Sophie Devine struck a brilliant 87 off 57 balls, lacing her innings with five boundaries and six maximums, to pull New Zealand out of a dangerous situation and steer them toward a series-squaring win over England at Canterbury. After rescuing the innings, Devine then teamed up with Maddy Green to build a commanding 159-run partnership, with Green remaining unbeaten on 56 as the hosts set a target that England struggled to chase down.
With Amelia Kerr coming in after the main stand, New Zealand’s decision to bat first nearly looked costly early on. Laurel Bell and Linsey Smith struck quickly, leaving the visitors reeling at 5/3 during the second over. Brooke Halliday then became Smith’s third wicket of the Powerplay, pushing New Zealand even further back to 11/4.
From that point, though, Devine and Green completely changed the rhythm of the innings. They first hauled the score to 29/4 within six overs and then steadied things through the middle phase. By the halfway mark, New Zealand were up to 67/4, highlighted by Devine hitting Charlie Dean for back-to-back sixes in the 10th over. Boundaries kept arriving as the pair rotated strike and found gaps, setting up a late push after reaching 110/3 in 15 overs.
Devine and Green brought their half-centuries up in the 16th and 17th overs respectively. Soon after, Devine took aim at Freya Kemp, smashing her for two sixes in the 18th. In the final surge, the duo added 60 runs off the last 30 deliveries, a finishing burst that ultimately proved decisive.
England started their chase with purpose, racing to 27/0 inside three overs. However, Nensi Patel, bowling off-spin, delivered a key breakthrough in the fourth over by removing Sophia Dunkley. England attempted to gather momentum through two solid partnerships—first featuring Maia Bouchier and Alice Capsey, who combined for 45 runs off 37 balls, and then another 45-run stand between Bouchier and Heather Knight, worth 45 off 33.
Once Knight was dismissed, England’s momentum faded. As the required run rate rose, the chase began to unravel: they slipped from 119/2 in the 16th over to 148/6 by the end of the allotted overs, falling short of the target despite their earlier start.
New Zealand’s bowlers maintained pressure across the innings, led by Nensi Patel, who returned figures of 2/25 as England were held to 156/6.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 170/5 in 20 overs (Sophie Devine 87, Maddy Green 56*; Linsey Smith 3-25) beat England 156/6 in 20 overs (Maia Bouchier 38; Nensi Patel 2-25) by 14 runs
