England beat New Zealand in ODI opener
Heather Knight drives during her half-century ( Getty Images)
Heather Knight drives during her half-century ( Getty Images)

ENGLAND women overcame a stuttering batting performance to beat New Zealand by 30 runs in a close first one-day international in Bristol.
The hosts looked on the verge of victory with New Zealand reduced to 177-9, chasing 242 to win.

However, Amy Satterthwaite’s superb, unbeaten 79 took the game deep, and her 34-run stand with Leigh Kasperek for the last wicket kept New Zealand’s hopes alive.

It took a stunning direct hit from Lauren Winfield-Hill to run out Kasperek and dismiss New Zealand for 211 with 21 balls to spare, giving England a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Earlier, England captain Heather Knight made a sublime 89 but the hosts twice collapsed after being asked to bat first.
They fell from 109-1 to 140-5 and then subsided from 228-5 to 241 all out, with three balls remaining.

Off-spinner Charlie Dean became the first England player to have been born in the 2000s when she was presented with her cap by former captain Charlotte Edwards before play.

Both sets of bowlers were crucial but this match ultimately came down to two batting performances, with Knight just edging out Satterthwaite.
The second ODI takes place at Worcester on Sunday.

The tone for New Zealand’s innings was set inside the first seven overs, with Katherine Brunt bowling four maidens and the White Ferns scoring just nine runs.

It was not as though New Zealand needed to hit boundary after boundary; simply rotating the strike would have shown more positive energy, rather than allowing England to bowl at them.

Suzie Bates was the first to succumb to the pressure, sending a thick outside edge off Nat Sciver to Knight at second slip, before the struggling Lauren Down edged the same bowler behind.

It would have taken the experience and collective calmness of Satterthwaite and Sophie Devine to guide the tourists over the line and for a time it looked as though they would.

Satterthwaite was the more aggressive in the 78-run stand and Devine’s dismissal, lofting the excellent Kate Cross to mid-on, did not stop Satterthwaite as she moved to a half-century.

Strong on the sweep, she was able to pick the gaps in a way the other players could not, twice crashing Dean through the covers to pick up boundaries.

Her partnership with Tahuhu, who smacked 25 off 14 balls, and last batter Kasperek took New Zealand closer than they might have imagined.
But England’s discipline with the ball – and New Zealand’s earlier collapse from 109-3 to 143-8 – ultimately won out.

(BBC Sport)

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