England beat New Zealand by one wicket in the Women's Cricket World Cup to remain in semi-final contention; NZ 203 all out as Kate Cross (3-35) and Sophie Ecclestone (3-41) star; Nat Sciver (61) led the chase before England slumped to 196-9; Anya Shrubsole hit the winning runs in Auckland
Sunday 20 March 2022 13:46, UK
England overcame a late collapse to keep their World Cup hopes alive with a nerve-shredding one-wicket win over New Zealand and leave the host nation on the brink of elimination.
Having bowled New Zealand out for 203, Heather Knight's side appeared to be cruising to victory before crumbling from 176-4 to 196-9 in the space of five overs at Eden Park.
One more wicket would have ended England's chance of defending their title but with the rain falling, No 11 Anya Shrubsole (7no), the star of the 2017 final, held her nerve to level the scores with a boundary through the covers before a single next ball got her side over the line with 16 balls remaining.
After losing three thrilling games to start the tournament before beating India, England finally came out on the right side of a close one and further victories over Bangladesh and Pakistan, the two bottom sides in the group, would give them a good chance of securing a top-four spot, although it may come down to net run-rate.
Meanwhile, hosts New Zealand are all but out following their fourth defeat of the campaign.
Having lost the toss and been asked to bat first, New Zealand got off to a quick start with the experienced pair of Suzie Bates and captain Sophie Devine getting through the powerplay unscathed.
England might have feared the worst but Kate Cross broke the 61-run stand in the 12th over as Bates (22) chipped to mid-off.
The White Ferns remained in a strong position as Devine put on useful partnerships with Amelia Kerr (24) and Amy Satterthwaite (24). However, both fell to 21-year-old off-spinner Charlie Dean (2-36) and from 134-2 in the 31st over, the home side slumped and were bowled out with seven balls of the innings left.
Cross (3-35) returned to claim a further two wickets, including Devine (41), who was struggling with a back injury and unable to field, while left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone (3-41) ran through the lower-order.
Maddy Green (52no from 75 balls) did what she could to hold the innings together and a last-wicket stand of 19 with Jess Kerr (14) at least got New Zealand above 200 - still some 30 or 40 runs short of a par total.
England were firm favourites as they began the chase but their top-order troubles continued as Danni Wyatt (12) fell to Jess Kerr in the third over.
Tammy Beaumont (25) was dismissed by Lea Tahuhu with the last ball of the powerplay but it was the only wicket for New Zealand's premium seam bowler as she pulled up with a hamstring injury four balls into her fifth over and was unable to bowl again, joining Devine on the injury list.
Knight (42) and Nat Sciver got England almost halfway to their target with a composed third-wicket stand of 45 before the captain was trapped lbw by spinner Frances Mackay after missing with a reverse sweep.
Amy Jones (1) departed soon afterwards to bring the game back into the balance but a 70-run partnership between Sciver, who made her 16th ODI fifty, and Sophia Dunkley looked to have put the game beyond doubt.
Even when Dunkley (33) was bowled by Mackay, there was minimal pressure on England with only 28 more runs needed and more than nine overs in which to get them.
The tension increased when Sciver (61) was bowled by Jess Kerr and when Mackay (4-34) removed Ecclestone and Cross in the same over, New Zealand sensed an opportunity.
Pressure was starting to tell for England and when Katherine Brunt was run out coming back for a very risky second, they had lost four wickets in three overs and were one wicket away from elimination with another eight runs needed.
Shrubsole used all of her experience while at the other end, Dean seemed to be the only person in the ground enjoying this tensest of finishes, smiling as she saw off Mackay to end the 47th over with the rain falling.
A wide and a Shrubsole single took it down to just five required. Shrubsole got four of them in one go as she thumped a wide delivery from Brooke Halliday through the covers to bring the scores level.
The prospect of a Super Over remained but Shrubsole clipped a full toss just past short midwicket next ball to seal a thrilling win.
Two more must-win games remain for England but, despite making hard work of it in Auckland, their World Cup defence continues.
Player of the match Nat Sciver: "It's about partnerships and one of [me or Heather Knight] seeing it through and taking it home. Unfortunately, neither of us did that and left it up to the ice-cool Anya Shrubsole. It's crazy, we just got over the line but we probably shouldn't have, in the end. I'm in shock really."
England captain Heather Knight: "Credit to the Kiwis, they fought so hard and made it close in the end. Just relieved to get over the line. It shouldn't have been that close, we need to be better than that but today was all about getting the win and luckily we did that."
New Zealand captain Sophie Devine: "I'm so incredibly proud of the girls to take it where they did. We knew we were probably 40 or 50 runs short on that wicket. I'm so proud of the girls and also the way that the fans got behind us was outstanding. Girls are gutted but that's cricket."
