In a see-saw opening ODI at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, England pulled off a nerve-wracking one-wicket win against New Zealand on Sunday (May 10), taking a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.
Electing to field first, England got off to a great start as Lauren Filer had veteran Suzie Bates edging behind in the second over of the game for six. Captain Amelia Kerr dug in alongside Georgia Plimmer and despite the odd boundary, New Zealand could only manage 39 runs in the 10-over first Powerplay. Teenage left-arm spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman then struck for her maiden ODI wicket as Plimmer stepped out and miscued one to Lauren Bell at mid-off.
Kerr and Maddy Green then got together for a long partnership, although England kept a considerably good check on the scoring rate through the middle-overs with only 51 runs coming between overs 20 and 33. Both batters notched up their fifties before debutant Jodie Grewcock broke the 105-run stand and while Green continued to tick along, Brooke Halliday and Isabella Gaze perished cheaply.
At 201/5 in 45 overs, New Zealand looked well-poised for a score in the 240-range. Except, things went pear-shaped the moment Corteen-Coleman dismissed Green for a 107-ball 88. Bell then struck off consecutive deliveries - Amy Jones effected a sharp stumping to dismiss Izzy Sharp before Nensi Patel was out LBW. Skipper Charlotte Dean castled Jess Kerr before the innings ended in a run-out as New Zealand lost their last five wickets for just seven runs and were bowled out with eight balls still to be played.
England lost Grewcock in the fourth over of their chase before Emma Lamb and Heather Knight steered them past the first Powerplay. Rosemary Mair and Nensi struck in quick succession to remove both batters as England were wobbling at 42/3. That's when Maia Bouchier and Freya Kemp steadied the chase with a 68-run partnership, putting the hosts firmly in control.
The last ball of the 26th over brought about a turning point. Bouchier firmly struck a Mair delivery straight back, before the bowler got a hand to it on the dive. With Kemp out of the crease and her bat in the air, she was run out, while Mair soon removed Jones for three. Dani Gibson - also on ODI debut - then ably assisted Bouchier, who notched up a fifty. But Amelia Kerr added another twist to the contest, dismissing Gibson and Bouchier as New Zealand were right back in the game with the score reading 160/7.
Dean and Bell then dragged things along, with Bell largely blocking at one end although when she sensed the opportunity, she swung hard for a couple of boundaries. A 35-run partnership put England back in front before the next twist followed - Bell and Filer were both bowled and England needed 10 to win off 26 balls. New Zealand could have sealed the deal, but for Nensi putting down a catch to hand Dean a reprieve. The skipper then finished the job in the company of Corteen-Coleman as England held on for dear life.
@B0$ New Zealand 210 in 48.4 overs (Maddy Green 88, Amelia Kerr 55; Charlotte Dean 2-21, Lauren Bell 2-38, Tilly Corteen-Coleman 2-49) lost to England 211/9 in 48.2 overs (Maia Bouchier 59, Charlotte Dean 31*; Rosemary Mair 3-42, Amelia Kerr 2-54) by 1 wicket.
