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.
