England chase down 245 to beat New Zealand in fourth womens ODI as it happened – The Guardian

3.19pm EDT 15:19

Thats all for todays blog. A match report will appear shortly, as if by magic, and then well be back for the final ODI on Sunday. Goodnight!

3.17pm EDT 15:17

The player of the match is Heather Knight

I was so frustrated with myself when I got out. I wanted to be ruthless and finish the game off, but Im really pleased we got over the line. After a couple of tough games, we needed that.

My conversion rate from 50 to 100 is pretty rubbish. Its been a long time coming so Im really chuffed. We probably let them get a few too many so to chase that down is really pleasing. It wasnt an easy wicket and they bowled well; Hayley Jensen in particular was really hard to get away.

Im surprised [that this is Englands record ODI runchase] it feels like there should be bigger ones. Danni took the pressure off me massively she ran really well, got a few boundaries and it meant I didnt have to take too many risks. Shes certainly thrown her name into the mix.The next game will be our last ODI beforethe Ashes and then the World Cup, so were building nicely.

3.12pm EDT 15:12

Heres Sophie Devine

It was an outstanding game of cricket. Full credit to Heather - she showed what a class player she is and anchored the innings. Well have to lick our wounds but Im really proud of the girls. Weve worked bloody hard and were starting to show glimpses of what we can do - we havent got the results weve wanted but weve pushed the world champs in all four games.

3.09pm EDT 15:09

That was such a fine innings from Heather Knight. She has waited a long time for a second ODI century, over four years, but that was a masterpiece of understated excellence.

3.06pm EDT 15:06

The post-match thoughts of Anya Shrubsole

Me and Soph had a bit of a moment of panic when she was stumped, but then we realised it was a wide! It was an unbelievable innings from Heather - she looked like she was batting on a different pitch to everyone else - and its great to win the series. Heather and the other batters did all the work and I was just there to steal a bit of glory in the last over. Its great to be back and it was nice to get a couple of wickets.

Updated at 3.06pm EDT

3.02pm EDT 15:02

Ive never seen a game finish like that before. Does that count as a wicket if its the final ball of the match? I have no idea, and you are welcome.

Besides, what really matters is that England have taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series. And apparently Ecclestone was not out, because the wide meant the end of the match before the stumping was completed.

3.00pm EDT 15:00

Ecclestone is stumped off a wide, which means England have won!

Updated at 3.02pm EDT

2.59pm EDT 14:59

49.3 overs: England 244-7 (target 245; Shrubsole 6, Ecclestone 0) Shrubsole lifts a single down the ground. The scores are level.

2.59pm EDT 14:59

49.2 overs: England 243-7 (target 245; Shrubsole 5, Ecclestone 0) A dot ball. England need two from four.

2.58pm EDT 14:58

49.1 overs: England 243-7 (target 245; Shrubsole 5, Ecclestone 0) Shrubsole lifts the first ball up and over mid-off for four!

Updated at 2.59pm EDT

2.56pm EDT 14:56

Oh my goodness. Now Wyatt has gone, trapped in front by a superb off-cutter from Devine! She reviewed, a decision whose motivation was approximately 100 per cent hope and 0 per cent expectation. Replays confirmed it was plumb. England need six from six balls!

Updated at 2.56pm EDT

2.54pm EDT 14:54

48.4 overs: England 238-6 (target 245; Wyatt 27, Shrubsole 0) Make that 7 from 8 balls...

2.50pm EDT 14:50

Its not over yet! Knight chips Devine to deep midwicket, where Halliday takes a quite brilliant low catch. Knight goes for a high-class 101, and England need 8 from 10 balls.

Updated at 2.51pm EDT

2.48pm EDT 14:48

48th over: England 236-5 (target 245; Knight 101, Wyatt 25) Hayley Jensen keeps New Zealand in the game, just about, with a thrifty final over. England need 9 from 12 balls.

2.45pm EDT 14:45

47th over: England 233-5 (target 245; Knight 100, Wyatt 23) Knight goes from 96 to 100 - a wonderful hundred - with consecutive twos. Both were extremely tight, and she had to scramble desperately the second time, but she made it! When she got to her feet she flicked her helmet off to acknowledge a standing ovation, richly deserved for a near flawless innings: 103 balls, 10 fours, and an imminent series victory.

Updated at 2.58pm EDT

2.39pm EDT 14:39

46th over: England 227-5 (target 245; Knight 95, Wyatt 22) Sophie Devine tries one last gamble, bringing Leigh Kasperek back into the attack. It was her expensive two-over spell that really got Englands runchase going. This time she is milked for six, which is more than enough for England - they need 18 from 24 balls.

2.36pm EDT 14:36

45th over: England 221-5 (target 245; Knight 91, Wyatt 20) Wyatt is dropped off Jensen, a very tough chance to Martin standing up to the stumps. The game - and the series - are slipping away from New Zealand. Knight, who has played immaculately, skims a drive for two to move into the nineties.

2.33pm EDT 14:33

44th over: England 216-5 (target 245; Knight 88, Wyatt 18) Wyatt pings Rowe high over midwicket and all the way for six, the first of the innings. And Knight makes it a brilliant, potentially matchwinning over for England by clipping wide of midwicket for four. Rowe ends a terrific spell on a bit of a low, but still with outstanding figures of 10-0-47-4.

2.29pm EDT 14:29

43rd over: England 203-5 (target 245; Knight 83, Wyatt 10) Knights innings has been a masterclass in shot selection, placement and especially risk management. She has 83 from 89 balls yet I can barely recall a big stroke. Five singles from Devines over, which means England need 42 from 42 balls.

2.26pm EDT 14:26

42nd over: England 198-5 (target 245; Knight 81, Wyatt 7) A stunning shot from Knight. She walks down the track to Rowe and bisects mid-on and midwicket with an emphatic clip. That turns a modest over (three from five balls) into another good one for England.

2.21pm EDT 14:21

41st over: England 191-5 (target 245; Knight 76, Wyatt 5) Wyatt edges Kerr onto the thigh of Martin, standing up to the stumps. Technically thats a chance but it would have been a mircaulous catch. Six from the over, including a crisp cut for four by Wyatt.

2.18pm EDT 14:18

40th over: England 185-5 (target 245; Knight 75, Wyatt 0) That was the last ball of the over. Until then it had been a good one for England, with Knight hammering a sweep for four, but Dunkleys dismissal has changed the mood of the runchase once again. England need 60 from 60 balls.

2.17pm EDT 14:17

Sophia Dunkley goes for a duck, playing outside the line of a good delivery from Satterthwaite.

2.14pm EDT 14:14

39th over: England 177-4 (target 245; Knight 68, Dunkley 0) Knight clips Kerr through Satterthwaite at midwicket and away for four. Im not sure what happened there, whether she misjudged the flight of the ball or was just unsighted. It looked like a chance, albeit a tricky one at ankle height.

Updated at 2.14pm EDT

2.09pm EDT 14:09

38th over: England 172-4 (target 245; Knight 63, Dunkley 0) That wicket gives Rowe career-best figures of four for 27. And she still has two overs left, so theres every chance of a maiden five-for.

2.07pm EDT 14:07

Amy Jones has thrown it away. The ball after bringing up the hundred partnership, she had a needless slog at Rowe and spooned the ball high to mid-on.

2.04pm EDT 14:04

37th over: England 169-3 (target 245; Knight 62, Jones 38) Jones, who suddenly looks a little nervous, is beaten outside off stump by Jensen. Three from the over, which is okay for England: they need 76 from 78 balls.

2.01pm EDT 14:01

36th over: England 166-3 (target 245; Knight 62, Jones 35) Hannah Rowe, who has taken all three wickets, also returns to the attack. Jones skids back to cut towards the point boundary, where the sliding Halliday saves a couple of runs, and then gets away with a loose stroke that lands between mid-off and mid-on.

Updated at 2.01pm EDT

1.58pm EDT 13:58

35th over: England 161-3 (target 245; Knight 60, Jones 32) Hayley Jensen returns, with New Zealand in urgent need of a wicket. She cant manage that but she does slow England down by conceding only a couple of singles.

1.54pm EDT 13:54

34th over: England 159-3 (target 245; Knight 58, Jones 32) Heather Knight is batting majestically. She reverse sweeps Satterthwaite for another boundary, her sixth of the innings, and then flicks a single to keep the strike. She has 58 from 64 balls, Jones 32 from 50.

1.52pm EDT 13:52

33rd over: England 153-3 (target 245; Knight 53, Jones 31) A high full toss from Devine leads to a free hit for Knight, who hoicks it round the corner for four. Another boundary next ball, steered deftly wide of the keeper Martin, brings up an excellent, clear-headed fifty from only 58 balls. An eventful over concludes with a run-out referral against the non-striker Jones, who was safely home.

1.44pm EDT 13:44

32nd over: England 138-3 (target 245; Knight 42, Jones 29) England continue to deal primarily in low-risk singles - four from Satterthwaites over, and thats drinks.

1.41pm EDT 13:41

31st over: England 134-3 (target 245; Knight 40, Jones 27) A quiet over from Devine, three from it. Were approaching the business end: England need 111 from 114 balls.

1.39pm EDT 13:39

30th over: England 131-3 (target 245; Knight 38, Jones 26) Knight walks down the track to chip Satterthwaite over midwicket for four. That was a lovely stroke, beautifully timed and placed. After a bit of a slump between the 10th and 20th overs, England have scored 51 from the last nine.

1.35pm EDT 13:35

29th over: England 124-3 (target 245; Knight 32, Jones 25) Sophie Devine brings herself back into the attack. Her opposite number, the England captain Knight, flicks a couple through midwicket to bring up an increasingly dominant fifty partnership. Jones almost falls later in the over, mistiming a drive just wide of extra cover. England need 121 from 126 balls.

1.33pm EDT 13:33

28th over: England 118-3 (target 245; Knight 28, Jones 24) An escape for Heather Knight, whose top-edged sweep lands between two fielders on the leg side. New Zealand really need a wicket, and thats the closest theyve come in this partnership.

Updated at 1.33pm EDT

1.29pm EDT 13:29

27th over: England 114-3 (target 245; Knight 26, Jones 22)

Updated at 1.36pm EDT

1.26pm EDT 13:26

26th over: England 111-3 (target 245; Knight 25, Jones 20) Kasperek is taking out of the attack after those two expensive overs. On comes another offspinner, Amy Satterthwaite, and England are happy to take five low-risk singles. They need 134 from 144 balls.

1.23pm EDT 13:23

25th over: England 106-3 (target 245; Knight 23, Jones 17) A half volley from Kerr is driven gracefully through mid-off for four by Jones. This is a good spell for England, with 26 runs coming from the last four overs.

1.18pm EDT 13:18

24th over: England 100-3 (target 245; Knight 22, Jones 11) A full toss from Kasperek is reverse-lapped for a couple by Knight, who has been much more proactive against spin. Kaspereks first two overs have gone for 18.

1.15pm EDT 13:15

23rd over: England 92-3 (target 245; Knight 16, Jones 11) A double bowling change, with Jess Kerr returning to the attack. A good over - just two from it - ends with Jones missing a drive outside off stump.

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England chase down 245 to beat New Zealand in fourth womens ODI as it happened - The Guardian