England Women beaten in second warm-up game in New Zealand
Sophie Ecclestone impresses with bat and ball in defeat for England Women, who will play full New Zealand side in three ODIs and as many T20s; Captain Heather Knight says 30-run loss will "sharpen her side up" for challenges ahead
Thursday 18 February 2021 12:27, UK
England Women tumbled to a 30-run defeat to a New Zealand Women XI in Queenstown in their second warm-up game before facing the full White Ferns side in three ODIs and as many T20s.
Heather Knight's side lost 12 wickets making 286 in reply to their hosts' 316-5, with fifties for Danni Wyatt (54), Sophie Ecclestone (52) and Lauren Winfield-Hill (51) coming in vain as Claudia Green snared 5-56.
Recognised batter Winfield-Hill came in at No 12 as England, who were 133-7 in the 24th over, gave their full side a runout.
England seamers Kate Cross (0-64) and Freya Davies (1-65) took a battering, going at over eight runs an over, as the home side, led by Natalie Dodd (91) and Brooke Halliday (79 off 56) topped 300.
Opener Dodd struck eight fours before being dismissed by Katherine Brunt (1-39), while Halliday matched that tally of fours and also nailed three sixes before she fell to Sarah Glenn (1-43).
Left-arm spinner Ecclestone, along with seamer Brunt, was the pick of the England attack, taking 2-38 from her eight overs, removing Hayley Jensen (47) and Lauren Down (30).
England had won their opening warm-up against the same opposition by 20 runs, with Nat Sciver scoring 75 - but the all-rounder did not bat for her side in the second practice fixture.
England begin a three-match ODI series against New Zealand in Christchurch from February 23, before a three-match T20I series starts in Wellington on March 3.
Knight: Defeat will sharpen us up
England captain Heather Knight said of her side's defeat: "I'd much rather a warm-up game like that than one where you win easily. Credit to them, they gave us a bit of a humbling.
"We were a little bit off the pace in a number of areas. We did some really good stuff but, getting back into the groove of 50-over cricket, you have to do those things for a lot longer, and more consistently.
"As bowlers you need to find that consistency to build pressure and as batters you need to go on and score those big scores.
"I guess the preparation we've had before New Zealand has been tough, because we've obviously come out of an English winter without being able to train properly and then straight into a couple of warm-up games
"But, in my opinion these two games have been really good preparation and they'll really sharpen us up for that first ODI when we need to be hitting our straps against New Zealand in a week or so.
"It was perfect really - exactly what we needed to be able to sharpen up and get match-ready because obviously we haven't played ODI cricket for a long time."
