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The White Ferns have taken victory in the third T20I against England with a last-over thriller.
Bernadine Bezuidenhout got the White Ferns off to a flyer with a quick start pumping 34 from 27, alas, losing partner Suzie Bates to Sarah Glenn for 14.
England did take some more tap from Bezuidenhout and Amelia Kerr, but they had success in the ninth over when Dani Gibson had the New Zealand opener, Bezuidenhout on her way.
The excitement of the match however was still to come with a thrilling and entertaining stand between Kerr and New Zealand captain Sophie Devine. They set out by putting on 99 runs in just 11.2 overs with Devine going big near the end of the stand smashing overs of 13, 15, 11, and 12 to get NZ past the 150 run mark.
Gibson bowled a superb last over as she only conceded four runs and picked up the wicket of Devine for 60 from just 37 balls as the White Ferns finished on 155/3 from their 20 overs.
Rosemary Mair had England in trouble early as she ran out Sophia Dunkley for a duck.
However, the worse was to come for the White Ferns bowlers with Tammy Beaumont (37) and Maia Bouchier (71) putting on a second wicket 92 run stand as Engladn raced out to 90 runs in just 11 overs.
Mair (0/39 from four), Hannah Rowe (1/20 from two), and Lea Tahuhu (0/18 from two) took some tap from Bouchier and Beaumont; Rowe did the last laugh with the wicket of Beaumont for 37.
Fran Jonas bowled a great spell for the home team, keeping it tough through her overs and often not letting the batters get away and score. She was essential to building early pressure for England, whilst other bowlers may have been conceding.
England captain Heather Knight couldn’t quite carry on her fine form from the past two matches as she made 10 before being run out by Kerr. Before that however, Devine grabbed the huge wicket of Bouchier for a career best score.
The wickets of Bouchier and Knight signalled a sudden collapse for the visitors as they were cruising at 127/2, soon to be 134/4 following the two wickets.
Amy Jones (6) was bowled by Melie Kerr in the eighteenth and conceded six runs to leave England needing 11 from the final 12 balls.
Bess Heath did go past her highest score in the England shirt, but was dismissed by Devine in the penultimate over for three, and England needed eight to win from the last.
Bates was given the trust of bowling it and boy did she deliver. She had Hollie Armitage (concussion replacement for Sarah Glenn) bowled for one before conceding four runs from the next three balls.
Charlie Dean tried to sweep the fifth ball of the over but missed, meaning she was going to have to hit a four from the final ball to win. Izzy Gaze behind the stumps had other ideas however, stumping Dean and England finishing three runs short.
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