Beaumont, Sciver-Brunt help England seal ODI series win over New Zealand

Hamilton: Tammy Beaumont scored 81 off 96 balls while Nat Sciver-Brunt took three wickets to help England seal a 56-run win over New Zealand and seal the ODI series at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Wednesday.

Captain Heather Knight stuck to an unchanged combination which got them the victory in the opening ODI at Wellington. England batted first with Tammy’s knock making a significant contribution which included a 70-run partnership with Heather, though she fell short of her tenth ODI century.

New Zealand recovered, and after losing 6-59 which saw Jess Kerr dismiss Heather and Nat with two slower balls, while Alice Capsey was stumped off Fran Jonas, followed by Danni Wyatt and Charlie Dean falling in quick succession.

With England in trouble at 166/7, wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones impressed once again after a match-winning knock at Wellington by scoring 48 as New Zealand were set a target of 253 to win.

With Bernadine Bezuidenhout unable to bat after injuring herself while fielding, New Zealand’s opening batters struggled to gain any momentum with Nat and Lauren Bell taking early wickets, while off-spinner Charlie Dean took out Maddy Green. Brooke Halliday and Izzy Gaze recorded a 100-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

But wickets from Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone, along with Nat’s 3-21, helped set up victory for England as New Zealand were bowled out for 196 in the 45th over. With England having an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-game series, the two teams will now play final match of the series at the same venue on Sunday.

Brief Scores: England 252 in 49 overs (Tammy Beaumont 81, Amy Jones 48; Suzie Bates 2-24) beat New Zealand 196 in 45 overs (Brooke Halliday 57, Izzy Gaze 47; Nat Sciver-Brunt 3-21) by 56 runs