New Zealand stroll to victory

New Zealand 147 for 5 (McGlashan 12*, Browne 7*) beat England 144 for 9 (Birch 46*, Steele 3-10) by five wickets
Scorecard

A solid performance with the bat, backed up by some very economical bowling, has handed New Zealand's women a win in the third one-dayer at Northampton after England won the first two games of the five-match one-day series. New Zealand found run-scoring almost as hard as England had in their pursuit of 145, but they held their nerve and squeezed home with nine balls to spare.

New Zealand got off to a solid start in their reply to England's 144 for 9, with Maria Fahey and Paula Flannery putting on 36 for the first wicket, before Flannery was trapped lbw by Isa Guha for 14. Fahey and Rebecca Rolls then added a sedate 30 to keep New Zealand's momentum going in the right direction, but Clare Connor fought back for England with two quick wickets (79 for 3).

However, Rolls and Haidee Tiffen then swept the game away from England with a 46-run partnership that took New Zealand to within 20 runs of victory. Both fell in quick succession to leave the score on 127 for 5, and England's bowlers kept things tight until the end, but Sara McGlashan (12*) and Nicola Browne (7*) guided New Zealand home without any further stutters.

Earlier, England struggled against a miserly New Zealand attack, and a fighting 46 not out from Rosalie Birch was the only highlight of the innings. No other player scored more than 16, and extras were the second-highest scorer with 25. Rebecca Steele lead the New Zealand attack, picking up three wickets for just 10 runs in 10 overs, including six maidens.

Connor chose to bat after winning the toss, but England were soon in trouble, losing Laura Newton with only eight runs on the board. Charlotte Edwards and Claire Taylor temporarily steadied the ship, adding 30 runs, but just when their partnership was beginning to bear fruition New Zealand struck again, and Edwards was caught by Maia Lewis off Steele for 12 (38 for 2).

Then followed a middle-order collapse as none of the next five partnerships were worth more than 15 runs. Taylor was bowled by Nicola Browne for 12 and Lydia Greenway scratched around for 24 balls before chipping a return catch to Steele (51 for 4). Connor made it to double figures, but then edged Beth McNeill through to Sara McGlashan behind the stumps (66 for 5). Jane Smit was bowled by Steele for a single, and three runs later Nicki Shaw was bowled by Browne as England collapsed to 79 for 7.

Jenny Gunn came and went fairly quickly, but Lucy Pearson stayed with Birch for slightly longer, scoring 12 before she was bowled by McNeill (122 for 9). Birch did her best to keep the strike in the closing overs, and Isa Guha survived the five balls she did face as England finished on 144 for 9.