Jones executes an exquisite flick as she lofts the ball through midwicket for four. That marks her inaugural boundary of her innings.
Devine was presented with a guard of honour from her teammates to commemorate her final ODI and celebrate an excellent career within cricket – her retirement is well deserved!
| Innings | Runs | Overs | Details (with Source) |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand Women (1st Innings) | 230/9 | 50.0 | New Zealand posted 230/9, with contributions from Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup group match at Visakhapatnam. (Cricbuzz |
| England Women (2nd Innings) | 231/9 | 49.4 | England chased down the target, led by Amy Jones’ unbeaten knock, sealing qualification for the semi-finals. |
| Result | — | — | England Women won by 1 wicket — a tense and memorable contest. |
Scorecard
Amy Jones led England’s charge against New Zealand as they breezed to an easy win on an easier wicket for batters than Bangalore and Indore’s fast tracks, scoring an unbeaten 86 that ensured second place in their group and guaranteed entry into the semi-finals if both Wednesday’s and Thursday’s matches are postponed or postponed due to rain.
After an uneven start, Tammy Beaumont and Jones combined for a partnership of 95 in the powerplay on an uneven pitch that lacked pace and bounce. But once Jones was hit in front by Lea Tahuhu’s bowlers, England lost their rhythm, which allowed New Zealand to recover quickly.
Suzie Bates fell prey to Alice Capsey’s midwicket delivery of Alice Wyatt-Hodge for 33. Following Melie Kerr and Georgia Plimmer’s exits, Melie Wyatt-Hodge replaced them as an all-rounder, but was quickly dismissed LBW by Brooke Halliday for 33 runs.
England reached their target with relative ease in the final over, as Jones hit two fours and sixes off Rosemary Mair to complete her half-century off 71 balls. She then hit one off spinner Lea Tahuhu before timed another four through the covers to seal England’s victory. A guard of honour was provided as Devine left the field; her teammates offered her warm congratulations as she exited and gave her their well wishes on retirement at season’s end. Devine has won 159 One Day International caps for England since 2004, which she will retire this summer from this format after spending her 38th season.
First innings
England and New Zealand will meet for their 27th Women’s ODI World Cup fixture at ACA-VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam. Both teams are in contention to qualify for the semifinals, so will be eager to close out their group stage campaigns on a positive note.
ACA-VDCA Stadium’s pitch is conducive to both batting and spinning, providing spinners some grip in addition to batsmen. Unfortunately, dew often makes conditions sticky late on. Since 2015, average first innings score at this venue stands at 252.
England quickly responded after their hosts struggled early, opening up with Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont at the forefront. Suzie Bates was dismissed softly before Georgia Plimmer fell prey to Alice Capsey to stem their momentum.
Sophie Devine made England safe at this critical juncture of their match against France. At 38, Devine is yet to commit her future in sports; thus making her departure emotional for fans across England and Scotland alike. Sophie left the field one last time with an emotional goodbye, drawing cheers as she exited for good.
England were in strong form despite losing two games and having one washed out, moving into second place on the points table after their victory against Australia. Nat Sciver-Brunt will want his side to maintain this momentum ahead of their semifinal clash with South Africa and India next week.
Rosemary Mair was brought in to bowl the fourth over and begins strongly, striking Jones in her pads before appealing for a wicket – this decision was upheld as it appeared to slip down leg.
Amelia Kerr replaces Knight in the middle order and struggles to make an impactful start, being caught at long on by Alice Capsey. Devine then steps in and lofts one over long on stand to score her 50th half century of the tournament before bidding farewell to her team-mates for good as she departs for her last ever ODI innings.
Second innings
England was just five runs short of victory when Sophie Devine had just two balls remaining to bowl before being dismissed off by Hawk-Eye due to an umpire’s poor decision, overturned by Hawk-Eye. Thus ended Sophie Devine’s stellar career on an unfortunate note.
Devine had initially refused a guard of honour when she came out to bat, instead opting to focus on breaking records instead. When she left the field however, a guard of honour welcomed her home along with plenty of hugs and congratulations from teammates.
England’s early innings struggled, falling to only 13-2 when Heather Knight made an early exit with an one-ball duck off Maia Bouchier. Jones and Beaumont responded by posting a 75-run partnership which brought England back into contention; eventually Jones completed her unbeaten 67 to bring England home on 231-9.
An intense middle period meant the match remained tightly poised throughout, yet England managed to keep their nerve. New Zealand bowlers failed to penetrate and paid dearly for mistakes made in fielding; Sophie Devine took an awkward fall while trying to intercept Suzie Bates delivery while Fran Jonas missed an easy chance at deep third.
Sciver-Brunt battered Jess Kerr to score a six-ball duck before being run out by Dean after she was put down at backward point. Danni Wyatt-Hodge attempted to salvage some points but could not give England their desired win.
Leigh Kasperek’s final over may have produced only two runs, but that wasn’t enough to stop England winning their series 3-0 and progressing into the semi-finals in Mumbai. If Australia beat South Africa on Wednesday in their semi-final, England could also become second on the group stage points table based on this result. On Friday afternoon they face Sri Lanka at Melbourne Cricket Ground; live text commentary and analysis is available through BBC Sport website/app; join in the conversation by using #EnglandCWC19 hashtag on social media!
Third innings
England completed their comprehensive T20 series win against New Zealand with a comfortable six-wicket win at Canterbury on Thursday, even without captain Heather Knight taking part. Alice Capsey scored an unbeaten 67 to help England to 228-8 in their last over, while captain Nat Sciver took four wickets with the ball and ensured England secured victory with over seven balls remaining.
England was off to an uncertain start, slipping to 68-3 in the seventh over when Fran Wilson was caught at mid-wicket by Maddy Green for 13. Sophie Devine then combined with Melie Kerr in adding 37 runs before they were both run out in consecutive deliveries in the 18th over. Sciver then bowled Kate Ebrahim lbw for first ball duck before having Leigh Kasperek caught for similar reasons at deep third for New Zealand to finish on 142-9 with nine overs remaining.
The tourists fell to 10-3 in the ninth over when Kasperek was bowled by Dani Gibson and further handicapped by field errors. England capitalized by drawing within five runs of their target and then accelerating. Jones produced a brilliant shot to clear boundary rope for four, timing her next ball through covers for another six to seal their win thumpingly.
New Zealand are now second in the table behind Australia with one win out of their remaining two games and only a point behind India. Their next group match will be against Pakistan on Saturday; to qualify for semi-finals they need at least six points from these remaining two matches and eight is ideal if they want to take home gold! In addition, New Zealand look set to give Sophie Devine a fitting farewell by giving both teams a guard of honour during her last match before retiring from this format altogether; Devine received plenty of hugs from her teammates as she exited from this format after retiring after eight years with her final match where both teams gave her guards of honour from both teams before bidding her farewell!
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