Second T20, Canterbury
New Zealand 170-5 (20 overs): Devine 87 (57), Green 56*; Smith 3-25
England 156-6 (20 overs): Bouchier 38 (33); Patel 2-25
New Zealand won by 14 runs; series level at 1-1
England suffered a disappointing 14-run defeat as Sophie Devine’s brilliance levelled the T20 series for New Zealand at Canterbury.
England’s bowlers started magnificently in scorching conditions, restricting New Zealand to 11-4, but Sophie Devine and Maddy Green added a record-breaking 159 for the fifth wicket to take the White Ferns to a competitive 170-5.
All-rounder Devine blasted 87 from 57 balls before she was run out from the final ball of the innings, with Green finishing 56 not out in support.
Devine hit six sixes and five fours as England’s bowlers and fielders struggled under pressure in all-too-familiar scenes.
Linsey Smith dominated the powerplay as she finished with 3-25, removing opener Georgia Plimmer and skipper Melie Kerr for first-ball ducks, but the stunning recovery gave New Zealand the momentum into the second innings.
Although England started their chase positively, Sophia Dunkley was the first to throw away her start and fell for 26 from 18 balls.
After Alice Capsey was out for 22, Heather Knight and Maia Bouchier added 43 for the third wicket but their cautious approach saw the run-rate climb and when the pair fell in consecutive balls in the 16th over, New Zealand were within touching distance of victory.
Explosive all-rounders Dani Gibson and Freya Kemp were tasked with scoring 30 from the final two overs, but they were dismissed for 12 and 14 respectively as England finished on 156-6.
The series decider takes place at Hove on Monday, when even hotter conditions are expected.
Destructive Devine shows her class
New Zealand will be a team in transition at the end of this summer’s T20 World Cup – when they will be defending their title – and veteran Devine showed exactly how big a gap she will leave in their batting line-up with one of her greatest knocks.
In a poor start, Izzy Gaze was bowled by Lauren Bell in the first over, left-arm spinner Smith had Plimmer caught and bowled, and Kerr missed a sweep to be pinned lbw.
Brooke Halliday was caught at long-off for three and England were in complete control at the end of the six-over powerplay with their opponents 29-4.
But Devine used all of her experience to put the pressure back on England. She clubbed Charlie Dean for back-to-back sixes to hit England’s captain out of the attack – she bowled just one over for 14.
That meant all-rounders Kemp and Gibson had to bowl their full allocation, both conceding 34 from four wicketless overs, while Issy Wong went for 24 from her three.
Devine masterfully shuffled around her crease throughout, often ending up in a heap on the ground, but it was effective in throwing the seamers off their length.
Devine and Green’s stand was the highest partnership against England in T20s for any wicket, and New Zealand’s third-highest of all time.
They rotated the strike throughout which led to England’s fielders frequently fumbling while Bouchier dropped a simple catch off Devine at long-off in the final over that saw another nine runs added afterwards.
England impressed all-round at Derby in the first game but this was a timely warning from one of the world’s best teams about some of the quality they will encounter on home soil next month.
England lack winning contribution
Though England lost a bit of control with the ball, Devine and Green’s partnership did show their batters that it was still a good surface for batting, and that there were runs for the taking with patience and application.
New Zealand’s left-arm seamer Bree Illing continued her fine series with three economical overs in the powerplay and final figures of 1-27, but Dunkley immediately took down Jess Kerr from the other end with 15 from the second over.
But after Dunkley whacked spinner Nensi Patel to mid-off in the fourth over, England stalled and nobody was able to match Devine’s proactiveness or fearless power.
Capsey, who batted beautifully in the opener at Derby, stuttered to 22 off 19 before Knight and Bouchier both struggled for fluency, constantly finding the fielders as the boundaries dried up in the middle overs.
The pressure told, as Patel changed the game in the 16th over. Bouchier was guilty of some lazy running which saw her jog a first run as Knight was sprinting to come back for a second, with the former captain run out for 25 off 23 by Devine having been sent back to the non-striker’s end.
Bouchier, perhaps feeling the need to take responsibility, then tried to kick on but was caught at long-on next ball, and though this brought the much-needed dynamism of Gibson and Kemp to the middle, both were on nought with almost 11 runs per over required by the time they came together.