked up the wicket of Maia Bouchier to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
Nat Sciver-Brunt joined Alice Capsey at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 29-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side past the 50-run mark. Fran Jonas claimed her third wicket of the day by sending Nat Sciver-Brunt back to the pavilion. The home side suffered a mini collapse as they lost their next three wickets for just 30 runs.
Charlotte Dean joined skipper Heather Knight at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 57-run partnership for the 7th wicket to take their side close to the 150-run mark. Jess Kerr picked up the wicket of Charlotte Dean to provide the 7th breakthrough for New Zealand. The home side eventually managed to surpass the 150-run mark as they posted a total of 155/7 in their quota of overs.
Skipper Heather Knight (46 off 31 balls), Alice Capsey (25 off 27 balls), and Charlotte Dean (24 off 19 balls) were the top performers with the bat for England. Fran Jonas (4-0-22-4), Jess Kerr (4-0-25-1), and Eden Carson (4-0-35-2), were the top performers with the ball for New Zealand. Chasing a target of 156, New Zealand got off to a cautious start before losing the wicket of Georgia Plimmer in the 3rd over of the run chase. Lauren Bell provided the 1st breakthrough for England.
Amelia Kerr joined Suzie Bates and the duo stitched an 18-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before Lauren Filer picked up the wicket of Suzie Bates to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Skipper Sophie Devine joined Amelia Kerr at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 32-run partnership for the 3rd wicket, laying a solid platform in the run chase. Freya Kemp picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Sophie Devine to provide the 3rd breakthrough for England.
Brooke Halliday joined Amelia Kerr at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 40-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side in a solid position in the run chase. Lauren Bell came back and picked up the wicket of Brooke Halliday to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side. New Zealand were eventually restricted to 135/8 in their quota of overs, falling short of the target by 21 runs.
Amelia Kerr (43 off 36 balls), Brooke Halliday (25 off 20 balls), and Suzie Bates (16 off 17 balls) were the top performers with the bat for New Zealand. Lauren Bell (4-0-21-3), Charlie Dean (4-0-29-2), Freya Kemp (4-0-31-2), and Lauren Filer (4-0-22-1) were the top performers with the ball for England.
Skipper Heather Knight was awarded the Player of the Match for her valuable contributions (46 off 31 balls) with the bat. She played a crucial role in rescuing England from a tricky situation in the first innings which eventually made the difference as England completed a comprehensive whitewash against New Zealand in the five-match T20I series. The 24-year-old leg-spinner Sarah Glenn was awarded the Player of the Series for her brilliant performances with the ball throughout the five-match T20I series. She was the leading wicket-taker of the series with eight wickets at a strike rate of 9.50. An average of 6.87 and an impressive economy of 4.34 in four innings with the ball.