At Chester-le-Street, England easily defeated New Zealand in the first one-day international by nine wickets.
In just 21.2 overs, the hosts achieved their below-average goal of 157 thanks to the 137 added by openers Tammy Beaumont and Maia Bouchier.
In a harsh and reckless showing on a good batting pitch that New Zealand could not take advantage of at first usage, Beaumont concluded with 76 not out and Bouchier with 67.
Within 33.3 overs, they were skittled for 156, with spinner Charlie Dean collecting 4-38.
After the 10-over powerplay, Georgia Plimmer made a good start of 57-1, but sadly, a deflection off her bat at the non-striker’s end saw her run out for 29.
That caused the score to slump to 76-5 before Brooke Halliday was the only batsman to provide resistance, scoring a counterattacking 51 from 60 balls, but he was unable to get any help from a middle order that was having trouble.
England’s response was merciless, as captain Heather Knight collected the chase with composure after Bouchier and Beaumont combined to smash 24 boundaries against a patchy New Zealand bowling effort.
On Sunday, the three-match ODI series resumes at Worcester.
Magnificent England chastises hopeless New Zealand
caption in the media: Dean pins Gaze lbw for 12
Knight stated before the game that England’s most recent One-Day International against Pakistan at Chelmsford served as the “blueprint” for their approach to the format, and her team undoubtedly took note of it.
Even if T20 cricket is getting all the attention as the World Cup in Bangladesh draws near in October, England and Knight’s desire to play with greater aggression was solidified by this entire performance.
The fact that Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates, or Amelia Kerr don’t perform well at the bat is a concerning trend for New Zealand’s development, and England took full advantage of it in Durham.
With eight boundaries in her knock, Halliday was a rare bright spark, but the rest of the lineup could not match Dean’s unwavering precision or Sophie Ecclestone’s astute variations; the left-arm spinner claimed the crucial wickets of Kerr and Devine.
The secret to England’s success has always been their spin attack, but their top order has struggled. As a result, the excellent opening combination of Beaumont and Bouchier—whose combined highest ODI score was 45—will have given them a lot of confidence.
Beaumont reversed an LBW on 66 for her only alarm of the innings, while Boucher went for 67 from 50 balls thanks to a brilliant catch by Bates at cover. Both batted freely all over the place and appeared at ease against both pace and spin.
Even more satisfying will be the fact that England performed so well without the key contributions of talisman Nat Sciver-Brunt, as they have frequently relied too heavily on her all-around class.
England captain Heather Knight said, “It was a masterclass.” “It’s a really good way to start the series.”
“Waiting to bat made me rather content to sit and observe! Those two gave a masterclass.”
Sophie Devine, the captain of New Zealand, said, “We are quite disappointed in our performance. Although we had a great start with the bat, England pulled back.
“We have to have faith in the job that we have been doing over the past two to three weeks. A significant series is about to begin. We’ll think it over and return with more vigor.
Player of the game Charlie Dean: “It’s quite great to end the game that way. Today’s team performance was excellent.”
