On Sunday, October 26, in the match 27th of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2025, England defeated New Zealand by eight wickets in a one-sided contest, to finish in second place in the league standings
at ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. After England bowlers bundled out New Zealand for just 168 runs in a collective effort, their batters managed to chase down the runs in just 29.2 overs with Amy Jones putting together a fine unbeaten fifty at the top of the order.
Earlier, in her final appearance for New Zealand after announcing her retirement from international cricket, captain Sophie Devine won the toss and decided to bat first. Suzie Bates lost her wicket early in the first powerplay for 10 runs off 16 balls to Linsey Smith before Amelia Kerr joined Georgia Plimmer in the middle and they shared a 68-run stand for the second wicket before New Zealand innings started to fall away
Kerr (35 off 43) and Plimmer (43 off 57) lost their wickets on consecutive balls to Alice Capsey and Charlie Dean before Brooke Halliday and Maddy Green didn’t stay at the crease for long. Devine, who walked out to the middle at No. 4, scored 23 off 35 with a four before losing her wicket for the last time in international cricket to her opposing counterpart Nat Sciver-Brunt, getting caught behind with Amy Jones taking a smart catch up to the stumps.
From 155/6 in 33.3 overs, New Zealand could score only 13 runs before being bowled out in just 38.2 overs with Linsey Smith taking three wickets while Nat Sciver-Brunt and Alice Capsey took a couple of wickets each but at the same time, Sophie Ecclestone was taken off the field during the innings due to a shoulder issue. In pursuit of the 169-run target, England openers Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont gave the best possible start to their team to dim the hopes of New Zealand.
These two batters shared an opening stand of 75 runs in 14.4 overs before Lea Tahuhu trapped Beaumont lbw in front of the stumps after she scored 40 off just 38 with seven fours. Heather Knight joined Jones in the middle and they continued the good work for England in the afternoon with an 83-run stand for the second wicket, to put their team on the brink of victory.
Sophie Devine had her say with the ball in hand in her final appearance for New Zealand, getting Knight lbw for 33 off 40, an innings which had two fours and a six. Jones stayed unbeaten for 86 off 92 with 11 fours and one six to take England over the finishing line in company of Danni Wyatt-Hodge and now, they will head to Guwahati to take on South Africa in the first semi-final of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 at the Barsapara Stadium on Wednesday, October 29.
