England finished the group stages of the World Cup with a dominant eight-wicket win against a limp New Zealand, after bowling them out for 168 in 38.2 overs.
Sophie Devine’s final one-day international ended in disappointment after the 36-year-old departed caught behind off Nat Sciver-Brunt on 23, sparking a collapse in which New Zealand lost their last five wickets for 13 runs.
Devine did chime in with a final wicket, trapping Heather Knight lbw for 33, but, despite being surrounded with close fielders in the next over, Amy Jones was able to sneak the winning boundary through the off side, finishing unbeaten on 86 as England won with 124 balls to spare. The only downsides were that Danni Wyatt-Hodge, finally brought into the XI in place of Emma Lamb, faced just seven balls before presumably playing in the semi-final in three days’ time, while Sophie Ecclestone injured a shoulder while fielding.
The result had no bearing on the semi-final lineups: England will play South Africa in Guwahati on Wednesday, before table-toppingAustralia face India in Navi Mumbai in Thursday’s last-four encounter.
The win could, nevertheless, be crucial, because it puts England second in the group. Should the semi-final be washed out, England would progress at the expense of third-placed South Africa. A reserve day is in place but the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday in Guwahati looks decidedly iffy and it may be that the rain, which has blighted this tournament, has the last laugh.
“To finish second is a great thing for us and we were obviously chasing that today,” Jones said. “New Zealand got off to a decent start but I thought we pulled it back brilliantly. It felt like a fairly clinical performance, so we’re pleased.”
England’s dominance came despite the fact Ecclestone was able to bowl only four balls, after landing awkwardly on her left shoulder while diving in the deep. She left the field for treatment, came back briefly to take the wicket of Brooke Halliday, but was unable to complete the over and did not return to the field. It is not yet known if she will be fit to feature against South Africa.
It was fortunate for England that New Zealand’s poor batting ensured the absence of Ecclestone was not felt. As it was, Sophia Dunkley – who has not turned her arm over in an ODI in more than three years and bowled just two overs for Surrey this summer – only had to send down 2.2 overs.
New Zealand’s disappointment will be more acute given their batters squandered a promising start of 85 for one from 18 overs, after Linsey Smith struggled to find the right length to bowl in the powerplay.
But Amelia Kerr was caught on the rope trying to loft Alice Capsey down the ground, while Georgia Plimmer departed in the next over, trapped lbw by Charlie Dean. New Zealand then struggled to find any further momentum and lost their heads – Maddy Green plonked a return catch into the hands of Capsey, Jess Kerr was run out, and Smith came back strongly at the end of the innings to bowl Izzy Gaze and finish with figures of three for 30.
As expected, emotions had been high during the anthems, with Devine struggling to hold back tears. She came to the crease wearing the pounamu necklace with which her teammates had presented her earlier in the tournament, surviving for 35 balls before England invoked the decision review system to see her off.
“I didn’t cry as much as I thought I was going to,” Devine told Sky Sports. “For me it was never about the result today – it was about finishing out here with my mates. I’m so humbled and fortunate that I’ve got to do this for 19 years.”
