England win against New Zealand in Wellington from 79-6 thanks to Amy Jones' 92 runs off 83 balls and Charlie Dean's unbeaten 42 in a 130-run partnership - the highest for the seventh wicket in women's ODIs, breaking the record of 122 between Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar
Thursday 4 April 2024 00:01, UK
Amy Jones fired a rapid 92 runs off 83 balls to get England Women off to winning start in the first one-day international against New Zealand in Wellington.
Jones and Charlie Dean (42 not out) put on an unbroken 130-run stand - the highest for the seventh wicket in women's ODIs - to rescue an England side who were 79-6 at one stage.
Dean (3-57), Kate Cross (2-24) and Lauren Bell (3-41) had helped the tourists bowl New Zealand out for 207 inside 49 overs, despite Suzie Bates' half-century.
Jess Kerr (2-48) bowled Tammy Beaumont for a duck as England began their reply before taking the wicket of skipper Heather Knight (12) to make it 37-2.
Maia Bouchier then fell for 31 before Amelia Kerr (2-46) had Alice Capsey lbw for a duck as England stumbled to 55-4.
Nat Sciver-Brunt was run out for just 12 to leave the tourists five wickets down inside 14 overs and Danni Wyatt went for 16 before Jones and Dean came to the rescue, with the latter smacking the winning runs, a four off Fran Jonas.
England claimed victory by four wickets with 52 balls remaining with the teams now heading to Hamilton on Wednesday for the second of three ODIs.
Jones revealed a mental refresh following a recent run drought lay behind her match-winning 92 not out for England.
The 30-year-old wicketkeeper-batter feels decluttering her mind and getting back to basics allowed her to shine.
"Over the last week, I've had some good reflections on areas that I want to improve in terms of being there at the end, it's something I feel like I've fallen short at over a period of time," Jones said.
"Recognising where my mind was going in those past situations and there was definitely an element of feeling like I needed to force a boundary and get ahead of the rate.
"I don't need to do that, I play at my best when I'm reacting to the ball and that doesn't change depending on the situation.
"Me and Deano were constantly saying 'one ball at a time' and 'just react', which kept us in the moment. For that to pay off, [this innings] ranks quite highly I'd say."
England's Sarah Glenn has been ruled out for the remainder of the series against the White Ferns.
Glenn sustained a concussion while fielding in England's three-run defeat to New Zealand in the third IT20 in Nelson and was initially ruled out for at least four matches, including the first two of the three-match ODI series.
However, the English Cricket Board confirmed that Glenn will not be fit in time to play the final match and no replacement will be called up.
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