Seat Unique Riverside played host to a dominant opening win for England in their Metro Bank ODI Series as they crush New Zealand by nine wickets.
Lauren Filer (1-18) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (1-19) made early breakthroughs before Charlie Dean stole the show with figures of 4-38 from nine overs as England bowled the Kiwis out for 156 despite being put into the field by visiting captain Sophie Devine.
Innings of 76* from Tammy Beaumont and 68 Maia Bouchier saw England over the line with ease before Heather Knight came out to see England over the line.
New Zealand openers Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer got off to a quick start as they looked to punish any loose deliveries, scoring 27 from the opening three overs.
It was Lauren Filer who made the opening breakthrough, she nipped one onto the top of off stump as Bates attempted to play square of the wicket, falling for 16 in the fourth.
The White Ferns raced to 40 for one from just 4.4 overs before Filer found her length and the introduction of Nat Sciver-Brunt saw England curtail their opponent’s in the latter half of the powerplay.
On the first ball of the eleventh, a disastrous run out sparked a top order batting collapse as England took four wickets in five overs for just 19 runs; the visitors falling 75 for five.
Amelia Kerr’s straight drive took an unfortunate deflection off Plimmer straight into the path of Maia Bouchier, who threw into Amy Jones’s gloves to see Plimmer ran out for 29.
Sophie Ecclestone took wickets in back-to-back overs to wrap up the wickets of New Zealand’s top four, taking the scalp of Kerr who top-edged a sweep, to ‘keeper Jones via the top edge.
Ecclestone then delivered a stunner to skipper Devine, whgo attempted to drive, before late turn away from the right-hander found the outside edge and into the gloves of Jones.
England piled on the pressure when Sciver-Brunt struck the front pad of Maddy Green with her delivery adjudged to be angling into leg-stump, despite Green’s referral.
New Zealand began to stem the flow of wickets as Brooke Halliday and Izzy Gaze shared a partnership worth 28. Gaze looked to have found her groove, scoring consecutive boundaries after a period of patient play as the visitors rebuilt.
Charlie Dean then seized the initiative for England taking four wickets in her next five overs. The following ball she trapped Gaze on her front pad, as New Zealand spurned their second and final review in the process.
The off spinner’s second was similar as she fired a quicker and flatter delivery on the same line to have Hannah Rowe dismissed leg before too.
Dean floated one to tempt Jess Kerr who feathered through to Jones’s gloves. By the time Dean fired one flat past Molly Penfold into the top of leg stump, New Zealand were nine down with 134 on the board.
Halliday, having been stuck at the non-strikers end whilst wickets tumbled, began to up the ante. She struck Sarah Glenn for four through the off-side before advancing to Dean and hitting the first maximum over long off.
Halliday brought up her fifth New Zealand half-century from 59 deliveries as she reverse swept Glenn to fine leg for her seventh four in a defiant knock before she looped one into the hands of Heather Knight the following delivery.
England began their chase of 157 with haste, scoring 68 from the powerplay including 15 from the opening over. Tammy Beaumont struck two short Penfold deliveries to the leg side boundary before Bouchier drove through cover for four.
England’s opening pair were relentless, punishing width through the point region and short length through the leg side as they accrued 13 boundaries in the opening ten overs.
Beaumont brought up her 20th ODI fifty in style after 46 balls, striding down to Amelia Kerr before launching her over wide long-on for her first maximum of the innings.
Bouchier followed suit later in the over, slapping a full toss down the ground for six to bring up England’s hundred. Bouchier then chipped Amelia Kerr over mid-on for four to bring up her second ODI half ton from just 38 balls.
Halliday continued her positive day when she removed Bouchier on 68 as the opener drove hard through the covers only to be denied by a fantastic diving catch from Bates with England’s opening stand worth 137.
Beaumont then had two scares against the bowling of Fran Jonas, initially being given out leg before wicket, though subsequently reviewing to see the ball going past leg stump.
The following ball also struck Beaumont’s pad but impacted outside off with a shot on offer meaning New Zealand’s review was in vein. She responded with an expert reverse paddle sweep for four.
England captain Heather Knight wrapped up a very comfortable victory for England with four through the off-side to see England finish 157/1 after just 21.2 overs.