Knight Shines Again as England Defeat New Zealand in Second T20I

New Zealand has again suffered defeat at the hands of Heather Knight’s England with a 15-run loss at Saxton Oval in Nelson.

Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr were both returning from the WPL along with Bernie Bezuidenhout at the top of the order following an illness that left her out of the last game. 

The Kiwi bowlers did get success early with the wickets of Sophia Dunkley (2) and Tammy Beaumont (19) inside the opening six overs, Devine picking them both up.

Spinners Amelia Kerr and Fran Jonas took wickets in back-to-back overs to have Danielle Gibson (14) and Beth Heath (2) bringing England to 77/6 after just 13.1 overs.

Charlie Dean and England captain Heather Knight were able to save the innings for the visitors with a 45-run stand for the eighth wicket. Knight was the main contributor with 29 of the 45 runs. 

England did manage to muster a further 27 runs from the last 11 balls with a late cameo by Sarah Glenn (13* from 6). Knight finished on 56* from 40, her 7th T20I 50.

The home team had solid success after the early loss of Bezuidenhout who was run out by Glenn in the second over for one.

Suzie Bates and Kerr were getting the ball swinging around the ground with a quick 27-run stand for the second wicket til Bates fell for 19 to Linsey Smith. Devine could only make 17 at number four, Dean trapping her leg before and New Zealand in trouble at 56/3.

Just when it seemed like Kerr and Maddy Green were starting to push on and have a go at chasing down England’s 149, they lost five wickets for eight runs.

Kerr was the first to go, in a breakthrough for England when she went for 44 to Gibson. Brooke Halliday could only contribute one and Green was never able to get going as she made her way to 17 from 24 before being bowled by Lauren Bell.

With the wickets suddenly tumbling, Izzy Gaze (2) and Jess Kerr (1) found themselves in the middle but they were soon out to Bell and Dean respectively.

Lea Tahuhu (15*) and Rosemary Mair (9*) ensured that the Kiwis could see their full 20 overs, albeit 15 runs short of victory.