Hamilton
Returning New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine smashed an unbeaten century, coming off 93 balls, as the hosts earned a consolation ODI win over England after beating the visitors’ by seven wickets in the third and final match of the series at Seddon Park on Sunday. Sophie was out of the last three matches of the white-ball series against England with a quad strain, but made a late entry to the third ODI match, which proved to be very effective for New Zealand. She was aided by handy knocks from Amelia Kerr (31) and Maddy Green (38 not out), stitching stands of 76 and 105 respectively with both batters, as New Zealand chased down 195 with seven wickets to spare in the 39th over, with England winning the ODI series 2-1.
The move of opting to bat in the third ODI back-fired for England as New Zealand bowlers made early inroads to bowl them out for 194, with 3.3 overs left in their innings. There were useful contributions from England captain Heather Knight (31) and her deputy Nat Sciver-Brunt (27) but the batters failed to convert their starts. The middle-order also faltered until another inspired performance from Amy Jones (50) and Charlie Dean (38). However, solid bowling from the Kerr sisters along with Hannah Rowe helped New Zealand bowl out the visitors for under 200 score for the second time in the ODI series.
