England wrap up a comfortable win in the second T20I to go 2-0 up with one game to go
England Women 124 for 4 (Beaumont 63, Knight 39, Mair 2-22) beat New Zealand Women 123 for 9 (Satterthwaite 49, Davies 4-23, Sciver 2-25, Glenn 2-27) by six wickets
Opener Tammy Beaumont’s 63 combined with superb bowling efforts from Freya Davies, Nat Sciver and Sarah Glenn helped England Women win the second T20I against New Zealand Women and seal the three-match series with one game to go.
After New Zealand were put in to bat, Sophie Ecclestone and Davies did the early damage by removing the openers within the first five overs. Amy Satterthwaite and Amelia Kerr then combined for a 58-run third-wicket stand and pushed the scoring rate up as they stayed together till the 12th over, but a double-strike from legspinner Glenn took care of Kerr and Katey Martin, which pegged New Zealand back.
Davies then caused further damage, removing Satterthwaite for 49 in the 15th over, and that put a lid on the scoring in a big way. New Zealand were 98 for 5 at that point, and after that they added just 25 more runs to push their total to 123 for 9. Davies finished with career-best figures of 4 for 23, while Sciver and Glenn picked up two wickets each.
England started their chase briskly thanks to Beaumont, who hit seven fours and a six on her way to a 53-ball 63. Rosemary Mair removed Danni Wyatt and Sciver for paltry scores, but Beaumont partnered with captain Heather Knight – who made a run-a-ball 39 – for 83 runs to put England in a winning position. Though both of them were dismissed before the close, England cantered home with 16 balls in hand.
The third – and final – T20I will be played in Wellington on Sunday.