At the ground where England’s World Cup campaign started with defeat by India, the hosts secured a semi-final berth with a 75-run win against a strong New Zealand side. With one group game to play, against West Indies on Saturday at Bristol, they occupy top spot. Should they retain that position, they will play the group stage’s fourth-placed side on Tuesday at the same venue. Suddenly, England hold all the aces.
Nat Sciver’s second one-day international century – the first came against Pakistan in England’s second match of the tournament – stole the show, but it was in unison with Tammy Beaumont (93) that England’s win was built. The pair put on 170 for the fourth wicket, from 163 deliveries, allowing England to recover from 52 for three to eventually finish on 284 for nine from 50 overs – their highest ODI total against New Zealand.
The breakdown of Sciver’s numbers – 129 off 111 balls, with the first 100 coming off 92 – suggests she had it all her own way. That was not the case when she came to the crease in the 14th over upon the fall of the captain, Heather Knight, with New Zealand taking pace off the ball to restrict England’s scoring. Sciver scored two from her first 10 balls, before nicking her 11th beyond the keeper for four. Once she made it into double figures, it was business as usual.
The half-century came off 55 balls but it was over the next 50 runs that the fun began. Sciver hit just three fours in that period but produced the shot of the tournament, when she deliberately placed a leg‑stump yorker through her legs and away to square leg for a couple. The shot was quickly dubbed “The Natmeg”.
While the 16-year-old leg-spinner Amelia Kerr was able to control England’s tail, finishing with figures of four for 51, New Zealand still needed 285 for victory. They reached 89 for one in the 20th over before England’s slower bowlers starved them of pace and scoring options. The left-arm spinner Alex Hartley excelled again, returning figures of three for 44 which included the crucial scalps of the White Ferns captain, Suzie Bates (44), and big-hitter Sophie Devine (8).
As much as England would like to continue to plead inexperience, this win, following on from victory over Australia, is another accomplished performance underlining their credentials as potential world champions.
