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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 ODI ended in disappointment after she departed caught behind to Nat Sciver-Brunt on 23, sparking a collapse which saw New Zealand lose their last five wickets for 13 runs.
Devine did chime in with a final wicket, trapping Heather Knight leg-before for 33 but, despite surrounding Amy Jones with close fielders in the next over, 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 downside was 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.
The result has no bearing on the semi-final line-ups: England will play South Africa in Guwahati on Wednesday, before table-toppers Australia face India in Navi Mumbai in Thursday’s last-four encounter.
But it 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 both 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 that Sophie Ecclestone was only able to bowl four balls, after landing awkwardly on her left shoulder while diving in the deep in the first over. 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 in Wednesday’s semi-final.
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 2.2 overs.
New Zealand’s disappointment will be more acute given that 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.
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But Melie Kerr was caught on the rope trying to loft Alice Capsey down the ground, while Georgia Plimmer departed in the next over, trapped leg-before 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 back-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 which her teammates had presented her with earlier in the tournament, surviving for just 35 balls before England invoked DRS 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.”
