England Women continued their winning ways down under, with Lydia Greenway hitting 46 off 39 balls as they claimed a 54-run victory in their final warm-up game against New Zealand emerging players, at The Bert Sutcliffe Oval today.
Captain Charlotte Edwards and Laura Marsh opened England’s innings with a quick fire 31 before Edwards was caught in the fifth over. Marsh followed two balls later as she hit towards square leg and was caught by wicketkeeper Meg Kendal.
Just as Jenny Gunn got into her stride the vice-captain was unlucky for the ball not to carry over the ropes and was caught in the deep, leaving England on 74 for four.
But it was Lydia Greenway who impressed top scoring, hitting four boundaries and sharing a 34-run partnership off 23 balls with Tamsin Beaumont. The Kent partnership was broken as Beaumont was run out on the last ball of the eighteenth over and Greenway was caught four balls later.
Heather Knight added a quick fire 12 off the eight balls she faced and partnered Georgia Elwiss for the last three balls as England finished on 140 for eight from their 20 overs.
Another disciplined performance from England’s bowlers ensured the hosts were restricted to 86 for five with Marsh allowing just eight runs from her four overs. Gunn and Danielle Wyatt shared the wickets and England’s authority in the field accounted for the run-outs of Janet Brehaut and Anna Peterson.
Lydia Greenway said, “It was another solid performance from us today, we got the runs on the board, stayed disciplined with the ball and took our opportunities in the field.
“With us coming out here from our off season it’s been really good to get out in the middle and get use to the conditions. It was really satisfying to get some runs under my belt today before we head into the series.
“We’ve had three good warm up games out here in Lincoln and we are all now ready for the Twenty20 series. Although we have played New Zealand many times we won’t be taking anything for granted as they are a strong Twenty20 side so we’re all looking forward to an exciting series.”
England women kick off their T20 series against the White Ferns in Wellington on Friday.
To watch highlights of this match click here.
Lizzie Flint, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
