ENGLAND beat New Zealand by six wickets to win the Women’s World Twenty20 at Lord’s.

The Kiwis were skittled for a meagre total of 85 with Katherine Brunt starring with career-best figures of 3-6 off her four overs.

England’s run chase never looked in doubt as they reached their required total of 86 to the cost of four wickets in the 17th over.

England’s women now hold the Ashes, the 50-over World Cup and the Twenty20 trophies, as they continue their dominance of international cricket.

In contrast to their nervous performance in the field in the semi-final at The Oval, when Australia hit 163-5, this was a highly-polished display by all the bowlers and the fielders.

New Zealand batted first after England captain Charlotte Edwards won the toss and elected to field in glorious sunshine.

Brunt was relentlessly accurate, finding a nagging length and wreaking havoc as the Silver Ferns struggled to connect bat with ball, in a spell which included a staggering 20 dot balls.

Off- spinner Laura Marsh again opened the bowling alongside Brunt, a tactic which has proved successful throughout the tournament for Edwards, as England exploited favourable early conditions.

When Lydia Greenway and Sarah Taylor combined to run out Sophie Devine – the final wicket – off the last ball of the innings, England had a stranglehold in the match which they would never let slip.

Wicketkeeper Taylor took a sharp stumping and two fine catches to prove a valuable component of her side’s superb allround fielding.

Jenny Gunn and Nicky Shaw also contributed to their side’s dominant bowling performance, taking two wickets each, conceding just 19 and 17 runs respectively.

Claire Taylor led England to victory with a composed 39 off 32 balls, and struck the winning runs, lofting an expansive drive over mid off for four.

Taylor was named Player of the Tournament for her consistent displays with the bat, with her final innings encapsulating her class.

Earlier, Sarah Taylor had got the hosts’ innings off to a steady start with a solid 23 of 33 runs, as New Zealand left themselves with too much to do (Eurosport).