England resume winning ways

England 183 for 9 (Taylor 62) beat New Zealand A 86 (Guha 3-9) by 97 runs
Scorecard

England's women got the New Zealand-leg of their tour off to a winning start with a 97-run victory over New Zealand A in Lincoln.

Acting captain Claire Taylor's 62 was the basis of the side's 183 for 9, with a third-wicket stand of 107 with Jenny Gunn (47) providing the bulk of the runs. But there were alarms as they slid from 122 for 2 to 131 for 7, and it took cameos from Caroline Atkins (23*) and Stephanie Davies (25) to give the score respectability.

New Zealand A were never in the race as they were skittled for 86. Even that represented a recovery as at one stage they were 36 for 7. Isa Guha grabbed 3 for 9 while Gunn and Charlotte Russell picked up two wickets each.

"I'm really happy with the professional performance from the team," Taylor said. "There are still areas for improvement with both bat and ball ... losing five wickets for nine runs in the middle order and bowling too many wides."