[ad_1]
England 138 for 5 (Knight 35, Sciver-Brunt 31, A Kerr 3-30) beat New Zealand 136 for 6 (Gaze 51*, Ecclestone 3-30, Sciver-Brunt 2-24) by five wickets
England’s devastating duet
Sciver-Brunt and Ecclestone returned to international duty in the fourth T20I after playing in the WPL. England won that match to take an unassailable 3-1 lead, and the duo made a massive impact in the fifth. Sciver-Brunt claimed a wicket with the fifth ball of the match, and had two in seven deliveries when she removed Bernadine Bezuidenhout and Amelia Kerr, as the hosts stumbled to 10 for 2 inside three overs.
It wasn’t long before Charlie Dean, who finished as the series’ leading wicket-taker with seven, accounted for Suzie Bates. Ecclestone then entered the attack immediately after the powerplay to great effect for England. She had Georgia Plimmer caught by Danielle Gibson with her second delivery to make it 31 for 4, before taking a stunning return catch low to her left to remove Maddy Green just as New Zealand had started to breathe via a 38-run partnership between Green and Halliday.
Star Gaze-ing
Gaze helped herself to 16 runs off Sciver-Brunt in the 18th over via a particularly effective lap shot and a pulled six. Come the final over, Halliday fell for 33 to a strong catch by Alice Capsey, who ran in from long-on to give Ecclestone her third wicket. Ecclestone then dropped a sitter off her own bowling when Jess Kerr looped one high into the air in the swirling Wellington breeze, and Gaze brought up her half-century next ball. She reverse swept Ecclestone to the boundary to walk off unbeaten, her innings giving New Zealand’s bowlers something to defend.
Full report to follow…
[ad_2]
Source link