Taylor leads England victory charge

England 243 for 1 (C Taylor 111*, Atkins 69*) beat New Zealand 242 for 8 (Tsukigawa 73, Browne 45) by nine wickets
Scorecard

England bounced back in strong fashion following their opening defeat against New Zealand to level the one-day series with a powerful nine-wicket win led by Claire Taylor's unbeaten century.

Taylor and Caroline Atkins added an unbroken 178 for the second wicket as England eased over the finishing line with more than five overs to spare. Taylor creamed 15 boundaries in her run-a-ball innings while Atkins played a fine supporting hand.

The bowlers had earlier made swift inroads to leave New Zealand on the back foot. Isha Guha continued her fine form by removing both openers and at 91 for 4 a competitive total was looking a long way away. Haidee Tiffen, the captain, steadied the innings in a 64-run stand with Sarah Tsukigawa, who added the real acceleration with a 54-ball 73.

She cracked five fours and two sixes while Nicola Browne showed her power with 45 off 30 balls. Guha was the pick of England's attack and there were also two wickets apiece for Laura Marsh and Charlotte Edwards.

"It was a convincing victory for us," said Taylor. "We performed better in every department today compared to yesterday. I'm really excited to have played some good positive cricket and seen the job through.

"It's the first time I have been part of a victory over New Zealand in their own country and this really sets the series up nicely for the third one-dayer."