England captain Heather Knight was relieved after they defeated New Zealand by one wicket in the 19th match of the ICC Women World Cup at Eden Park, Auckland on Sunday. It was another thrilling match in the ODI showpiece as the game went down to the wire. However, Anya Shrubsole was able to show nerves of steel as she guided the team to victory as she scored seven runs.
New Zealand was skittled out for 203 in 48.5 overs after Heather Knight won the toss and decided to bowl first. Suzie Bates, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine, and Amy Satterthwaite all got off to starts but none of them were able to go past the 50-run mark. Maddy Green was the top-scorer for the Kiwis as she scored an unbeaten knock of 52 runs. But New Zealand’s lower-middle order could not deliver the goods for the team.
On the other hand, England was coasting along to the target as they were 187-5 at one stage. However, New Zealand was able to turn the tables to make things exciting in the end.
Heather Knight said in the post-match presentation, “Credit to New Zealand, they fought hard and made it interesting. We have been on the wrong side of the results. We know how Sophie feels and how gutting it can be. It’s a tough win for us. The top order, one of us has to clearly go and do the job. Obviously the conditions changed a bit with the weather but the main thing is we got the win. Dean is a wicket-taker. She is attacking. Glad she has come in and done so well. We will reflect on this win and see what we can do better to make it easier. I think we are building. We haven’t quite played our best cricket, but two more important games coming up to give us a chance to play the semifinal.”
Meanwhile, Natalie Sciver was the star performer for England. She conceded only 27 runs in the nine overs she bowled however more importantly she scored a fine knock of 61 runs to get her team close to the target. Heather Knight also scored 42 runs for England while Sciver was awarded the Player of the Match.
Sciver said after the game, “Didn’t realize how much it was raining. They really turned the pressure on us. We left it for the cool ice Anya Shrubsole to do it for us. It is very hard on the bench. There have been so many close games in the tournament. I knew I had to do most of the scoring. I didn’t mind facing too many balls. It was pretty tough bowling in the windy conditions.”
England Women will next face Pakistan at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch on Thursday.
