Commonwealth Games, women's cricket: NZW thrash ENGW to win bronze
New Zealand Women beat England to clinch bronze in the third-place playoff match of the Commonwealth Games. Chasing 111, NZW clinched a comfortable win, riding on an awe-inspiring fifty from Sophie Devine. Earlier, Natalie Sciver contributed to the bulk of England's total (110/9). The likes of Fran Jones (2/22), Hayley Jensen (3/24), and Devine (2/11) ran down England's line-up. Here's more.
England were reduced to 10/2 in 2.3 overs. The duo of Sciver and Jones were, once again, entrusted with the task of lifting the hosts from a spot of bother. Sophie Ecclestone chimed with a pivotal runs, before ENGW lost three wickets at the score of 100. The Kiwi women rode on a defiant knock from Devine to pocket the chase.
Sciver, who racked up 41 in the semi-final, slammed a hostile-looking 19-ball 27 (SR: 142.11). She smacked five fours. She raced to 1,908 runs at 25.10, surpassing the tallies of Javeria Khan (1,895) and Lizelle Lee (1,896). Jones was a bit sluggish with her approach. She scored 26 off 32 deliveries, striking only two fours. She now has 1,104 runs across 73 WT20Is.
Devine clipped 2/11 in three overs, including the wicket of a well-set Sciver. She now has 104 WT20I scalps at 17.51. The right-arm medium has steered clear of England's Anya Shrubsole (102) to be ranked as the fifth-highest wicket-taker in WT20Is. Jensen claimed three wickets to tally 36 scalps at 23.13. She has equaled the counts of Bismah Maroof and Georgia Wareham.
As per ESPNcricinfo, this was New Zealand's only seventh win in the Women's T20 Internationals against England. They have been on the losing end on 23 occasions in the past, including a seven-wicket drubbing in the Group stage of the 2022 CWG.
Devine's red-hot form resulted in her slamming an eye-popping 51* off 40 deliveries, hitting six fours and a six. It was her 17th WT20I fifty. She concluded as the tournament's leading run-getter so far. The top-order batter racked up 177 runs while averaging a phenomenal 44.25. She also claimed six wickets at 14.23. She now has 2,769 WT20I runs at 30.42.
Both ENGW and NZW were seated in Group B. England beat Sri Lanka by five wickets, followed by wins over South Africa and New Zealand. They lost to India in the semi-final and later the White Ferns. NZW bested RSAW by 13 runs and followed with a 45-run win over SLW. They were defeated by England and Australia, but extracted revenge against the former.
