16 February 2020

England ease to six-wicket victory over New Zealand as World Cup preparations continue

New Zealand 134-9 (20 overs): Martin 57; Brunt 3-23

England 136-4 (18 overs): Knight 45, Wyatt 42; Tahuhu 2-20

England continued their T20 World Cup preparations with a convincing six-wicket victory over New Zealand.

Katherine Brunt posted figures of 3-23 in a superb display of fast bowling that included the dismissal of Kiwi skipper Sophie Devine for a duck.

Katey Martin hit 77 off 44 balls to give England a moderate target of 135 to win, but Heather Knight's side never looked in any danger of failing to secure the victory.

Danni Wyatt and Amy Jones contributed 63 between them before captain Knight helped her team over the line with a professional 45 as England reached 136 with two overs to spare.

It was England's penultimate warm-up fixture before they kick off their T20 World Cup campaign against South Africa on February 23, with their final preparations coming against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

On her team's performance, Knight said: "It was a good pitch so it was a really good performance by our bowlers.

"Katherine obviously got us off to an excellent start and that was backed up by the rest of the attack. 

"Anya bowled very nicely and Sophie looked threatening throughout her overs, which is important because it means we can continue to look to take wickets throughout the innings. Jonesy and Danni started nicely and that helped us get in front of the game.

"It's nice for the confidence to get over the line with just four wickets down. Hopefully we can continue that against Sri Lanka on Tuesday before flying to Perth."

The best videos delivered daily

Watch the stories that matter, right from your inbox