ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, England vs New Zealand: 5 talking points

The England eves, on Wednesday, stretched their winning run to five games in a row as they trumped New Zealand by 75 runs at Derby. Batting first, England rode on Natalie Sciver's 129 and Tammy Beaumont's 92 to post a total of 284/9 on the board. Amelia Kerr was the pick of the Kiwi bowlers with figures of 4/51 in 9 overs.

New Zealand's chase never really took off as they kept losing wickets continuously. The credit should also be given to the English bowlers who kept it tight and built the pressure. The Kiwis were eventually bundled up for 209 runs. Alex Hartley(3/44) being the pick of the English bowlers. Let us now have a look at the talking points from the game -

#1 England off to a poor start

The England openers found the going tough

The hosts found themselves in deep trouble as three of their top four batters got dismissed cheaply. Lauren Winfield (11), Sarah Taylor (8) and Heather Knight (8) walked back to the pavilion with England's score reading 52/3 in the 14th over.

First, it was Winfield who got dismissed by Lea Tatupu in the 5th over with England's score reading 13/1. Winfield had scored 11 out of them. Next, Sarah Taylor was out caught and bowled by Leigh Kasperek in the 8th over of the innings.

England's score read 22/2 as the skipper, Heather Knight, walked out to bat. She, however, struggled to score in her partnership of 30 runs with Tammy Beaumont and crawled her way to 8 runs off 26 deliveries. Her misery was ultimately brought to an end when Susie Bates trapped in plumb in front of the wickets.

Thus England found themselves reeling on 52/3 as they desperately searched for their 'Messiah'.

#2 Beaumont and Sciver save the Day

Natalie Sciver was the star for England’s win

When Natalie Sciver joined hands with Tammy Beaumont in the middle, there seemed to be no one who could stop them. Sciver played the role of the aggressor in the partnership as Beaumont happily played the second fiddle as both the batters thrashed the Kiwi bowlers all around the park.

Sciver counter-attacked in style as the Kiwi bowlers desperately searched for wickets. Beaumont also joined in the act soon. However, their partnership of 170 runs came to an end with Beaumont's unfortunate dismissal on an individual score of 92.

Shiver, though, went the whole way and completed her century. She was finally dismissed for 129 runs by Amelia Kerr in the 47th over of the innings. Beaumont struck 10 fours and one six in her innings of 92 whereas Sciver struck 11 scintillating boundaries in her innings of 129 off just 111 deliveries.

#3 Amelia Kerr's 4 four-wicket haul

Amelia Kerr was the pick of the Kiwi bowlers

Kiwi leg spinner Amelia Kerr returned with outstanding figures of 9-51-4 in all that carnage from Beaumont and Sciver. More interestingly, all her wickets came in the last 10 overs. Her victims included Beaumont, Sciver, Brunt and Shrubsole.

First, she outfoxed Beaumont who tried to go for a big heave only to end up getting caught by Tatupu. Next, Sciver followed in the same way as Satterthwaite took the catch to bring an end to her superb innings. Katherine Brunt was also dismissed in the same manner in the 49th over of the innings. And Anya Shrubsole got completely cleaned up by Kerr in the same over.

#4 New Zealand fail to mount a reply as they lose wickets at regular intervals

Suzie Bates failed to capitalise on her good start

The Kiwis could not get off to a good start having lost a wicket pretty early in the innings. And their chase never really took off. None of the batters could score that big hundred that England got from Sciver. They couldn't even score a fifty and that turned out to be a big factor in their defeat.

Suzie Bates (44), Amy Satterthwaite (35) and Katey Martins (21) - all got off to good starts but couldn't make it big. They had only one fifty partnership, a stand of 75 runs between Bates and Satterthwaite. After that, they literally had nothing that could have taken them close to England's total. They, ultimately, collapsed for 209 runs with 20 balls to spare as England won the match by 75 runs.

#5 Alex Hartley shines with the ball once again

Alex Hartley was again amongst the wickets

After shining in the previous match with a couple of wickets, Alex Hartley stood out with the ball once again in this match. She ended up with a spell of 3/44 in 9.4 overs. Two of her three victims were top order batsmen. She kept things tight when the Kiwis were looking to accelerate. Her accurate line and length and clever variations didn’t allow any freedom to the Kiwi batters. The pressure mounted on them and they perished going for big shots.

First, she outfoxed the well set Suzie Bates (44) as she got her stumped in the 20th over and brought an end to a crucial stand between her and Satterthwaite. She accounted for Sophie Devine (8) five overs later. And she struck the last nail in the coffin as she trapped Holly Huddleston plumb in front of the wickets to bring an end to the New Zealand innings.