Key events
Teams:
England: Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Heather Knight (c), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt, Amy Jones (wk), Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Kate Cross, Lauren Filer
New Zealand: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (capt), Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Lauren Down, Isabella Gaze (wk), Jess Kerr, Molly Penfold, Fran Jones
England have gone for a more seamer based attack than at Durham – Kate Cross and Alice Capsey come in for Lauren Bell and Sarah Glenn.
For New Zealand – Lauren Down comes in for Hannah Rowe.
ENGLAND WIN THE TOSS AND BOWL
Heather Knight calls correctly and sticks them in, she seems steely but confident.
“There might be a little bit in it (the pitch), a little bit of softness, little bit of live grass,”
“We’re really pleased with how ruthless and dominant we were (in Durham)… hopefully we can do the same again.”
Sophie Devine admits she would have had a bowl first too. Her side neat to step it up a notch or three today in Worcester.
“One game doesn’t define us, we’ve done a lot of hard work and still have a lot of confidence in what we’re doing”
Teams incoming – a few changes for each side…
Preamble
James Wallace
Hello, good morning and welcome to the OBO of England v New Zealand from the dreamy spires of Worcester. The White Ferns took one hell of a pasting on Thursday from an England side who delivered emphatically on their Russell Crowe* as Maximus in Gladiator ‘Inspire and Entertain’ mantra.
Heather Knight’s side ran through New Zealand’s batting card like a hot knife through blancmange in Durham. Bowling them out for 156 and then making short work of the chase – Tammy Beaumont and Maia Bouchier each blitzing rapid fifties to knock off the meagre total at a canter. Beaumont batted through unbeaten, finishing on 76* as England ran out winners by 9 wickets with a lot of overs unused.
Can Sophie Devine’s side get back into the series? We’ll find out in a little over half an hour. I’ll be back to bring you news of the teams and the toss. Please do whang a missive into the OBO mailbag if you are tuning in.
*I saw the big fella was getting his warble on at Glastonbury. Are you not entertained? Well, sort of. Three stars, apparently.
