That’s it from me, thanks for your company and comments. Raf Nicholson’s report will be along very shortly and we’ll be back to OBO the second match of the series from Northampton on Wednesday, it’s a 1pm start for that one.
Goodnight!
Charlie Dean is named player of the match and she looks elated after getting her side home at the end.
One from one, and a brilliant start from us. To restrict them to 200 made it more do-able for us. To be not out at the end with Tilly (Corteen-Coleman) was fantastic and what a day she’s had there, too.
She came in with a plan, she takes everything in her stride. She held her nerve and was brilliant with ball and bat. With the ball, Maddy [Green] and Melie [Kerr] had a brilliant partnership but we felt we could stay patient, and those wickets at the death made it easier for us.”
Fantastic start to the series. England go 1-0 up after a real nail biter/ pulse quickener/bum squeaker.
New Zealand captain Amelia Kerr:
I think the wicket was a bit slow, we thought that 250 would be a good score and we were set up to do that but unfortunately lost wickets at the back end.
“We fought hard with the ball to take it deep and there were two big moments, and with a bit more scoreboard pressure we could have cruised it. We have to learn and be better.
“I thought our bowlers were outstanding and we fielded well, a bit bumpy, too. Mistakes can happen, it’s part of the game. We’ve played more cricket than England, came off a series in April, so in a really good place as a group.
“To take it as deep as we did shows fight and character. Being out in the middle is the best practice. It’s a different format but great preparation for the Word Cup.”
Phew. What a game. Props to both sides for taking it so deep, it was a griping, topsy turvy affair. England clung on at the last, Captain Charlie Dean finishing unbeaten on 31* to see her side home with teenage debutant Tilly Corteen-Coleman scoring a vital three runs and surviving six balls.
England win by one wicket!
Tilly Corteen-Coleman shows no nerves whatsoever and simply opens the face to pick up a single and bring her captain on strike. What a head on young shoulders. There it is! Charlie Dean hits the winning runs and England are home, just!
49.2 overs: England 211-9 (Dean 31*, Corteen-Coleman 3*)
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48th over: England 209-9 (Dean 30, Corteen-Coleman 2) The tension unbearable in Durham as Charlie Dean and Tilly Corteen-Coleman try to get England over over the line. Corteen-Coleman’s first ODI run is cheered by the Durham faithful, a prod through backward point. Charlie Dean does really well to pick up two with a clip of her hip. A single brings TCC on strike. A square drive off the final ball sees Corteen-Coleman keep the strike. Two runs needed!
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47th over: England 204-9 (Dean 27, Corteen-Coleman 0) Bree Illing hunting the final wicket for the White Ferns. Dean takes a single off the first ball so is seemingly happy to expose Corteen-Coleman. A wide and a leg bye gift gold dust runs to England.
DROP!
Nensi Patel spill the chance to win the match! A top edge from Dean should have been taken but Patel got in a muddle and grassed it. Scenes. Two dots finish the over so Corteen-Coleman will be on strike for the next over. Jess Kerr is going to bowl it… England need seven runs, New Zealand need one wicket.
46th over: England 201-9 (Dean 25, Corteen-Coleman 0) Yikes! Corteen-Coleman jsut about survives the final two balls of the over from Jess Kerr. She does survive though, so has done her bit. Over to you Charlie Dean.
WICKET! Lauren Filer b JM Kerr 0 (England 201-9)
Bowled! Jess Kerr uproots Filer’s middle pole, the swipe across the line probably not what was requited from Filer. New Zealand believe they can steal this at the last, it’s been coming. Now then, eighteen year old Tilly Corteen-Coleman comes out on debut with ten runs required. Gulp.
45th over: England 200-8 (Dean 25, Filer 0) Oh my days. Filer sweeps and misses but the ball trundles away into a vacant area behind the keeper, Dean and Filer manage to scamper a precious three runs. Charlie Dean calmly collects a couple of singles to make it five from the over. Jess Kerr is coming back into the attack, England need 11 runs to win.
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44th over: England 195-8 (Dean 23, Filer 0) Cripes. England have made a meal of this. Lauren Filer is the new batter and she survives Mair’s final two deliveries. 16 runs plays two wickets!
WICKET! Lauren Bell b Mair 12 (England 195-8)
Rosemary Mair returns for her final over. Dean and Bell scamper a couple, Bell stretching to get home by half a yard as the throw came in from the deep.
GONE! Mair yorks Bell to keep New Zealand in it!
43rd over: England 192-7 (Dean 20, Bell 12) Five off Patel’s latest. Harum Scarum stuff but England are hauling in this total through Charlie Dean and Lauren Bell. 19 more needed.
42nd over: England 187-7 (Dean 17, Bell 10) Bree Illing returns and looks to have got out of the over for the cost of just one run but then a drag down off the final ball is dispatched by Lauren Bell through midwicket for four. 24 needed for England.
41st over: England 182-7 (Dean 17, Bell 6) Lovely over from Nensi Patel, flight and guile. She’s been brilliant for her side today. Just three off the over. The tension mounts once more.
40th over: England 179-7 (Dean 15, Bell 5) Dean hacks a drive through cover for a very welcome boundary and then picks up a couple more in the same area. Two more to Dean as she clips to deep midwicket, she then takes a single off the final ball to keep the strike. Charlie Dean is playing a calm captain’s knock out there so far. England need 32 more to win.
39th over: England 170-7 (Dean 6, Bell 5) Amelia Kerr finishes her set of ten overs for the day with figures of 2-54. England still need 44 with 66 balls left. New Zealand need three wickets. Where’s your money?
38th over: England 168-7 (Dean 5, Bell 5) Just one off Rose Mair’s 8th over as New Zealand continue to squeeze. Patel pulls off a diving stop at backward point to stop a certain four. The White Ferns have been so much better in the field than England, that could well be a decisive factor in a low scoring game.
37th over: England 167-7 (Dean 5, Bell 4) Lauren Bell uses her long levers to drive Amelia Kerr for a much needed boundary. Bright sunlight at Durham now and England feeling the heat. 44 more needed.
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36th over: England 162-7 (Dean 4, Bell 1) Lauren Bell is the new batter, she’s been promoted up the order. Bree Illing gets in and out of her over for just two runs. England still need 49 more, New Zealand three more wickets.
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WICKET! Maia Bouchier c Bates b AC Kerr 59 (England 160-7)
That’s a huge wicket! Bouchier gets a leading edge and is snaffled in the leg side. She is on her way and looks to the heavens as she departs. This is getting edgy.
35th over: England 160-7 (Dean 3)
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34th over: England 156-6 (Bouchier 55, Dean 3) Time for a drink with England needing 55 more runs to win. New Zealand hunting four more wickets. New Zealand were 146-2 at this stage…
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33rd over: England 149-6 (Bouchier 50, Dean 0) Maia Bouchier has chalked up 50 but England are teetering in Durham. Captain Charlie Dean arrives in the middle with 62 runs still needed.
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WICKET! Dani Gibson c Illing b AC Kerr 19 (England 149-6)
Decent cameo this from Dani Gibson, she gets on the front foot and bunts Amelia Kerr down the ground for three. Bouchier gives her back the strike with a single. GONE! The curse of the OBO scribe, Gibson mows across the line and is caught in the deep. This game is far from done.
32nd over: England 143-5 (Bouchier 49, Gibson 15) Jess Kerr returns to the attack with a fantastically miserly over. Just three runs off it.
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31st over: England 140-5 (Bouchier 49, Gibson 13) Amelia Kerr very nearly cleans up Gibson with a googly that the batter didn’t pick. A wild hack sees an under edge squirt away for a couple of runs. Gibson has provided some real impetus though, England need 71 more from 19 overs with five wickets in hand. Simple, non?
30th over: England 134-5 (Bouchier 46, Gibson 10) Rosemary Mair back into the attack. Gibson and Bouchier combine to take five off the over with one ball to come. Shot! Gisbon guides another four behind point to relieve some pressure. Only some mind.
29th over: England 125-5 (Bouchier 42, Gibson 5) Plenty on Bouchier now too, she is in and needs to get England close. Gibson shows her power in the meantime, lifting a length ball from Amelia Kerr over the infield for four.
28th over: England 118-5 (Bouchier 39, Gibson 1) Dani Gibson gets off the mark with a single to third. Plenty of pressure on her now, on debut with a big Hundred price tag hovering above her head. Can she get England home?
WICKET! Amy Jones c AC Kerr b Mair 3 (England 115-5)
That is not what the Doctor ordered. Amy Jones plays a loose drive and plinks a simple catch to Amelia Kerr at cover.
27th over: England 114-4 (Bouchier 37, Jones 3) Jones shows Andrex soft hands with a glide for two behind point. Two more singles make it four off Patel’s latest. Will Bouchier look to be aggressive and take a chunk out of this total? I think that might be the best play here.
26th over: England 110-4 (Bouchier 36, Jones 0) If England lose a couple more… Amy Jones comes to the middle with 101 runs still needed.
WICKET! Freya Kemp run out (Mair) 30 (England 110-4)
Is that a big moment in this match? Bouchier drives powerfully down the ground, Mair gets a hand on it in her follow through, the ball deflects onto the stumps and Kemp is out of her ground. Horrible way to go but go she must.
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25th over: England 105-3 (Bouchier 33, Kemp 28) Bouchier is looking much more full of intent, she boshes a short ball from Melie Kerr to the fence with something approaching disdain.
24th over: England 96-3 (Bouchier 26, Kemp 26) Bouchier plays a lovely drive but straight to the fielder, the batters set off more on the quality of the shot that the fact there was a run in existence and Freya Kemp is duly nearly run out! She dives for her ground, the throw missed but the replays show she would have been out if it had hit. A wake up call for England, this match is far from in the bag.
23rd over: England 91-3 (Bouchier 23, Kemp 24) Better over from England, Bouchier uses her feet well to get out an Amelia Kerr delivery on a length, she doesn’t time it perfectly but gets enough to pick up a welcome boundary through the covers. They rotate strike well to pick up nine runs off the over. 120 needed from 27 overs. I’ve said it before, it’s all about wickets.
22nd over: England 82-3 (Bouchier 17, Kemp 21) The Kerr sisters tightening the grip, just three runs off Jess this time.
21st over: England 79-3 (Bouchier 16, Kemp 19) It’s a change of ends for Amelia Kerr. Bouchier drives a full ball nicely down the ground and forces a diving stop to prevent the boundary. Two collected, this pair rebuilding for England. It has not been a high octane game but has been quietly intriguing.
20th over: England 76-3 (Bouchier 14, Kemp 18) After just one over, Amelia hands the ball to her sister Jess and says ‘you have another go’. Doesn’t initially looks to be a good move as Bouchier swats the first ball through the leg side for four. There’s then a loooong delay as they check the DRS on an LBW appeal… it stays not out on umpire’s call and Bouchier breathes a sigh of relief, it was closer than it first looked.
19th over: England 72-3 (Bouchier 10, Kemp 18) New Zealand putting the skids on with spin, Patel has been very impressive, she’s gone for just twenty runs off her five overs thus far.
18th over: England 66-3 (Bouchier 8, Kemp 14) Amelia Kerr introduces herself, she’s a bowler of flight and skill*. Googlies and loopy leggies coming out nicely, just three off the over.
*
17th over: England 63-3 (Bouchier 7, Kemp 12) Patel rattles through her fourth over, England accumulate four singles off it and drinks are called for. I’m going to make the quickest cup of tea EVER. Time me. Time me!
16th over: England 59-3 (Bouchier 4, Kemp 11) Rosemary Mair looks dangerous again, she finds the edge of Bouchier’s bat but the nick just falls short of Gaze behind the stumps. A front foot no ball sees Mair gift a Free Hit but she follows up with a pinpoint yorker that that Kemp can’t get away. Five off the over all told.
15th over: England 54-3 (Bouchier 2, Kemp 10) Freya Kemp does release some of the pressure with a couple of boundaries off Patel, she lofts over the top and then crunches through extra cover. Cat and mouse stuff in Durham with both sides grappling for ascendancy.
14th over: England 46-3 (Bouchier 2, Kemp 2) Just two runs off Mair’s latest, pressure building on England…
13th over: England 44-3 (Bouchier 1, Kemp 1) Pressure on England now, two new batters at the crease and New Zealand bowling well. Freya Kemp is the new batter, she tucks through square to get off the mark.
WICKET! Emma Lamb c JM Kerr b Patel 15 (England 42-3)
Patel has started really well, New Zealand have got a squeeze on and Emma Lamb tries to release the shackles but to no avail. A loose shot from Lamb who tried to go up and over the infield but she got right under it and was easily caught by Jess Kerr in the ring.
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12th over: England 42-2 (Lamb 15, Bouchier 0) Maia Bouchier is the new batter and she leaves her first ball outside off. A wicket maiden from Mair.
WICKET! Heather Knight lbw b Mair 19 (England 42-2)
Knight is on her way! Mair gets one to nip back and it hits Knight on the pad in front of the stumps. The umpire raises the finger and the review from Knight is in vain as the ball was clipping the bails and thus stays with the original decision. Nice bit of bowling from Mair.
A change of ends for Rose Mair and it seems to have done the trick, she keeps Knight honest for four dots and then…
11th over: England 42-1 (Lamb 15, Knight 19) Time for some spin from the White Ferns, Nensi Patel into the attack. Emma Lamb can’t get her away, dot follows dot follows dot. Maiden over, well bowled.
10th over: England 42-1 (Lamb 15, Knight 19) Illing whistles through her fifth over on the bounce and there’s just a single off it, she’s been miserly so far.
9th over: England 37-1 (Lamb 12, Knight 18) Rosemary Mair replaces Jess Kerr. England pick off three singles and there’s a wide down the leg side. This pair ticking over nicely after the early loss of Grewcock.
8th over: England 37-1 (Lamb 12, Knight 18) Heather Knight leans on another full ball from Illing and drives it through the covers for another glorious four.
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7th over: England 30-1 (Lamb 11, Knight 13) Lovely cover drive from Heather Knight, perfectly placed for four. Knight then plays with soft hands through the vacant slip region to pick up a second boundary. A solid forwards defence to finish the over.
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6th over: England 22-1 (Lamb 11, Knight 5) Illing has it on a string at the minute. Knight dabs to third for a couple and then keeps strike with a paddle into the leg side.
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5th over: England 19-1 (Lamb 11, Knight 2) Jess Kerr is too straight to Lamb and is flicked away for England’s first boundary. The required run rate is only a little above 4 an over, its all about wickets for both sides.
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4th over: England 13-1 (Lamb 6, Knight 1) Heather Knight is in at first drop and off the mark with a tuck off the pads for one. The DRS shows that had Grewcock reviewed the decision she would still be out there as it was sliding down past leg stump! Grewcock’s greeness costing her there and perhaps Emma Lamb should have had a word from the other end. Anywho, England are one down and New Zealand are in the hunt.
WICKET! Jodi Grewcock lbw b Illing 3 (England 10-1)
Pinned in front and has to go! Jodi Grewcock doesn’t get a dream debut with the bat.
3rd over: England 10-0 (Lamb 5, Grewcock 3) Another tidy over from Jess Kerr, just three runs off the over and some significant movement in the air.
2nd over: England 7-0 (Lamb 4, Grewcock 1) Grewcock follows an outswinger from Illing first ball, she’s at the top of the order today but usually bats down at 3 or 4 for Essex. A full ball hits the pads and they sprint a couple. Grewcock gets off the mark with a compact push into the covers that is spilled by the fielder, gifting a run. Decent start from Illing who is getting some movement with the new white ball.
1st over: England 4-0 (Lamb 4, Grewcock 0) Some nifty running from England’s openers sees a couple of twos chalked up from the first over after four dots in a row from Jess Kerr. Bree Illing is going to start from the other end.
Some unfortunate news breaking about England’s Em Arlott who has been ruled out of the series with concussion. She was hit on the head while batting in the nets at Durham yesterday, we wish her a speedy recovery.
The players emerge interval, England’s opening pair of Jodie Grewcock and Emma Lamb mark their guards. Jess Kerr will start with the ball for New Zealand. Play!
New Zealand 210 all out
New Zealand go from 147-2 in the 35th over to 209 all out with nine balls left unused. That was a lurching end to their batting effort. England’s debutants all put their hand up with wickets and catches and they’ll be confident of chasing this target down after the break.
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48th over: New Zealand 207-9 (Mair 2, Illing 0) Charlie Dean gets her second wicket and has 2-21 from seven overs. Excellent. Lauren Bell will hope to hoover this final wicket…
WICKET! Jess Kerr b Dean 2 (New Zealand 207-9)
Jess Kerr misses with a swipe and Charlie Dean hits. New Zealand nine down and falling in a heap.
47th over: New Zealand 206-8 (J Kerr 2, Mair 2) Bell beats the edge of Rosemary Mair’s bat with another slower ball but there’s no nick so no dice with the hat-trick. Bell beams a wide smile nevertheless, she has 2-36 from her nine overs and England have put the skids on New Zealand in the last ten overs.
WICKET! Nensi Patel lbw b Bell 0 (New Zealand 205-8)
Lauren Bell is on a hat-trick! Another slower ball deceives new batter Nenis Patel and the review doesn’t save her, three reds and Bell has two in two.
WICKET! Izzy Sharp st Jones b Bell 6 (New Zealand 205-7)
Slower ball from Bell and Sharp’s charge meets with fresh air, Amy Jones takes the bails off with the batter stranded.
46th over: New Zealand 204-6 (J Kerr 1, Sharp 6) Brilliant debut bowling from Tilly Corteen-Coleman, she finishes with 2-49 from her ten overs.
WICKET! Maddy Green c Gibson b Corteen-Coleman 88 (New Zealand 203-7)
Green is gone! Tilly Corteen-Coleman has her second wicket as Maddy Green attempts a big one down the ground but finds Dani Gibson who takes a neat catch on the boundary edge.
45th over: New Zealand 201-5 (Green 87, Sharp 5) Bell offers width and Green cuts away for four to bring up the 200 for New Zealand. Green misses out on another wider ball, cutting to the boundary rider on the off side. Seven off the over, five to go.
Stephen Nicholls emails in, he’s impressed with Charlie Dean’s efforts as skipper.
“Great to have international cricket back on the OBO. I’m impressed with Charlie Dean’s captaincy. She has treated her debutant bowlers cleverly, with each of them starting with wickets and decent economy; then brings herself on when planned to bowl to Halliday, and correctly uses DRS when the umpire turns down the appeal. This is very promising.”
Agreed, Dean has been impressive. England’s bowling has been tidy too. Their fielding on the other hand…
44th over: New Zealand 194-5 (Green 81, Sharp 4) Corteen-Coleman into her ninth over, a full toss is swatted away by Green for a welcome boundary. Lauren Bell is coming back for the death with three overs up her sleeve.
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43rd over: New Zealand 186-5 (Green 75, Sharp 2) Izzy Sharp joins Green in the middle. New Zealand deal in singles but they could do with finding the fence.
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WICKET! Isabella Gaze c Jones b Gibson 11 (New Zealand 183-5)
Lovely catch from Amy Jones stood up to the stumps and Gibson has her first ODI wicket
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42nd over: New Zealand 183-4 (Green 74, Gaze 11) Filer slams a ball into the middle of the deck, Gaze pulls away with a top edge but the ball falls short of Freya Kemp running in from deep square. Filer finishes her work with the ball and has decent figures of 1-43 off her ten overs. She only got the call up to play at the last minute due to Issy Wong reporting a niggle.
41st over: New Zealand 178-4 (Green 73, Gaze 8) Green shuffles across her stumps and gets a flick on a full ball from Gibson that beats Amy Jones stood up to the stumps and runs away for a boundary. Nine overs to go, what can New Zealand muster?
40th over: New Zealand 171-4 (Green 67, Gaze 7) Shot! Gaze opens her shoulders and bunts a full and fast ball from Filer down the ground for four.
39th over: New Zealand 166-4 (Green 67, Gaze 3) Grewcock has bowled well today, just three runs off her over and she has decent figures of 1-26 off her six overs so far.
38th over: New Zealand 166-4 (Green 67, Gaze 3) Izzy Gaze is the new batter, she’s off the mark with a compact drive. Green then plays the shot of the day, at least according to Michael Atherton on commentary as she unfurls a languid cover drive that bisects the field for four.
Speaking of which, some doofus wrote all about the cover drive this week:
WICKET! Brooke Halliday lbw b Dean 6 (New Zealand 158-4)
The plan works first ball! Dean pins Halliday in front of leg stump, the umpire says no but Dean is confident and goes for the review. The DRS shows three reds and Dean has the wicket. Great captaincy and execution from Dean and Halliday has to drag herself from the middle.
37th over: New Zealand 158-3 (Green 62, Halliday 6) Grewcock rattles through a quick over and it looks like being just one over for Lauren Bell as Charlie Dean brings herself back on. I think this is a ploy to get Halliday who has a weakness against left arm spin…
36th over: New Zealand 155-3 (Green 61, Halliday 4) Six runs off Bell’s over, New Zealand will definitely be targeting 260 or so at least here, England have bowled well but fielded terribly so far.
35th over: New Zealand 149-3 (Green 58, Halliday 1) That was Jodi Grewcock’s first international wicket and what a name to have as the first in the back pocket… albeit even she looked pretty sheepish at the manner of the dismissal. ‘Dross gets wickets’ as they so often say in club cricket with perhaps slightly different wording.
Brooke Halliday joins Green in the middle, Lauren Bell is coming back for a burst.
WICKET! Amelia Kerr c Bell b Grewcock 55 (New Zealand 147-3)
Amelia Kerr has a shocker. She tries to punish a full toss from Grewcock but ends up slapping it straight to Lauren Bell at mid off. England can’t believe their luck and Kerr can’t believe what she’s done after laying all the groundwork.
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“Morning James from sunny/rainy Salvador, May being that kind of month” emails Cressida Evans.
“Does anyone in the Graun hive mind have any tips on how to listen to this match from outside the UK? Can’t seem to get the BBC, Guerilla cricket aren’t interested in women’s cricket sadly and the YouTube offerings are challenging me to speak Hindi. All advice gratefully etc. In the meantime, thanks for some excellent updates and if you could wiggle your nose and improve our fielding that would be grand! Abraços from Brazil”
I can’t help with England’s ropey fielding but I can certainly enquire as to how to tune in from foreign climes. Any OBO followers out there got an overseas link for Cressida? Thanks for tuning in, always lovely to hear from readers in far flung places.
34th over: New Zealand 146-2 (A Kerr 55, Green 56) Is this the charge? Green brings up her fifty with a paddle fine for two runs and then scuds a length ball back down the ground for four runs. Ten runs in total off the over and the partnership is over a hundred between Green and Kerr. Time for a drink and then we might see some humpty from the White Ferns.
33rd over: New Zealand 136-2 (A Kerr 52, Green 49) England are just starting to build the pressure with some wily bowling, Filer completes her eighth over, she’s gone for just 33 runs so far with just three singles off her latest.
32nd over: New Zealand 133-2 (A Kerr 50, Green 48) Mightily impressive from Corteen-Coleman, just a single from her over which sees Amelia Kerr bring up her half century.
31st over: New Zealand 132-2 (A Kerr 49, Green 48) Filer returns, Green and Kerr rotate strike, four off the over. They might have to put the foot down soon, England happy with this run rate, the game isn’t getting away from them.
30th over: New Zealand 128-2 (A Kerr 46, Green 47) TCC misses her lenght and sends down a full bunger that is duly dispatched down the ground for four by Maddy Green. Three more singles make it seven off the over. The partnership for New Zealand is up to 86 but the run rate is hardly towering at 4.2 per over. New Zealand have plenty of wickets in hand for a charge in this back half of the innings.
29th over: New Zealand 121-2 (A Kerr 45, Green 41) Not again! Dani Gibson gifts four with a poor misfield at mid on. “It’s catching like a virus” says Nasser Hussain on the tv commentary.
28th over: New Zealand 114-2 (A Kerr 44, Green 35) Corteen-Coleman replaces Dean, she’s assured enough on debut to be tinkering with her field. Lovely flight and guile nearly sees Green stumped, the ball beating the edge but the batter just about manages keep her foot in the crease.
27th over: New Zealand 111-2 (A Kerr 43, Green 33) Grewcock nearly sneaks one through the defences of Maddy Green who manages to chop down on it at the last minute. A mixture of flat and flighted balls from Grewcock, just four off the over with a wide down the leg side.
26th over: New Zealand 107-2 (A Kerr 42, Green 31) Excellent from Charlie Dean once more, she whistles through her over for the cost of just three runs.
25th over: New Zealand 104-2 (A Kerr 41, Green 29) Flighted stuff from Grewcock but she doesn’t get too many revs on the ball, relying more on changes of pace and drift in the air. She’s carded to open the innings with the bat but bats in the middle usually. Six off her first over and New Zealand bring up their 100 to polite applause at Durham.
24th over: New Zealand 98-2 (A Kerr 37, Green 27) Charlie Dean miserly once more, she’s gone for just 12 runs off her four overs. England’s other debutant is being summoned for a bowl – Essex’s 21 year old all-rounder Jodi Grewcock is going to show us her leg-spin.
23rd over: New Zealand 96-2 (A Kerr 36, Green 26) Another misfield from England from Bell at midwicket. They’ve been poor in the field today after all the talk of this being an area that they’ve really looked to improve on. Charlotte Edwards looks on notepad in hand inscrutably but she’ll be ticking inside at the poor showing thus far. Fifty partnership between Kerr and Green.
22nd over: New Zealand 90-2 (A Kerr 33, Green 24) Charlie Dean on the button once more as Kerr and Green accumulate and build this partnership.
21st over: New Zealand 87-2 (A Kerr 32, Green 22) Lauren Filer returns and her pace is good, clocked at 73 mph and just a single off the over.
20th over: New Zealand 86-2 (A Kerr 32, Green 21) Excellent over from Charlie Dean who finds a hint of turn and ties Green down with extremely accurate bowling. Five dots in a row before Green manages to bunt the final down the ground and steal the strike for the next.
19th over: New Zealand 85-2 (A Kerr 32, Green 20) Dani Gibson has been a bit too straight in her spell so far, another one clips the pads of Maddy Green and whistles away for four leg byes.
18th over: New Zealand 79-2 (A Kerr 31, Green 19) Captain Charlie Dean brings herself on for a twirl, she was supposed to be resting/managing her workload for this series as she’s had a few back issues but the injury to Nat Sciver-Brunt saw her drafted in as skipper. Gah! It’s another misfield from England and it is Maia Bouchier who is the culprit once again after she dropped an easy chance earlier, a drive down the ground from Maddy Green should have been cut off but runs away for four.
17th over: New Zealand 73-2 (A Kerr 30, Green 14) Something of a scruffy over from Gibson who chucks a few down the leg side and then drops short and is pulled away for four. Time for a drink.
16th over: New Zealand 64-2 (A Kerr 28, Green 8) Another nice over from TCC, just three singles off it. Sun shining down at Durham, these two sides in a tussle.
15th over: New Zealand 61-2 (A Kerr 26, Green 7) Gibson looks fit and has put on a yard of pace by all accounts. She slides one down the leg side and Amy Jones pulls off some lightning work with the gloves to prevent four byes.
14th over: New Zealand 57-2 (A Kerr 24, Green 6) Kerr dances down and gets her rewards, timing a lofted drive off TCC for four. Fifty up for New Zealand.
13th over: New Zealand 48-2 (A Kerr 18, Green 4) Another debutant makes her bowling bow. Dani Gibson’s medium pace is on a nagging line and she rattles through her first for the cost of just three runs.
12th over: New Zealand 45-2 (A Kerr 17, Green 2) Maddy Green joins Kerr in the middle and sees out the rest of TCC’s second and wicket-taking over with a couple of singles.
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WICKET! Georgia Plimmer c Bell b Corteen-Coleman 20 (New Zealand 42-2)
What a moment for Tilly Corteen-Coleman! She tempts Plimmer into a dance down and the Kiwi batter can only plink an easy catch to Bell at mid off! A first international wicket for the youngster and she’s deserved it after a very tidy start.
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11th over: New Zealand 42-1 (Plimmer 20, A Kerr 16) Bell sends down her sixth over on the spin, just three runs off it.
10th over: New Zealand 39-1 (Plimmer 18, A Kerr 15) A very tidy over from Corteen-Coleman to begin with. She sets her own field and lands it on a postage stamp, just two singles off it and much encouragement from her teammates.
9th over: New Zealand 37-1 (Plimmer 17, A Kerr 14) Bell goes back of a length and gives Kerr to much width which she gleefully accepts with a cut for four.
Right then, the debutant Tilly Corteen-Coleman is coming on to bowl. Deep breaths!
8th over: New Zealand 32-1 (Plimmer 17, A Kerr 9) Drop! Maia Bouchier spills a simple chance at gully to give Plimmer a life! Bouchier hangs her head, it was right at her, went in and straight out. Plimmer had just hit two fours too – a pull followed by a rasping cut shot. Filer trudges back to her mark and allowed herself a chunter.
7th over: New Zealand 23-1 (Plimmer 9, A Kerr 8) Lauren Bell is on the money again, just a single to Kerr off the over. England could maybe put a slip in and ramp up the pressure here, they’ll want early wickets after winning the toss and getting first use of the ball in helpful conditions.
6th over: New Zealand 22-1 (Plimmer 9, A Kerr 7) Melie Kerr shows her shotmaking class with a punishing cut for four off Lauren Filer. That flew away to the fence like a pebble skimmed across a glacier. Kerr really is a joy to watch.
5th over: New Zealand 16-1 (Plimmer 8, A Kerr 2) Plimmer pounces on a full delivery from Bell and scythes through cover point for four runs. Bell going full in search of that early swing. The outfield is lush but pretty quick and there’s a decent crowd in, about 4000 tickets sold in advance and a fair few more walk ups.
4th over: New Zealand 11-1 (Plimmer 3, A Kerr 2) Plimmer clips a single into the leg side and Kerr opens her account with a flick off an in-swinger into the leg side. All eyes on England’s fielding, that is an area that Charlotte Edwards has really been drilling them on to improve, dropped catches and sluggish efforts were becoming all too common sight in the years preceding.
3rd over: New Zealand 8-1 (Plimmer 2, A Kerr 0) Georgia Plimmer works a single down to deep third to bring Kerr on strike to Lauren Bell. It’s a top over from the lissom limbed seamer, she keeps Kerr honest for three dots.
2nd over: New Zealand 7-1 (Plimmer 0, A Kerr 0) New Zealand’s captain comes to the middle, Amelia Kerr is in white hot form and is very much a key wicket. Filer wasn’t down to play today but a late niggle for Issy Wong saw her get the call up.
WICKET! Suzie Bates c Jones b Filer 6 (New Zealand 7-1)
Lauren Filer strikes in her first over! Bates beaten for pace and bounce and nibbles at a lifter outside off stump, the thin edge flying to Amy Jones behind the sticks.
Updated
1st over: New Zealand 6-0 (Bates 6, Plimmer 0) Lauren Bell has the ball in hand and she bowls England’s first ball in anger for 194 days. It is outside off stump and Suzie Bates picks up two runs with a guide through point. Could be a huge summer for Lauren Bell as she leads this England seam attack, she had a fantastic stint in the WPL with RCB and has really worked on her accuracy.
Ah, as I type that she serves up a full bunger on leg stump that Suzie Bates clips off her pads nonchalantly for four. Six off the first over, England buzz about in their new powder blue kit.
The players take to the field for the anthems, we’ll be underway very shortly.
Tanya is on the tools for the county championship live blog, you can dip a toe right here:
England are blooding new players then, Sky show a nicely done package with Ian Ward and Head Coach Charlotte Edwards as she talks about how she has been drilling this team and making sure they are primed to give everything in something of a defining summer. Edwards describes teenage off spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman as “a dream” to work with.
Raf was critical of the status quo in this piece a few weeks back. It would have been nice to see another teenage sensation, this time with the bat in hand - Davina Perrin get an opportunity.
Teams:
England hand ODI dayboos to Jodi Grewcock, Tilly Corteen-Coleman and Dani Gibson.
England: Emma Lamb, Jodi Grewcock, Heather Knight, Maia Bouchier, Freya Kemp, Amy Jones (wk), Dani Gibson, Charlie Dean, Lauren Filer, Lauren Bell, Tilly Corteen-Coleman
New Zealand: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr (capt), Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Izzy Gaze (wk), Izzy Sharp, Jess Kerr, Nensi Patel, Rose Mair, Bree Illing
England win the toss and choose to bowl first
The sun is shining in Durham but it still looks like top coat temperature. Charlie Dean has no hesitation in sticking the opposition in. She says there are three debutants in the side today and mentions “turning the page” with this ODI side. Kerr admits that she would have bowled first too, there should be some life in the wicket early on.
Confirmed sides in two tics.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the start of the English international summer. England’s women take on New Zealand in a three match ODI series before a trio of T20s against Amelia Kerr’s impressive White Ferns sets them up for a home T20 World Cup on home soil.
Charlie Dean steps up to take the Captain’s arm band with Nat Sciver-Brunt hoping to recover from a calf tear in time to lead the side in the World Cup starting on June 12th.
“I think it’s 194 days maybe since our last international game.” Dean told the press in her media duties ahead of this series. “We’ve had a really productive winter. We’ve not had international series, which hasn’t been fantastic, but we’ve really made the most of the prep that we have had.”
It is a huge summer for English and women’s cricket, as Raf Nicholson excellently put it in these pages:
“Historic occasions are like buses: you spend ages twiddling your thumbs and then two come along at once. England have waited nine years for another home World Cup, wallowing all the while in memories of their win in 2017, and almost a century for a maiden women’s Test at Lord’s. Now both are being thrust upon them over the space of a single month, from 12 June to 13 July, in a true summer bonanza for women’s cricket.
First, though, a T20 World Cup dress rehearsal: three one-day internationals against New Zealand, followed by three Twenty20s against the same opposition, and another three against India. The 50-over series, which begins on Sunday in Durham, feels a little as if it has been plonked thoughtlessly into the calendar. The wicketkeeper Kira Chathli and all-rounder Jodi Grewcock could make their England debuts – after all, the head coach, Charlotte Edwards, promised us she would “look to the future” after England’s drubbing in last year’s 50-over World Cup semi-final. But right now, no one in the England management has much bandwidth to plan for anything other than the possibility of reaching a home final at Lord’s on 5 July.”
Play begins in Durham at 11am and we’ll have news from the toss and the teams very shortly. Join us for all the OBO action and please do get in touch throughout the day.
