All-round New Zealand take 2-1 lead

New Zealand Women 219 for 1 (Priest 96*, Satterthwaite 76*) beat England Women 217 for 9 (Knight 79, Edwards 40, Bermingham 3-35) by nine wickets
Scorecard

A disciplined bowling performance, followed by fifties from Rachel Priest and Amy Satterthwaite, steered New Zealand to a 2-1 lead, after a nine-wicket win over England in the third ODI in Mount Maunganui.

In pursuit of 218, the hosts lost captain Suzie Bates for 39 in the 14th over. However, Priest and Satterwaite combined well to add 150, as New Zealand aced the chase in 48.4 overs. Anya Shrubsole picked up the only wicket to fall.

Priest was philosophical about missing out on a maiden ton. "I was just happy to get the win, to be honest," she said. "Amy was cruising it at the end, and I was just sitting back and watching - it was great. She batted so well, and she did that all the domestic season, too. For her to fight like that and come through at the end was fantastic for her."

Opting to bat, England had a fine start reaching 50 in 13.1 overs. Three overs later, Erin Bermingham broke the opening stand, having Charlotte Edwards caught behind for 40. Heather Knight carried on to register a seventh ODI fifty. The middle-order, though, caved in as England went from 133 for 2 to 159 for 6, Natalie Sciver and Knight perishing in successive overs.

Knight made 79 off 119 balls - her career-best score - before becoming Bermingham's third victim. The legspinner was the best bowler for New Zealand, claiming figures of 10-0-35-2. Satterthwaite picked up three wickets to dismantle the middle order, capping off a productive outing.

The lower order rallied briefly through No. 7 Katherine Brunt and No. 9 Anya Shrubsole, as England finished on 217 for 9. However, it was not enough to pose a challenge to New Zealand. The teams will now head to Whangarei for the first two T20Is, before rounding off the series with a third T20I and two more ODIs in Lincoln.