England’s stand-in captain Charlie Dean and 18-year-old debutant Tilly Courteen-Coleman led New Zealand to a nail-biting one-wicket win in Durham in the first of three successive one-day internationals.
Chasing 211 points for victory, England lost their top scorer Maia Boussier (59) in the 35th over and found themselves in a tight spot with 160 wins and 7 losses, but Dean, who came on in place of injured Nat Cyber-Blunt (calf), received good support from Corteen-Coleman (3rd) in 11th place and led the team home with an unbeaten 31.
Both teams advanced with 10 points needed for victory, but New Zealand still needed seven points after Nenshi Patel retired Dean in the 27th over.
Courteen-Coleman, who was recently called up to England’s T20 World Cup squad after signing a £105,000 Hundred contract with Southern Brave, was bowled out for 210 after New Zealand were brought on for the hosts and had earlier claimed 2-49 as the White Ferns collapsed at 8-63 in the second half.
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Tillie Corteen-Coleman picks up wicket on debut for England!
England debutant trio take center stage with the ball
The home side handed three ODI debut caps to Courteen-Coleman, Dani Gibson and Jody Glucock ahead of the contest and all made an impact with the ball, but a sloppy performance on the field will be a cause for concern for England.
After Lauren Filer (1-43) took out Susie Bates (6) early on, Courteen-Coleman needed just eight deliveries to pick up her first wicket in international cricket by mid-off, with Georgia Primer (20) (dropped by Bouchier on 17) chipping one up in the air.
New Zealand looked set to hit a big score with Maddie Green, 88, and captain Mary Carr, 55, scoring 105 for the third wicket, but the wheels somehow shifted when leg-spinner Grewcock (1-26) fortuitously scored the latter from a full toss after the innings.
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Jody Glucock dismisses Amelia Kerr for England’s first wicket!
Dean (2-21) wisely called for a DRS before trapping Brooke Halliday (6) lbw, while Gibson (1-28) caught Izzy Gaze (11) behind to complete the debut wicket-taker’s hat-trick.
Lauren Bell (2-38) then hit two off two balls to essentially complete her hat-trick as New Zealand lost their last five matches for just seven runs in three overs.
Dean leads England to victory with a nervy finish
Grewcock (3), in the unfamiliar role of opening batsman, fell just four overs into England’s chase, but had she reviewed her LBW dismissal for Bree Illing (1-31) would have been overturned – just past leg stump.
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Jody Glucock walks, but the Hawkeyes show they should have reconsidered Pound’s firing!
Heather Knight (19) came on and took a couple of eye-catching cover drives to the boundary, but she and Emma Lamb (15) separated in the space of four balls to sway England’s counterattack.
Bouchier and Freya Kemp (30) calmly rebuilt the innings with a 68-run partnership for the fourth wicket, but the latter’s misfortune led to a run out at the non-striker end at the fingertips of Rosemary Mair, sparking another wicket storm.
Mair (3-42) easily added Amy Jones (3-3) to cover from a slice drive, and Merry Carr (2-54) scored key shots from Gibson (19) and Bouchier to put the tourists on top.
With just three wickets and 41 more runs required, it looked like a challenge beyond England’s long tail, but Dean and Bell (12) achieved the target admirably.
Bell ended up 16 short of victory thanks to Mair’s bowling, but Filer needed 10 points to go after Jess Kerr cleaned him up (1-41), but Dean and Courteen-Coleman held their own, helped by the captain’s departure at Patel’s expense, to inch England over the goal line.
Dean: It wasn’t easy.
England captain and player of the match, Charlie Dean (2 wins, 21 losses, 31st place)
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England captain Charlie Dean said victory did not come easy for his team as they claimed a nervy one-wicket win against New Zealand.
“It was a great start for us. Limiting participants to about 200 people made it a little more doable, but we didn’t make it easy for ourselves.
“It was great to not go out at the end and be with Tilly Corteen-Coleman. What a day she had.
“She came into the at-bat with a plan and I love that about her.
“She takes everything in her stride. She kept her nerves in check and was great with the ball and bat.”
Kerr: Late wickets are costly.
New Zealand captain Mary Kerr said this in her post-match presentation.
“I thought 250 would be a good score because the pitch was a little slow. If I had gotten that, I probably could have made it.”
“We were ready to do that but unfortunately we lost some wickets at the back end and couldn’t do it. We played a little bit over the line.
“We fought hard with the ball to get it deep. It shows fight and character to get the ball this deep.”
England vs New Zealand series results/match schedule
1st ODI (Durham) – England win by 1 wicket 2nd ODI (Wednesday 13th May) – County Ground, Northampton (1pm) 3rd ODI (Saturday 16th May) – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff (11am) 1st T20 (Wednesday 20th May) – Central Cope County Ground, Derby (6.30pm) 2nd T20 (Saturday 23rd May) – Spitfire Ground, Canterbury (2.30pm) 3rd T20 (Monday 25 May) – 1st Central County Ground, Hove (2.30pm)
Watch England vs. New Zealand ODI and T20 live on Sky Sports, followed by Wednesday’s 2nd ODI (broadcast at 12:30pm, first ball at 1pm). Stream without a contract.
